Cardiff Devils @ Braehead Clan 02/03/2012

  It was a battle for fourth place on Friday night, and that is putting it lightly.  With all points crucial at the moment, it was a fight to the death between the Cardiff Devils and the Braehead Clan.  With the Devils’ travelling up north, being stuck on a bus for 10 hours, it was a question of whether we would see the normal first period action, of coach-legs, or if they would be a force to be reckoned with from the get-go.

  It definitely seemed like the Devils’ were gunning for blood throughout the first period.  If someone had predicted that Cardiff would be winning 4-0 at the end of the first, people would have laughed in their face… but that is exactly what happened.  American superstar, Jeff Pierce, welcomed the Devils into the game with a goal that came from nowhere, just 41 seconds in.  Linemate Stuart MacRae followed five minutes later, and Canadian defensemen Jamie Vanderveeken came out with Cardiff’s third goal at 14.26, with an incredible shot on the powerplay.  Just to round off the period, Matzka also slotted one home.  To give the period that extra bit of spice, Batch went for a round with Zajac, each getting 5 for fighting.

  Into the second, and it seemed that Braehead had finally woken up.  Much like the Devils’ had in the first, Braehead came out fighting and within less than a minute, had a pulled a goal back, courtesy of MOM Jordan Krestanovich.  Play went back and forth for ten minutes, with the Clan demonstrating just how awake they now were, before we entered some controversy.  At 29.35, Kevin Phillips shot the puck at Stevie Lyle, the puck going over Lyle’s right shoulder and seemingly rebounding off the cross bar.  Despite sighs of relief coming from Devils’ fans everywhere, the goal light came on and Phillips was off down the ice celebrating.  With Sky filming the game, the Ref, Hanson, went to video review.  Goal was given, with the puck clearly hitting the back corner before bouncing out, and it was 4-2 Devils.  No further goals followed in the second, and it was off to the third.

  After a quiet second period, the Devils seemed more into the game, coming out into the third.  They applied severe pressure but just couldn’t get the puck past Suomalianen.  Down at the other end, there was another debatable call, with Hanson disallowing a Clan goal, on the grounds that the net was off its moorings.  But this wasn’t going to slow the Clan.  At 43.58, Ryan Campbell brought the Clan within one, but they just couldn’t get that final goal to push the game into overtime.  Game finished 4-3 Devils, the Welsh side winning by the skin of their teeth and gaining those two extra points to push seven points clear of Braehead.