Devils 2, Blaze 0 - Final
It's that time again, and the Cardiff Devils are in Coventry tonight, showing the Blaze that preseason was just a warm up. Coming off a win against the Hull Stingrays last night, Devils are out in force and raring to go! As of last night, we have power-house forward Max Birbraer back, but we are also missing Luke Piggot, as he is back with the ENL Devils tonight, who are taking on the Bracknell Hornets at the BBT. Speaking of the BBT, some people have been saying it is looking a little empty these days.... you should see the Skydome! Compared to the Skydome, it would seem like the BBT is turning people away!
The first period finished scoreless in Coventry, with end-to-end play throughout the period. Both teams have seen some excellent goal-tending, both from Stevie Lyle and from Coventry's Peter Hirsch. Equal to that, we have also seen some incredible shots from opposite ends of the ice, the puck hitting the pipes several times.
As well as big saves, we have seen big hits, most coming from Canadian giant Brad Voth. He has put many players on the ice, in addition to taking a few hard checks himself. The period has seen only three minor penalties, two of those going to Cardiff -causing a 5-on-3 for Coventry, although they failed to capitalize- both for hooking. Going into the second, both teams were looking for that opening goal.
And, just over seven minutes into the second, player/assistant coach Scott Matzka managed to get Cardiff on the scoreboard, with an nice set up from Jeff Pierce and Max Birbraer, who is playing like he was never away. Chances came for both sides, as Coventry tried to level the score.
The second twenty minutes saw a couple of interesting penalties, with the Blaze side trying to get Cardiff forward Brad Voth fired up, with little success. Both Bryan Jurynec and Mike McClean had go, dropping the gloves to try and entice the big enforcer but Voth just didn't want to know, which is strange for number 26, who isn't unfamiliar to dropping the gloves. Saying that, Voth has yet to drop 'em this season, although he has had plenty of opportunity. Anyway, we also saw a slash from Cowley and a cheeky trip from Batch. Second finishes with Devils 1-0 up.
Going into the third, it was all or nothing for the Coventry Blaze, who, having not won a game in the challenge cup, were desperate for those two points. Unfortunately, despite playing good hockey for most of the game, the Blaze could not get past the wall of white blocking the Cardiff goal. The man himself, Stevie Lyle, gave a show stopping performance all night long, earning himself a shutout and the man of match award.
Whilst Lyle held strong at one end of the ice, the Cardiff forwards were working hard to solidify the win. With shot after shot going towards the net, the Devils were determined. Blaze tender, Peter Hirsch, remained solid for most of the third, even after getting a skate to the helmet when one of his defensemen came hurtling towards him. Despite his brilliant performance for most of the night, the Dane couldn't stop Brit Sam Smith from adding his name to the score sheet and the game finished 2-0 Devils.
Both teams played exceptionally well and it was a great game to watch, whether you were in the Skydome or watching the webcast. Next game is on Saturday, up in Scotland, where the Devils take on the Braehead Clan, who have had a fantastic start to the season. If you can't make it up there, be sure to follow along on http://www.the-inferno.co.uk/mnl/. Let's go Devils!
