Challenge Cup Time!

Hello folks!

This week saw the opening matches of the Challenge Cup quarter-finals, with our own Cardiff Devils, as well as the Fife Flyers and Sheffield Steelers, taking the lead in their two-leg series.

Cardiff and Belfast kicked off the festivities on Tuesday, as the Welsh side ventured to the Northern Irish capital to take on the reigning Elite League Champions at the Odyssey Arena. 

Despite missing Matthew Myers and Captain Tyson Marsh, the Devils managed to fight their way through three periods, and the refereeing of Mike Hicks, to come out with a 4-3 win.

After a scoreless first period, Cardiff scored first, through Joey Haddad on the powerplay, to take the lead.  Belfast equalised just over a minute later, through Man of the Match Colin Shields, but even grit and determination was not enough to stop the visiting side from scoring two more second period goals (Lord @ 36:56 and Morrisette @ 39:04), taking a 3-1 lead into the final period.

Cardiff continued their plight early in the third, with a second goal from Jake Morrisette to increase the Devils’ lead to three goals.

However, we all know that Belfast are not a team to lay down when the going gets tough, and the home side fought back gallantly (not a word I would use to describe Darryl Lloyd but eh).  They managed to score two goals in two minutes to bring the deficit back within one, the first of the two coming off a beautiful stretch pass from Calvin Elfring that bypassed every Devils’ player on the ice!

Of course, there had to be some drama with Hicks at the whistle – there is always is, right?  Tuesday night saw Cardiff on the penalty kill for most the final ten minutes, giving the Giants an incredible opportunity to push the game into overtime.   As a result, Doug Clarkson will miss tonight’s game against the Coventry Blaze, after being assessed a five-minute major for Spearing and a Game misconduct.  The DOPS’s decision and explanation on this ban can be found here: http://www.eliteleague.co.uk/ban-for-clarkson-p195694

Meanwhile, while I was having a panic attack as Belfast shot chance after chance into the glove, stick or body of wonder man Ben Bowns, our boys fought hard to keep their lead.  I can safely say I have never been so happy to hear the final buzzer! 

Although I was slightly disappointed we didn’t get to the see the Bownsy Wave…

Wednesday night saw a 6-4 win for the Fife Flyers over the Nottingham Panthers at the National Ice Centre, with the Scottish side icing five different scorers!

And, to round off the Challenge Cup games for this week, Gerad Adams and his Sheffield Steelers crossed the Scottish border to face off against the Dundee Stars, bringing home a 3-0 win to give them the advantage going into their second leg.

This coming week will see the second leg for both Sheffield vs Dundee and Cardiff vs Belfast, as well as the first leg for Coventry vs Braehead – all games taking place on Wednesday at 7:30pm.

But, tonight, we Devils’ fans will watch our boys face off against the Coventry Blaze tonight at the BBT (FO 7:30pm) before they travel up to the NIC tomorrow for an early 4pm FO against the Nottingham Panthers.  Good luck in both fellas, and safe trip to all of the Red Army making the long trip North tomorrow!

Happy hockey folks!

Cardiff Devils vs Belfast Giants (L) 06/12/2014, Cardiff Devils vs Belfast Giants (L) 07/12/2014

Devils 4, Giants 1 - Final (Saturday)

Devils 5, Giants 3 - Final (Sunday

Four points… against Belfast… the defending Elite League champions… enough said, right?

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Only kidding!  Nine goals, 4000 spectators and no Mike Hicks!  Can things get any better for us Devils’ fans right now?! 

I was definitely one happy member of the Red Army as I watched our guys claim four precious league points from the defending League Champions, the Belfast Giants.  Now, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t slightly nervous before Saturday’s game but the Devils certainly pulled out all the stops to demonstrate just how serious they are about their Elite League campaign this year!

Saturday night saw a complete Cardiff Devils’ roster face off in front of a crowd of more than two thousand fans, as the Red Army came out in force – probably because they heard about the clappers being given out on entry!! (Yes, I’m secretly jealous I didn’t get one!  The downside to watching the webcast instead of making the two-hour journey to the Bay!) 

Surprisingly, we had no fighting majors recorded this weekend – unfortunate I know!  Last time we engaged in a double header against the reigning champions, over in the Land of Guinness, we saw Josh Batch giving Giants’ captain Adam Keefe a taste of his own medicine, drawing blood from the pain we all hate to love.  While both sides seemed just as physical this time round, tempers were mostly in control.

Despite that, we did see a bout of handbags in the opening period, after a hit from Trevor Hendrikx (who else, eh?).  We had some hugs and a little of dancing side to side between Hendrikx and Kompon, before ex-NHLer Kevin Westgarth got himelf involved.

Now I was sure Westgarth was going to get third man in; considering I’m usually rubbish at spotting third man in, I thought it was completely obvious!  But, alas, our refs apparently did not think so… In fact, Westgarth was treated to a four minute roughing penalty, while Josh Batch, who jumped in to defend his defensive partner, sat for two.

