Devils 2, Panthers 4 - Final
It was a disappointing
result for the travelling Cardiff Devils’ supporters last night, as the
visiting Red Army suffered a devastating 4-2 defeat to Corey Neilson and his
Nottingham side. Although Neilson,
as well as several other Panthers, did not ice – due to injury- the Panthers
looked incredibly strong throughout the game. Whether it was due to the return of Gui Lepine or the fact
that Anthony Stewart, NHL forward, made his home debut for the club, they
demonstrated why they were crowded the Playoff champions last year.
Nottingham got things
off to a quick start, with Ling scoring his first of three, showing off why he
was awarded the Man of the Match award, just six minutes in. A couple of penalties for both sides
followed, although neither was able to capitalise on the advantage. There seemed to be a lack of the
physically behind the Welsh side, maybe due to the fact that hard hitter Max
Birbraer is still out on suspension.
The period finished by for Ling’s second goal, putting Nottingham two
goals ahead going into the second.
At the beginning of
the second, it seemed that Cardiff were turning the tables, with hot shot Mac
Faulkner scoring in the 22nd minute to bring his team back into the
game. A bit of action followed as
goal-scorers Faulkner and Ling partook in some handbags, but nothing really
came of it. But it seemed that the
Panthers weren’t going to let anything disrupt their night.
Just four minutes
after the Devils’ first goal, Francis added to the Panthers’ total, giving them
a 2-goal lead over Cardiff. They
continued to dominate but, despite several powerplay opportunities for both
teams, the score stayed at 3-1 going into the final twenty.
The third was
definitely one for the threes; just three minutes in, Ling scored his third
goal, giving Nottingham even more breathing space with a three-goal lead. The Devils managed to close the gap to
two, after Phil Hill slotted one passed Kowalski, but could not get level or
push ahead. With an fantastic
display of defending from tender Osaer and brother Mark and Kenton Smith, the
Devils’ managed to scrape through without any other goals. Final score in the NIC: 4-2 Panthers.
Despite the loss last
night, the Red Army are shaking it off, and looking forward to the weekend,
when we take on the Sheffield Steelers at the BBT (Puck-drop: 7:07pm). Get down to the bay and cheer on our
boys! Let’s Go Devils!
