It was Hockey Night in Cardiff tonight and it was sure to be
a good one, with the Belfast Giants coming to town. With both recent transfer Jon Pelle and our
very own Max Birbraer out with injury, it was certain that both teams would struggle a little
without key players on the ice. Despite
this, both teams managed to accumulate three goals and fought their way
through three regular periods, one overtime period and a shootout.
Unfortunately, shootouts are not a Devils’
strong point and Belfast came away with the extra point.
With it being the ten-year-anniversary of
9/11 on Sunday, the BBT was silent for two minutes prior to the singing of the
national anthem, but this extra time seemed to get the Devils pumped up extra
tight, because, just short of a minute in, up-and-coming Brit Sam Smith shot
the puck into the back of the net. New
import Jeff Pierce, who had a tremendous game last Sunday, netting two of the four goals against the Panthers, followed Smith’s lead,
and doubled the Devils’ lead to two. This put them 2-0 up before two minutes of
play had even passed.
However, not wanting
to feel left out, the Giants pulled it back to a one goal game, when Craig
Peacock shot one passed Lyle. The Devils’
own giant, Canadian Brad Voth, obviously didn’t like this, as he came back with
the Devils’ third goal, at 13:48 in the 1st. To round off the 1st, Matzka got
himself ten minute misconduct.
Now the 1st
may have seen an onslaught of goals, the 2nd brought an onslaught of
penalties. Everyone knows that Cardiff is
the tallest, and most probably the heaviest, team in the league and they weren’t
afraid to use their size tonight.
Whether it was coming from Voth who, at 6’5”, is intimidating to just
stand next, or Smith, who doesn’t usually dish out the hits, the Giants will
definitely have some ice-shaped bruises in the morning. Some were even self-inflicted…
With Belfast getting
a goal halfway through the 2nd, the score was 3-2 going into the 3rd,
which served to be one of the calmer periods of play. Most of the handbags were thrown in the 2nd,
so everyone was now focused on getting that extra goal. Unfortunately for Devils' fans, the goal came for the Giants, when Garside pushed on passed
Lyle. Due to neither side being able to
get a lead in the last few minutes, although both sides came pretty close, the
game went into overtime.
Just like throughout the rest of the game, the overtime period saw penalties and near chances, but nothing played out for either team. Finally, it came down to the shootout. Belfast shot first, missing, with our own Captain following in the same. The next two shooters, one Giant and one Devils, both missed. Scott Matzka stepped up and had his saved by Murphy. Coming up for his second shot, the Giants’ Douchet managed to post one in the back of the next. If our final shooter failed to score, it was game over. And, boy, did that fat lady sing when MacRae’s shot missed its target.
Just like throughout the rest of the game, the overtime period saw penalties and near chances, but nothing played out for either team. Finally, it came down to the shootout. Belfast shot first, missing, with our own Captain following in the same. The next two shooters, one Giant and one Devils, both missed. Scott Matzka stepped up and had his saved by Murphy. Coming up for his second shot, the Giants’ Douchet managed to post one in the back of the next. If our final shooter failed to score, it was game over. And, boy, did that fat lady sing when MacRae’s shot missed its target.
But never mind,
there’s always next time. Next game is next
Saturday, when former captain Ryan Finnerty returns to the BBT with the
Sheffield Steelers. Let’s Go Devils!