Shortly after, alternate captain Jake Morrisette officially opened the scoring at 18:48, with his twelfth goal of the season.  I say officially, because the Giants were unfortunate to have a very early goal disallowed.

After a hard fought first period, the Devils’ carried their one goal lead into the second, where they managed to double their lead just over half way through – coming from Joey Martin, who also scored his twelfth goal of the season!

Colin Shields managed to pull one back for the visiting side, assisted by Robby Sandrock and Craig Peacock, at 31:44.  This seemed to revive the Irish side slightly, finishing the period strongly.

Going into the third, tensions were high.  With the BBT rocking, both sides were definitely putting on a show, especially between the pipes.  While the two teams battled in the neutral zone, Ben Bowns and Carsen Chubak stood on their heads in a competition to see who would be the first to fall.  As seems to be the way when these two teams come together, it was the visiting fans that were to be disappointed.

His offense struggling to come up with the goods, it was up to Carsen Chubak to keep his team in the game and for the most part, he did extremely well.  But as the game wore on and legs began to fail, Chubak slipped and Matty Myers was there to take advantage, not once but twice!

With Sawada and Hendrikx in the box after another round of handbags, things were heating up.  But Myers was unfazed as he shot the puck past the Giants’ goaltender, first on 4-on-4 play and again ninety seconds later whilst on the man advantage after Robby Sandrock was sent to the box for high stick.

After such an explosive ending, is it any wonder that the BBT was mayhem on Sunday, with even more of the Red Army piling in to see all of the action?!

Like Saturday, it was unclear before faceoff, which way the game was going to go.  Many expected the Giants to come fighting, desperate for revenge after falling 4-1 the previous night.  However, it was the Devils that came out raring.

And raring they were!  With just four and a half minutes played, Joey Haddad added his thirteenth goal of the season to give his team the early lead.  While the game had been end to end for the opening minutes, the Devils had been pressurising Chubak and it was only a matter of time before he let one slip.

Not even a minute later, Jesse Mychan, with his family watching all the way over in Canada, had a brilliant breakaway opportunity to double the lead, but was interfered with, earning himself a penalty shot!  Unfortunately Chubak read him like a book and was able to get down before Jesse could shoot the puck through his legs.

But never mind – Brent Walton, who was one of four players sitting on twelve goals for the season so far, could not be out done by Haddad and also added his thirteenth goal to give the Devils’ a two-nothing lead with only five minutes played!

With things looking bad for the visiting side already, Coach Thornton used up his time out early, giving his players a quick break to evaluate their position.  But it must have been hard to make himself heard as the volume continued to increase as the Red Army got into full swing!

Frustrated as they were, the Giants were struggling to find the offensive strategy to decrease the deficit.  Most of their shots were coming from outside of the zone and even Adam Keefe could not goad Jesse Mychan into a bit of rough and tumble – Jesse just laughed!

Normally both extremely physical teams anyway, it seemed impossible for the hits to get bigger, harder or even more bruising!  Belfast were definitely taking out their frustration on any in black that moved, but the home side was not going to take it lying down – big checks were coming from every line on both sides and it was extremely surprising that we did not see any gloves flying from either side.

But the Giants’ desperate efforts were rewarded with just over seven minutes left in the opening period when, with Andrew Hotham in the box for slashing, Ray Sawada managed to push the puck under Bowns to make it a one-goal game.  There was some controversy over the goal, with the assisting player, Kompon, playing the puck with a broken stick, but Matt Thompson gave a good goal.

It seems all the Devils’ wanted in the scoring action tonight, as Joey Martin added a third Devils’ goal, at 16:37 (with Darryl Lloyd in the box – surprise, surprise), giving him thirteen goals for the season so far!  When they say hockey teams are close, it seems they do actually do everything together!

To round off an extremely eventful period, Adam Keefe managed to grab another goal for his team, giving them a slight confidence boost going into the second period of what has become an extremely close game.

It was this confidence that saw them camped out in the Devils’ zone at the beginning of the second period, forcing long shifts for both Hendrikx and Batch and Bowns to put on the show of his life!  We definitely saw some highlight-reel material from both goaltenders this weekend.

With the pushing and shoving at an all time high, it was only a matter of time before someone was sent to the box.  And there were several penalties that went by without any definite chances for either side.  It wasn’t until Brockwell was sent to the box for delay of game with just over ten minutes left to play that things got interesting.

With only one goal in it and both sides playing a tight game, it was definitely the case that the next goal was crucial in turning the tides.  And unfortunately for the ruckus that was the Red Army, Jeff Mason managed to slot on in shorted handed to give the Giants the boost they needed, tying the game for the first time.

Tensions continued to build as the second ticked away but the score remained the same going into the final period. 

But despite a show of tired legs at the end of the second period, the Devils were certainly not down and out!  With just a minute and sixteen played, Andrew Hotham added his eighth goal of the season to give the Welsh side the lead once more.           

