It's Challenge Cup time again and this Saturday, your Cardiff Devils are travelling to the Odyssey to take on the league leading Belfast Giants in this double stakes match-up. With the Giants making several roster changes, one of which includes the addition of 6'5" American Mike Hoffman, who was always a fan favourite in the O, and our own Mark Smith and Max Birbraer still missing in action, can the Devils pull off another nail-biting victory? Or will it end like the majority of Giants/Devils match-ups this season? Tune into the MNL (www.the-inferno.co.uk/matchnightlive) on Saturday night to see if we will emerge on top.
04/02/2012
Devils 1 (3), Giants 4 (5) - Final
So, the Devils head to Belfast in the
second leg of the Challenge Cup Semi Final tonight, hearts heavy with the news
of Brad Voth’s retirement. Despite the
sadden news of the loss of the Mayor, the Devils have it all to play for, with
a place in the Challenge Cup final up for grabs. Coming of a 2-1 win in the first leg, Devils
have the advantage, needing only to tie to go through. However, with this game doubling up as a league
game, is it worth losing the points in the league for a chance at the cup? Or will the Giants give up the cup in
exchange for those crucial league points?
Follow along at www.the-inferno.co.uk/matchnightlive
or watch the Giants Webcast, and see how who’s going home happy…
Devils started off well in this double
match up, with captain Stuart MacRae scoring quickly… the puck hitting the back
of the net with just 38 seconds gone!
The Devils continued this play, keeping strong for the first half of the
period, Lyle having to make only a handful of saves. Cardiff were also granted with a 5-on-3
powerplay, along with several other PP chances, but failed to convert. Throughout the period both goaltenders were
pulling off some fantastic saves.
Unfortunately, the great style of play did not continue into the second
half of the period.
After the uneventful powerplay, the
Belfast made it back into the game with some dominating play, keeping the puck
in the Devils’ zone whilst throwing it at Lyle with increased intensity. Luckily for them, ex-Devil Jon Pelle was on
hand. At 15:20, Pelle slipped the puck
past Lyle to level the game score; unfortunately for the Giants they were still
a goal down on aggregate. Obviously not
happy with that, Craig Peacock also put one past Stevie, giving the Giants the edge
and levelling the aggro score.
With the score now in the Giants' favour,
the Devils were being careful… just not careful enough. With only a couple of minutes left on the
clock, Robert Dowd broke away, only to be brought down by Kenton Smith. Referee Tom Darnell calls a penalty shot, and
it is all eyes on Stevie. The
testimonial goaltender comes out to face Dowd, tracking him in a way only
tenders can achieve, leaving Dowd just enough room to think he was in. Luckily for the Red Army, Lyle knew exactly
what he was doing and shut Dowd down.
Period ended 2-1 Giants.
Now, the second is a continuation from the
second half of the first. Giants
continue to dominate and blast the puck towards Lyle, forcing the Welshman to
make some incredible saves. This
domination pays off for the Giants, as high scoring forward Robert Dowd,
making up for not getting the puck passed Lyle when he had the chance on the
penalty shot earlier, put the puck passed Stevie at 31.34 on the powerplay, the
Devils having #25 Phil Hill in the box for hooking. In an attempt to combat the punishing Giants,
the Devils were desperately trying to get back into the game. Whenever the chance arose, the Devils were
throwing the puck at the net, forcing netminder Murphy to put his glove to good
use. The welsh side had a few breaks,
getting a couple of powerplay chances but not using them to their full
advantage. Unfortunately, the Giants
were making up for past mistakes, taking whatever the Devils would give
out. Second period finished 3-1 Giants.
It looks like the Devils will have to pull
something incredible out of the bag to have a chance in this game. The Giants, who are definitely the dominate
force in tonight’s battle, were taking no prisoners and showing no mercy. All bets are off now, with everyone looking
to the third to see who is going to pull it out of the bag.
It didn’t look good at the start of the
third; straight off, Matzka was sent to the box for elbowing. Unlike our own side, the Giants weren’t shy
about using the advantages given to them.
Push and push they did, until finally they got the puck over the
line. Unfortunately for the Irish side,
Darnell has a keen eye, and the goal was disallowed due to a player in the
crease. It seems like this served as a
kick-start, as the Devils’ game seemed to pick up.
Due to this jump in action, Scottish tender
Stephen Murphy was called upon to make some serious saves. With the shots came more time on puck for the
Devils, although Murphy was acting like a brick wall, keeping the Devils from
converting any of their chances. Despite
this increase in intensity, Aaron Clarke managed to get one passed Lyle on the
powerplay, at 51:11. After the restart,
and some additional Giants’ chances, Matzka and Keefe got tangled behind Lyle,
with Richardson, Keefe and Deniset all being sent to the box.
Unlike a few occasions Devils’ fans could
recall from this season alone, it seems Tom Darnell was rooting for the Devils,
as he disallowed a second Giants’ goal, giving our Devils a much needed reprieve. Unfortunately, the Devils failed to use
it. In fact, the opposite happened. With three minutes left on the clock, Matzka
was sent to the box with a minor for interference and a ten minute misconduct. Despite being on the powerplay, the Giants
failed to widen the gap further, and the game finished with the Giants winning
4-1 (5-3 AGG). Captain Stuart MacRae was
awarded the Devils man of the match, with the Giants alternative going to
ex-Devil Jon Pelle.
Keep your head up, Red Army; shake off
this loss and look forward to tomorrow’s match, back in the BBT when the
Braehead Clan come to town. Let’s give
the Mayor an incredible send off! Let’s
get everyone down to the BBT tomorrow. Let’s
show Voth how much he will be missed. Let’s
go Devils!
