Devils 3, Steelers 5 - Final (Saturday)
Devils 5, Steelers 2 - Final (Sunday)
Devils 5, Steelers 2 - Final (Sunday)
It was a home and home against the Sheffield Steelers this
weekend and it was definitely not a boring one! While most Devils’ fans (and players and coaches) find
themselves severely frustrated after the events of Saturday’s 5-2 loss in the Tin
town, revenge was served as the Devils’ returned the favour in a thrilling 5-3
Welsh win on Sunday.
Fires were lit early on Saturday after Cardiff awoke to
former Devils’ coach Gerad Adams promising to take advantage of our ‘many weaknesses’
– although he was being quoted in The Star, so give it a read yourself at the
link below to decide how you think the comment was meant to be taken!
Both sides were definitely out for blood, with Andrew Hotham
and Cullen Eddy getting their fists dirty just after the half way point of the
first period – both getting in some good hits before Hotham finally took Eddy
to the ice.
The frustration continued to build for the visiting team as
the Steelers scored two goals in two minutes, both featuring the efforts of top
British D-man Ben O’Connor who was lacing up in his debut for Sheffield after
signing a short term contract to fill the gap left by injuries to Robert Dowd
and Pascal Morency.
Over the course of the weekend, O’Connor had 3 assists and 2
PIMS – demonstrating that the Steelers would be very lucky to extend his
contract past these next couple of weeks.
Colton Fretter also had a good game on Saturday, playing a
role in both of the first period goals for the Steelers.
Despite the home side dominating the first period, the
Devils’ came out swinging after the intermission break! After Joey Haddad was sent to the box
just four minutes into the period, it looked as if the Devils’ scored in spite
of the man disadvantage but ref Mike Hicks waved it off. Apparently Trevor Hendrikx had taken up
residence in the crease – it is hard to tell from the highlights but it was, as
usual, a questionable decision.
(Highlights can be found here, courtesy of SteelersTV: http://www.sheffieldsteelers.co.uk/highlights-live-steelers-5-3-cardiff-devils-saturday--p194276)
But our boys fought their way back to a level field after
two wonderful goals from Haddad, just as he was coming out of the box, and Joey
Martin about six minutes later.
Tempers reached boiling point as the game travelled into the
third and final period; with the game all squared up both teams were desperate
to get that all important goal and take the lead. It truly looked like the game could go either way.
Unfortunately Sheffield took the lead early on and some
harsh 5-on-3 penalties definitely took the momentum out of the Devils. In fact, the away side managed to accumulate
64 PIMs in the final period of play, including a tango between Dougie Clarkson
and Dustin Kohn, before frustrations boiled over at the final whistle.
There was a certain amount of confusion during the final
minutes of the game – with the Devils’ 4-3 down, they were desperate to get
that tying goal! After a large
amount of pushing and shoving in front of Doyle’s net (and some extremely
blatant missed calls in my opinion), the puck was turned and Mathieu Roy went
charging off towards the Devils’ empty net – only to be tripped and awarded an
unassisted goal for his efforts.
While Bench Coach Neil Francis was upset (understatement!!)
about the call, many on both sides of the ice are being completely
understanding about the decision… It’s the events the followed the final
whistle that are cause for concern.
After reviewing the video highlights extensively (it was
extremely painful listening to David Simms commentary over and over! Pretty
sure I was one replay away from my ears bleeding!), I believe we were hard done
by in the DOPS’s decision to uphold Trevor Hendrikx one game ban after he
received a Match Penalty for a supposed ‘sucker punch’ – Simms’ words, not mine
– on Tyler Mosienko.
(The most recent update from the Department of Player Safety
on the incident involving Trevor Hendrikx can be found here: http://www.eliteleague.co.uk/dops-info-trevor-hendrikx-p194246)
Jesse Mychan also earned himself a Game Penalty after being
undressed by Cullen Eddy as the players all scrambled to be in on the action as
the whistle blew, the final score 5-2 to the home side.
Going into Sunday, the Devils, both on the ice and off, were
raring for revenge and the boys did not hold back in their effort to get it!
After a quick initial review, it was stated that Trevor
Hendrikx would miss the game as the DOPS upheld the automatic one match
suspension that comes with a Match Penalty, with the promise to further review
the incident. The Devils were also
missing Carl Hudson from Sunday’s line-up after he picked up an undisclosed
injury.
Cardiff born Matthew Myers did, however, return to the line
up after serving his two game suspension.
It was certainly a different story in the second match up in
as many games for these two sides.
While Sheffield held the upper hand for the majority of the first period
on Saturday night, Cardiff came out fighting on Sunday – scoring two goals
within the first ten minutes!
As well as being downtrodden on the scoreboard, the Steelers
were also facing a physical beating as the Devils continued to punch
Sheffield-shaped holes in the board as they passed. Both Doug Clarkson and Jesse Mychan received roughing
penalties in the opening period but that was only the beginning of the bruises
for the Northern side.
The deficit only increased for the Steelers going into the
second period, as Mark Richardson added a wonderful power play goal to the
tally, helping himself to the Man of the Match as he went.
Seemingly more awake, the Steelers made an attempt at a come
back in the third period, with troublemaker Tyler Mosienko scoring four minutes
in to the period.
No (attempted) Sheffield come back would be complete without
a bit of rough and tumble, or down right dirty play. Forney found himself inside the penalty box at 46:43 with a
2+10 for check from behind – although it looked like he wrapped his stick
around a Devils’ neck and yanked from where I was sat!
With the Steelers’ plight quelled, Brent Walton added his second
of the night just after the halfway point of the period to restore the three-goal
lead. Jason Hewitt, the guy we all
love to hate, managed to pull one back a minute or so later but the Devils were
not letting this one go… Alternate captain Jake Morrisette helped himself to a
shorthanded, empty net goal to cement the win and secure those all-important
two league points.
After such an exciting weekend, its hard to wait until
Saturday for more Devils’ hockey, but that’s when the Coventry Blaze come to town,
looking to take two league points home before Cardiff travel up to the Skydome
to play it out for crucial Challenge Cup points in their penultimate CC game!
If you can’t make it down to the BBT to cheer on the boys,
make sure you’re there in spirit while you watch the game on the newly priced
Devils’ webcast!
See you soon, Devils’ fans!