And to finally round off the scoring for the evening, with a beautiful sniper shot from the wing, player-coach Andrew Lord showed us all how it is done, celebrating the win by pulling on the emblem on the front of his jersey!  Team pride is definitely what we like to see!!

With the fifth Devils’ goal coming with over ten minutes still to play, the Giants were desperate to get themselves back in the game.  Tempers were running high as Giants swiped at Devils and at themselves!  Things only got worse as they had their second goal of the weekend disallowed for offside.

After using his timeout so early in the game, all Steven Thornton could do was stand behind the bench and watch as his player desperately tried to decrease the deficit.  He pulled Chubak with less than two minutes to go, giving his side the extra man but the Devils had the crowd on the ice with them and nothing was going to get through.

Unfortunately for Darryl Lloyd, our boys in black were certainly feeling the energy in the BBT, as Tyson Marsh ploughed the Belfast no. 72 into the boards.  Lloyd was slow to get up and had to be helped from the ice, although he did leave on his feet – So did Tyson, for that matter, when he was given a 5+Game for boarding.  Hopefully we won’t see too many repercussions from that, and we hope that Darryl Lloyd is okay.

Despite the Giants’ six on four advantage for the final thirty five seconds, the game was finished and the Red Army cheered for a fantastic four point weekend!!

So after an amazing weekend against the defending Elite League Champions, the Devils now look ahead to next weekend, as they face off against two of the top teams in the league this year.  Friday night sees a 7:30pm game against the Sheffield Steelers in Tin Town, before they return home to rest up on Saturday to face off against the league-leading Braehead Clan on Sunday!

Make sure you don’t miss a minute of the action this weekend! 

Unfortunately for me, this is my last post until after Christmas now, so I certainly wish you all a Happy Hockey Christmas!!! 

Let’s Go Devils!!

Cardiff Devils @ Belfast Giants (L) 08/11/2014, Cardiff Devils vs Belfast Giants (L) 09/11/2014

Devils 4, Giants 7 - Final (Saturday)

Devils 3, Giants 2 - Final (Sunday)

To the Land of Guinness we go….

Hello Devils’ fans!

This weekend brought Adam Keefe and his Giants into the ring against our Cardiff Devils, with Keefe showing off his shiny new toy, former-NHLer Kevin Westgarth.  With both games standing room only, we were definitely treated to a show!

Saturday night saw an unfortunate loss for the boys in red.  Despite two powerplay goals and a lucky bounce on the penalty kill for Jesse Mychan, the Devils fell 7-4 in the O.

Things started slowly for the Devils, with number one pain Darryl Lloyd lighting up the scoreboard for the home side less than five minutes into the game.  Despite outshooting their rivals and going on the man advantage at 13:07 (with David Phillips in the box for holding), the Devils were not able to levelled the score until 17:57, when, with Dougie Clarkson in the box for elbowing, Jesse Mychan was in the right place at the right time, batting home a miss-pass from Robby Sandrock.

The big news this past week has been Giants’ new signing Kevin Westgarth.  The Windsor, Ontario native has spent most of the past five seasons playing in the top flight, icing for 169 NHL games in his career.  Coming from the Calgary Flames last season, Westgarth has also played for current Stanley Cup Champions the LA Kings, as well as the Carolina Hurricanes.  From a girl’s prospective, I am very jealous!  Imagine spending all that time with those Staal brothers…!

But anyway, there was certainly a lot of hype surrounding the Canadian’s debut – and what an impression he made!

Just four minutes into the second period, the new number 15 took a lovely pass from Ray Savada before shooting the puck glove side on Benny Bowns to give the Giants a 2-1 lead.

Recently, I have discovered the wonder that is HTMI cables and am now forcing my entire family to watch the joy that is the Cardiff Devils on the big TV in the living room.  Good job too, because my laptop screen would not have done Josh Batch justice in that second period on Saturday night!

With a right and a left and another right, Josh had me on my feet in my living room, cheering as he showed Adam Keefe he could not push us around anymore.  For the past couple of seasons, Keefe has been the guy we all hate to love – coming into the BBT and showing us who is boss.  But from the looks of things on Saturday night, our young Brits are not going to stand for it anymore.

All I can say is, well done Batchy!

Despite spirits being lifted as the blood fell from Keefe’s eyebrow,  the Devils suffered through two quick Giants’ powerplay goals as Tyson Marsh sat for slashing.  Unfortunately for Bowns, the second goal (from Saurette at 29:00) saw him out of his net trying to retrieve the puck – which took an unlucky bounce and ended up at the end of Saurette’s stick in front of an empty net. 

But we are never down and out!  After a horrible hit from behind on Andrew Hotham, Darryl Lloyd was awarded a 5+game, giving the Devils a five minute powerplay.  Man of the Weekend (forget man of the match! Although he did win that twice this past weekend…) Dougie Clarkson took full advantage and shot the puck home to lessen the deficit to two!

