Captain Jake Morissette led a Devils charge which rocked Panthers at Ice Arena Wales.
Mo’s men fired up a 3,000-plus sell-out attendance with a team performance full of character, commitment and desire in their 6-2 win against Nottingham..
It was a huge improvement on the display during a 4-0 defeat against Sheffield Steelers less than 24 hours earlier and coach Andrew Lord said: “That was one of the gutsier performances I’ve seen in a long time.
“This ranks up there with a lot of the good ones. We learned a lot of lessons at Sheffield.
“The boys were battling from the get-go. Luke Piggott set things off in the second shift when he ran a guy over. He’s probably played less than 20 minutes all season and his performance against Panthers speaks volumes.
“Our captain was phenomenal. Jake has been good for a while now and that isn’t always noticed, but this time the scoreboard showed his contribution.
“He was also great on the penalty kill and he was blocking shots. Overall it was a big night for every guy.”
Morissette played alongside Lord and Paul Crowder, while Mark Louis switched from defence to offence.
“Mo was remarkably consistent over right 60 minute and was constantly moving his feet,” said Lord. “Paul got his legs back. He looks strong again, the guy I remember playing with before.
“He can make plays with a little time and space, while he’s great on face-off and the PK.
“Mark’s move gave us an even amount of bodies to keep out lines the same. That allowed us to flow and the five-man D-corps kept it solid.”
Devils were again without injured players Mark Richardson, Joey Haddad, Patrick Asselin and Justin Faryna, although Lord is hopeful two or three of those at least will be ready for next weekend. Cardiff bounced back from the Sheffield defeat with an impressive win against Panthers.
Morissette (3), Paul Crowder, Josh Batch and Joey Martin scored the goals for Devils, who took control when they scored three goals in four minutes during the second period.
Match stats:
Scorers, Devils: Jake Morissette 3+1, Josh Batch 1+0, Joey Martin 1+0, Paul Crowder 1+2, Andrew Lord 0+2, Drew Paris 0+1, Layne Ulmer 0+1, Andrew Hotham 0+1, Matt Pope 0+1, Sean Bentivoglio 0+1.
Panthers: Ralph Bussieres 1+0, Eric Lindhagen 1+0, Steven Lee 0+1, Zack Phillips 0+1, Jeff Brown 0+1, Yann Sauve 0+1.
Period scores: 1-0; 3-1 (4-1); 2-1 (6-2).
Shots on goal: Devils (on Garnett) 6+11+7=24; Panthers (on Bowns) 11+7+15=33.
Penalties in minutes: Devils 2+0+8=19; Panthers 2+4+2=8.
Powerplays: Cardiff Devils 1/4: Nottingham Panthers 1/5.
Attendance: 3,095
Referee: Stefan Hogarth
Stars of the game: Devils, Jake Morissette; Panthers, Eric Lindhagen.
Tickets for Mark Richardson’s testimonial tomorrow (Tuesday) and Saturday’s are on sale through the Devils online booking system via the club’s official website, call 0800 0842 666 or book in person at Ice Arena Wales reception.