So the Devils
travelled north on Sunday for the second leg of their double header weekend
against the Edinburgh Capitals, having played a physical game the night before,
resulting in a win for the welsh side.
With the Welsh rugby team beating the Scots in the Six Nations, can the Devils
emulate their success against the Scottish side? Was there ever any doubt?
The first started
off slow for the Devils, with lots of pressure coming for the Capitals, forcing
Lyle to make sure spectacular saves. But
the Cardiff side pushed ahead and within a couple of minutes, number 93 had put
the visitors on the scoreboard. Pierce
took a pass from Welshman Ben Davies, before slotting the puck past netminder
Nathan Craze. With the confidence
building rapidly, the Devils continued with their immense pressure, forcing
save after save from Craze, before resident heavyweight Chris Frank doubled the
Devils’ lead, Cardiff leading 2-0 before 10 minutes had passed.
The period continued
with only a couple of minor penalties and saves, until the last minute. Capitals’
MOM Jarolin, having just resigned with the Capitals for next season, skated the
length of the ice and tricked Lyle into coming out, before slotting the puck
into the other side of the net, closing the deficit by one. With only 48 seconds to play after Jarolin’s
goal, the period finished 2-1 Devils.
Second period
started with a worrying hit on Captain Stuart MacRae, with the Capitals’
offender Safar getting 2+10 for checking to the head. The Cardiff Captain was a bit weary on his
feet but skates off on his own and is back on the ice a few minutes later. During his absence, the powerplay comes and
goes with no real chances for the Devils, but defenseman Jamie Vanderveeken
adds a third goal to the Devils’ tally at 22.11, opening up that gap
again. With some great combined play by
S. Smith, Matzka and Adams, the Devils managed to create some great chances, though
failing to convert. Zembergs ended a
good spell of Devils’ play with the Caps second goal, timed at 31.27. There were some close chances for both sides
throughout the remaining 10 minutes.
Towards the end of the period, some questionable calls were made by the
officials, resulting in two Devils’ players heading to the box. Devils’ fight off the Caps for the remaining
minutes of the second, and the period finishes 3-2 Devils.
Unfortunately, the
penalties carried over into the third, and the Caps started the last twenty
with 8 seconds of 5-on-3 play, although the Devils successful kill of this and
all future penalties. Big hits are
thrown on both sides, and some big saves being made at both ends of the ice but
nothing comes of any further chances for either side.
In a desperate
attempt to force overtime, the Caps pull netminder Craze and finish out the
game with 6 skaters, getting a 6-on-4 advantage when Matzka is sent to the box
with 2+2 for hooking and unsportsmanlike conduct. Despite the flurry of shots from Edinburgh,
Devils’ hold the edge and finish the game with the score remaining 3-2. Yet another
fantastic four point weekend for the Welsh side.
With the weekend games over, the Devils now
look to Wednesday when the Fife Flyers come to town. Puck drop is at 7.30pm and it is sure to be a
great game… Let’s cheer on our boys in their third game in five days! Let’s go Devils!