The Department of Player Safety reviewed Lloyd’s penalty and he was served with a one-match ban – leaving him out of Sunday’s rematch.

(Any information on the decision and a video explanation can be found here: http://www.eliteleague.co.uk/one-match-ban-for-lloyd-p194631)

Ray Savada continued the Giants’ scoring streak at the beginning of the third period, assisted by Robby Sandrock and Mark Garside with just twenty six seconds played.

Captain Adam Keefe, Barbie plaster on his brow (kidding!), also pushed one past GB netminder Ben Bowns, forcing Bench Coach Neil Francis to pull the goalie and replace him with backup Mike Will – making his season debut for the Devils.

Despite the 6-2 deficit for the visiting side, our boys were determined to have one more go.  With less than ten minutes left in the game, no. 93 got his second goal of the night, while Calvin Elfring sat for delay of game, before Captain Tyson Marsh added the Devils’ fourth goal just a few minutes later.

With four minutes left to play, there was certainly time for the Welsh side to turn things around – we’ve seen them do it!  But, while the Devils’ did outshoot the Giants in the final period, the bounces were not going their way and Kevin Saurette finished off the game with an empty net goal with just over a minute left to play.

On the bright side, Mike Will finished the game with a 1.00 SV%.... Silver linings eh?

With only the plane ride home to dwell, 6pm Sunday came around quickly and everyone was ready for some revenge. 

Both teams were icing short benched – Hudson, Culligan and Martin missing for the Devils, and Kompon, McCutcheon, Murphy and Lloyd missing for the Giants – but this certainly did not effect the intensity of the game!

As always, the Devils’ opened strong, throwing hit after hit – if it moved, it was going to be buried into the boards!  With his strong lead from the front ethos, Coach Andrew Lord demonstrated that we would not be giving an inch, let alone a mile!

Unfortunately, Darnell (our lovely ref for the weekend – not!) took offense to a couple of Lord’s hits and he found himself in the box twice before they’d even played more than half a period! 

While the rest of the first period was relatively quiet – despite the high intensity of both teams – but all that tension came boiling over the top at the beginning of the second. 

Kevin Westgarth was warmly welcomed into the BBT, by the Devils’ captain Tyson Marsh’s right hook, after Westgarth laid cancer-fighting Dr. Luke Piggot into the boards with a particularly hard hit.  While no. 15 is considered to be one of the toughest guys in the game (meaning that Lloyd has got someone to watch his back when he upsets people now), there was no way Marsh was letting him off for that one.  Westgarth had already tried to nail the Devils’ defenseman a couple of times without success, adding to the tension between the two Canadians.

Most would give the win to Westgarth for this one, but Tyson should definitely get major points for defending the doctor!

With tensions slightly satisfied, it was back to business.  Like the previous night, Belfast took the lead, with a goal from none other than Kevin Westgarth himself – his second goal of the weekend – at 33:31.

But the Welsh side had the crowd on their side, and Matt Myers rewarded the fans with an equaliser, nineteen seconds before the period break!

Things were neck and neck going into the final period and both teams were desperate to get that go-ahead goal!  Hell, I was desperate for that go-ahead goal!

I was quite impressed that I didn’t throw my dinner all over the floor when Joey Haddad sent the puck flying behind Andrew Dickson (who looked slightly nervous as he tripped onto the ice at the beginning of warm-ups – and yes, he literally tripped over as he stepped onto the ice!  The game hadn’t even started and he was giving the Red Army ammunition!), giving the Devils’ their first lead of the game.

And you know I could see Doug’s smile from Hereford when he added the Devils’ third goal of the night, and his third goal of the weekend!!  Despite taking a lot of criticism at the beginning of the season, Doug Clarkson has really stepped into his role in the BBT and now has seven goals so far this season, whilst demonstrating he will not be pushed around!  In my opinion, he definitely deserved the MOM awards this weekend.

3-1 up and it was looking good for the Devils coming into the second half of the final period; Bowns was holding his own and the forecheck was strong. 

Despite Devils’ pressure, David Phillips managed to slip one past Bowns to bring Belfast within and suddenly it was all about defense!  Both Josh Batch (roughing @ 454:48) and Trevor Hendrikx (cross-checking @ 58:54) took unfortunate penalties in the closing minutes and in the final seconds and Dickson was pulled to create a 6-on-4 situation for the Devils. 

All that mattered was blocking shot after shot until the buzzer sounded – I haven’t been that nervous since watching the final seconds of Game 7 in 2009! 

Luckily time ran down, and with it ran the Devils’ with their two league points!

Looking forward to this coming weekend, the Devils’ are off to Nottingham on Saturday, where they face a Panthers’ team sans Nathan Robinson after his departure this week. 

Sunday sees the return of Chris Blight and Brad Plumton as the Stars come to town.

With the wonders of the Internet, there is no reason to miss either fixture!  Make sure you’re watching!!!

Let’s Go Devils!

Cardiff Devils @ Belfast Giants 03/10/2014 (L), Cardiff Devils @ Belfast Giants 04/10/2014 (L)

Devils 2, Giants 3 - Final (Friday 3rd)

Devils 2, Giants 5 - Final (Saturday 4th)

Off to the land of Guinness travelled the Red Army this weekend, as our Cardiff Devils battled the Belfast Giants.  Coming off a fantastic four point weekend in the Challenge Cup, the Devils were desperate to make the same impression in their league campaign.

With Jaeger bombs flowing and balloons flying, the Red Army were in high spirits (and not just from the amount of alcohol consumed on the flight over!), only slightly disheartened by the narrow 3-2 loss on Friday night.  Despite a hard fought game, silly penalties cost the Welsh side resulting in a last minute goal to give the home side the win.

Saturday night saw a fan base raring for revenge, only to be disappointed, as the Devils were defeated 5-2 after two third period shorthanded goals.

Let’s just say: it was definitely a weekend of two halves.

Friday’s game was plagued with silly penalties and tired penalty killers; despite each and every man in red playing his heart out, ill discipline meant nil-point – a result that even the Giants’ fans were surprised by!

While we can normally find fault in the EIHL officials (and trust me, there were still faults this weekend), both sides have agreed (for the most part!) that all calls made on Friday night were fair.

It has, however, been made known that there were some awful non-calls for both sides.

When we did get the upper hand we were, as usual this season, looking very dangerous (straight from the Giant’s mouth!) and have been described as a joy to watch… how many opposing fans would actually admit to that if it wasn’t true eh?

With fantastic goaltending between the pipes, with Bowns having another sensational game, and a ‘superb’ forecheck, we really were cheated out of those all important points, by our own silliness!

Saturday night told a completely different story.  With 15 powerplay goals already this season (in all competitions including Friday’s game), it’s a little surprising that the boys weren’t able to slot home more than one goal on the ten powerplay chances Dean Smith and Liam Sewell awarded during the Giants’ 5-2 win. 

Fans from both sides of the crease have commented on the lack of physical intensity demonstrated by the Devils on Saturday night, whether the Trevor Hendrikx hole in the line up had anything to do with this is unclear. 

Unfortunately the talented D-man missed most of the action this weekend due to a terrible case of the flu – we can all empathise with that eh?

So with sore heads and voices galore, the Red Army bus was a slightly (only slightly though!) quieter place to be as the Devils made the long trip home.  Hopefully the guys will put this weekend behind us and build on the entertaining start to the season, continuing to play the style of hockey we all love to see.

We (the figurative we, as I will be stuck behind a bar at work L) welcome the Hull Stingrays to the BBT on Saturday night (FO 7pm) for a Challenge Cup match up… before heading up to the Coventry, ew, for a 6pm FO.

Make sure you are in the Bay this weekend, as the new owners Steve King and Co. take in their first game – Let’s show them how we put on a show!

Cardiff Devils vs Belfast Giants (L) 18/11/2012

Devils 4, Giants 3 - OT Final

Coming off a thrilling 9-1 domination of the Dundee Stars the night before, the Cardiff Devils were raring to go, as they got ready to go to war with league leaders Belfast Giants. The BBT was rocking and the chances of a four point weekend were high!

The game proved to be s physical one from the start, with both sides landing some big hits. We saw a couple of holding penalties from either side but nothing major. The Giants' Darryl Lloyd got the game going properly with the first of the two Belfast goals in the first, with Craig Peacock following with the second five minutes later.

Despite having a good first period, the Devils slumped in the second, resulting in several penalties, giving Belfast captain Adam Keefe the chance to lengthen their lead, which if course he did. With the Giants' 3-0 lead and Bari Mackenzie going off injured with a suspected ripped abductor muscle, it was not looking good for the Welsh side going into the third.

Despite a worried home crowd, Cardiff were not down and out. With Clarke in the box for hooking, NHL signing Paul Bissonnette proved once again what a star find he is, scoring the Devils' first on the powerplay, opening the onslaught of Devils' goals!

Following his Canadian teammate's lead, Josh Batch, who has proved to be a very successful power forward, sent the puck top shelf to make it a one goal game. To heighten the excitement, Mac Faulkner levelled the game with just eight minutes remaining. There were some handbag exchanged, Deeds and Keefe in the middle of it all.

Neither side managed to get that winning goal within regulation, so off to overtime we went. But the Red Army had no reason to worry; with his second goal of the evening, Mac Faulkner, earning himself the 1st star of the night, scored the GWG just 2.38 into the five minute extra period, securing those precious two points and completing the Devils' four point weekend.

After a thrilling run this weekend, the Devils will be looking to continue it through next week, with an away trip to Nottingham on Saturday, before returning home on Sunday to face the Coventry blaze, a match that is sure to set tempers soaring. Book your tickets early so you don't miss out! Let's go Devils!

Cardiff Devils @ Belfast Giants (L) 13/10/2012

Devils 3, Giants 6 - Final

  It will be a disappointing flight home for the Devils’ fans that travelled across to Belfast to watch Cardiff take on the Giants at the Odyssey arena.  6-3 was the final score, with the home side coming out on top.

  Devils were quick off the mark, starting the scoring at just 2.22, their first coming from Tyson Marsh, the only assist going to Man of the Match Phil Hill.  Unfortunately, this early lead only gave the Giants the motivated they needed and within 60 seconds of the opening goal, Belfast captain Adam Keefe had equalised.  His team rallied behind him and by the time the clock hit 10 minutes, the Giants were 3-1 up, Champagne and Rycroft scoring respectively. 

  Fouriner added a fourth to Belfast’s tally just after the 16-minute mark.

  After being out muscled throughout the first, it was time for the Welsh side to pick up their game and show their fans a good time.  And boy, did they ever…. Despite the Giants playing a slightly better class of hockey, Cardiff proved they were not down and out, scoring twice in quick succession during the second minute of the second period.  A powerplay goal from Devin Didiomete, followed up by a powerful shot from Phil Hill got the away block roaring. 

  With the deficit cut down to one, Cardiff were energised enough to hold off the Giants, finishing the period just one goal behind the home side.

  If things were looking up, they didn’t last long.  Cardiff definitely stepped it up in the third, playing a better style of hockey, but Belfast were right there with them.  Clarke added the Giants’ fifth goal just  minutes into the period, with Keefe scoring his second of the night just five minutes later.  Devils looked to be in with a chance when Darnell awarded a penalty shot after a trip on breakaway, but, after a slip-up by Davies, Cardiff failed to capitalise and the game finished 6-3.

  With no Sunday game this week, the Devils have penalty of time to rest and recuperate from this devastating loss, and will hopefully be ready to show that they are back on form on Friday (19^th October), when they head to the Motorpoint to face off against the Sheffield Steelers.  Puck drop is at 7.30pm, but if you can’t make it up, you will find live updates at Match Night Live (http://www.the-inferno.co.uk/mnl/).  Let’s Go Devils!

Cardiff Devils vs Belfast Giants (L) 27/09/2012

Cardiff 0, Belfast 4 - Final

  It was time for the Red Army to mobilise once more as the Belfast Giants came to town last night!  After a thrilling 6-5 overtime victory over the Nottingham Panthers, which had everyone in the BBT biting their nails in anticipation, morale has been lifted in the Bay and everyone was excited to see the Devils fight it out for those crucial points.  Can they pull off another fantastic performance?

  The first period didn't start off as most in red would have liked; with an early powerplay goal from Rycroft putting the Giants ahead, things were quiet.  The home crowd were treated to some huge hits, by fan favourite Max Birbraer and serial chirper Devin Didiomete, which got the Red Army roaring but the period finished with just the one goal, despite the large amount of shots taken by both teams.

  Having clearly put the first period behind them, the Devils' came out for the second looking more confident in themselves.  The passing had greatly improved and the Giants' goaltender Stephen Murphy was putting on a brilliant display, whilst trying to keep his team ahead.  End to end action followed throughout the early stages of the period, with the Giants beginning to exert more pressure on the South Wales side.

  While the passing had improved from the first, it was the power play that suffered during the second.  The Devils were gifted two advantages in quick succession around the 25 minute mark but failed to capitalise on the chance, with the Giants having some good shots on goal despite being a player down!  This domination continued as the Giants were awarded a few power plays of their own, with Devils' fans watching on as referee Mike Hicks rewrote the rule book, putting Cardiff's Didiomete in the box for 'Clipping', Kenton Smith following behind shortly after.

  Birbraer continued to rouse the crowd with some extremely powerful hits but Murphy was immoveable in the Giants' net, so the period finished with the Giants still leading by one.

  The luck was definitely on the side of the Irish, with a succession of early third period goals putting the Belfast side four goals ahead, leaving Cardiff a lot of work to do if they were willing to fight for those all important points.  Fans and players from the Welsh side were looking lost entering the final five minutes, everyone praying that they would be able to pull something out of the bag.  Unfortunately, any attempts were too little, too late and the Giants' skated away with the points.

  Despite the disappointment, the Cardiff Devils will be shaking off the loss and throwing themselves back onto the ice on Saturday 29th September, when the Edinburgh Capitals cross over the Welsh border.  There's everything to play for and looks to be an interesting game.  Puck drops at 7pm, make sure you're there to support the boys!  Let's Go Devils!

(Can't make the game?  Follow along at www.the-inferno.co.uk/mnl for match night updates!)

Cardiff Devils @ Belfast Giants 04/02/12

03/02/2012

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!

Cardiff Devils @ Belfast Giants 12/11/11

Devils 2, Giants 1 - Final

  It was clear that the results from last weekends games, especially the 3-1 defeat over Nottingham on Saturday, has definitely boosted the Devils' confidence.  With Mark Smith being the only scratch, on account of  recovering from concussion-like symptoms, everything was looking good for the Welsh side as they prepared to take on the league-leading Giants.

  As we all know, it is a weekend for remembering and so, the players and fans took a minute out before the game started to applaud for a loyal Giants' fan who had recently passed on.  Once the applause had died down, it was down to business.  After losing to the Giants twice in as many games played against them, the Devils were gunning for revenge.  They came out fighting, with some serious end-to-end action, but were struggling to get the puck on the net.  With the shots on goal finally starting to climb, the Devils were playing well but just could not capitalize.  Both teams threw some big hits and some even bigger shots, with Devils' Matzka and Dobben going close and the Giants' Dowd challenging Stevie Lyle, but neither team could seal the deal.

  It was clearly tense in the Odyssey Arena, with neither side managed to get ahead.  At 7:40, Max Birbraer was sent to the box for tripping and the Giants threw their-all into the powerplay, getting some great chances but failing to make more of it.  Devils managed a couple of shorthanded breakaways that came to nothing, as well as killing the penalty.  But it seemed that the Devils' fire had been ignited.  At 9:26, Phil Hill put the puck behind Stephen Murphy, with the only assist going to Scott Matzka.  In true Devils' fashion, they followed up with a penalty (S Smith-slashing-11:50).  Once again the Devils' PK unit held strong and when Giants' Dowd was called up for holding, the Devils PP unit put in a good performance, though they failed to capitalize on the man advantage.  A couple of Devils' penalties followed throughout the remaining minutes of the first, but the score remained the same.  End of first, 1-0 Devils.

  Despite the Devils leading 1-0, the Giants came out with the advantage - just over a minute of powerplay action.  True to their form throughout the first period, the Giants threw their all at the net but both netminder and PK unit were holding steady, with a few shorthanded attempts getting throughout.  On the other hand, they piled on the pressure on the PP but unfortunately had as much luck as the Irish.  Both teams were starting to get a bit antsy and the hits were coming thick and fast.  Due to this, the Welsh side may have been getting sloppy, with Giants getting passed them to take shots and make good plays.  Captain Stuart MacRae was sent to the box for slashing and the Giants did not fail to use this advantage.  Jeff Mason leveled the score at 25:49.  But the Devils were determined; at 26:40, Kenton Smith put Devils ahead once more, on a delayed penalty.

  The rest of the second period followed with penalties.  At one point, it looked like Belfast were going to equalize, but Frank the Tank managed to get in the way, getting called up for interference in the process.  Second finishes 2-1 Devils.

  With the third came a new kind of desperation for the Giants, who were trying everything to get that equalizing goal.  Unfortunately for them, Lyle and the defense held strong.  Down the other end, Cardiff were also failing to widen the deficit.  With no penalties and no goals in the final twenty minutes, the game finished 2-1 Devils.

  Making sure to follow along with the Devils as they take on the Clan at the earlier time of 6:30pm, in the BBT; Let's Go Devils!

Cardiff Devils vs Belfast Giants 15/10/11

Devils 2, Giants 6 - Final

 It's hockey night in the BBT and the Giants are in town to take on your Cardiff Devils!  Coming off a three point weekend, the Devils were looking to add those precious two points to their tally.  Unfortunately, as he is still recovering from an injury sustained in training, Mark Smith did not ice for the Devils, and the Giants were missing Brock McBride and Jeremy Rebek, although former-Devils Jon Pelle did ice for the Giants.

  This was the second meeting in Cardiff for these two teams, with the first ending in a 4-3 shootout victory for the visitors, and they were ready and raring to go at the beginning of this rematch.  So ready in fact, that player/assistant coach Scott Matzka and Giants' forward Derek LeBlanc got up close and personally before the puck was even dropped; no penalties came from the game of handbags.  Devils' captain got the game going with a delay of game penalty just before the minute mark, but the Devils managed to kill the penalty.  After about five minute of 'good feisty' play, with chances coming for both sides, Devils' power-forward Phil Hill was sent to the box for a holding penalty.  The Giants capitalized on the man-advantage, a powerplay goal being scored by former-Devil Jon Pelle.  It isn't until about ten minutes when the Devils equalize with a goal from Canadian Brad Voth.  End of first period, 1-1.

  Second period, and it started with a bang.  Thirty-four seconds, Jon Pelle added his second goal of the night, doubling the Giants' lead.  The Devils were desperate to level the score, taking shot after shot, but not being able to capitalize.  Half way through the period, the Giants were awarded a penalty shot, due to goaltender interference, which was saved by Stevie Lyle.  The action then went up the ice, and the Devils scored the equalizing goal, coming off Scott Dobben's stick.  But, luck just wasn't on the Devils' side tonight, as the Giants managed to put two more behind Lyle before the period was over, the first coming from Jeff Mason and the other giving Jon Pelle his hat-trick.  Second period ended 4-2 Giants.  The third saw two more Giants' goals, from LeBlanc and Keefe and a range of minor penalties.  Final score 6-2 Giants.

  The next home game is on Saturday, against Dundee, FO at 7pm.  Get down to the BBT and cheer the boys on!  Let's Go Devils!

Cardiff Devils vs Belfast Giants 10/09/11

Devils 3, Giants 4 - SO Final

  It was Hockey Night in Cardiff tonight and it was sure to be a good one, with the Belfast Giants coming to town.  With both recent transfer Jon Pelle and our very own Max Birbraer out with injury, it was certain that both teams would struggle a little without key players on the ice.  Despite this, both teams managed to accumulate three goals and fought their way through three regular periods, one overtime period and a shootout.  

Unfortunately, shootouts are not a Devils’ strong point and Belfast came away with the extra point.

   With it being the ten-year-anniversary of 9/11 on Sunday, the BBT was silent for two minutes prior to the singing of the national anthem, but this extra time seemed to get the Devils pumped up extra tight, because, just short of a minute in, up-and-coming Brit Sam Smith shot the puck into the back of the net.  New import Jeff Pierce, who had a tremendous game last Sunday, netting two of the four goals against the Panthers, followed Smith’s lead, and doubled the Devils’ lead to two.  This put them 2-0 up before two minutes of play had even passed. 

  However, not wanting to feel left out, the Giants pulled it back to a one goal game, when Craig Peacock shot one passed Lyle.  The Devils’ own giant, Canadian Brad Voth, obviously didn’t like this, as he came back with the Devils’ third goal, at 13:48 in the 1^st.  To round off the 1^st, Matzka got himself ten minute misconduct.

  Now the 1^st may have seen an onslaught of goals, the 2^nd brought an onslaught of penalties.  Everyone knows that Cardiff is the tallest, and most probably the heaviest, team in the league and they weren’t afraid to use their size tonight.  Whether it was coming from Voth who, at 6’5”, is intimidating to just stand next, or Smith, who doesn’t usually dish out the hits, the Giants will definitely have some ice-shaped bruises in the morning.  Some were even self-inflicted…

  With Belfast getting a goal halfway through the 2^nd, the score was 3-2 going into the 3^rd, which served to be one of the calmer periods of play.  Most of the handbags were thrown in the 2^nd, so everyone was now focused on getting that extra goal.  Unfortunately for Devils' fans, the goal came for the Giants, when Garside pushed on passed Lyle.  Due to neither side being able to get a lead in the last few minutes, although both sides came pretty close, the game went into overtime. 

  Just like throughout the rest of the game, the overtime period saw penalties and near chances, but nothing played out for either team.  Finally, it came down to the shootout.  Belfast shot first, missing, with our own Captain following in the same.  The next two shooters, one Giant and one Devils, both missed.  Scott Matzka stepped up and had his saved by Murphy.  Coming up for his second shot, the Giants’ Douchet managed to post one in the back of the next.  If our final shooter failed to score, it was game over.  And, boy, did that fat lady sing when MacRae’s shot missed its target.

  But never mind, there’s always next time.  Next game is next Saturday, when former captain Ryan Finnerty returns to the BBT with the Sheffield Steelers.  Let’s Go Devils!

Cardiff Devils @ Belfast Giants (EL/CC) 05/02/11

Devils 0, Giants 4 - Final

  What a time to be a Devils fan!  One minute Cardiff are on the up, the next they are being shutout.  Where's the team that won twenty-one games in a row?  We need them now!

  To be honest, it wasn't looking that bad at the end of the first.  With a scoreless first, the Red Army weren't too worried.  And the score wasn't too degrading at the end of the second; only 1-0 Belfast.  Cardiff could easily come back from that.

  It all went downhill in the third.  Cardiff couldn't even put the puck in the net on the powerplay.  Instead, Belfast scored two shorthanded goals, two minutes apart.  It's almost like Cardiff were asleep!

  Shots weren't in the favor of Cardiff either.  Stevie Lyle managed to stop 35 out of 39 shots, whereas the Giants' tender, Stephen Murphy, stopped all 23 of Cardiff's attempts.

  More bad news for Cardiff, when it was announced No. 16, Tylor Michel, was to receive a 5-match ban.  Michel, who received 19 PIMs in the Giants' game, has received the discipline for a sucker punch on a Belfast forward.  But Michel wasn't the worst of the Devils for PIMs; No. 26, Brad Voth (who is well known for racking up the PIMs), managed to accumulate 30 PIMs all by himself.  Both players mentioned above dropped their gloves at one point.

  All in all, not the best game for Cardiff.  To make it worse, it was the first leg of the Challenge Cup Semi-Final as well.  Oh well, maybe we can do better next time.