Cardiff Devils turn to a Slovakian challenge following their home and away Aladdin Cup double-header against Nottingham Panthers.

Head coach Andrew Lord and his Devils were edged out 11-8 by Panthers over two fiercely contested matches and now play Poprad HK from Slovakia in back-to-back home fixtures next weekend.

Lord’s men are some way from full strength in pre-season, although goalie Ben Bowns and Layne Ulmer both faced Panthers in Cardiff Bay after missing the way leg.

First post-game interview of the season with @AndrewLord17 thanks to @IceTimeTV & @gazza272 👇https://t.co/5TYoFRO5Z4

— Cardiff Devils (@cardiffdevils) August 13, 2018

Joey Martin, Justin Faryna and Matthew Myers all missed the home fixture again not Panthers, while Devils still could add one more player to their roster.

They currently have five defenceman and are in need of one more to make up the three pairs. Josh Batch played on D in Nottingham, while Craig Moore dropped back on Sunday.

There is still a lot for Devils to work on in training, particularly on powerplays and penalty kills, as they play for the speed and skill of Champions League hockey followed by the more physical bump and grind of Elite League play.

Panthers and Devils tied 5-5 in the first game, while Nottingham’s powerplay made Devils pay on the way to a 6-3 win over Devils the next evening.

“It’s disappointing to lose, but we are six days in and as a coach I have to check myself a little,” says Lord. “I can’t get too much on the guys at this point.

“Systematically it wasn’t not great. We competed, maybe a little more on Saturday. Our legs went out us a little bit in the home leg.

“We are short on guys, which is unusual at this stage, but we were able to get guys like Rutkis, Batch, Moore and Piggott ice time out there.”

 

 

It took 38 seconds for the Panthers to open the scoring with Luke Pither beating Bowns after a defensive turnover behind the goal.

Devils tied the game with a powerplay strike from Gleason Fournier at four minutes, 18 seconds and the first period ended 1-1.

Straight from the opening face-off to start the middle period, Charles Linglet fed a perfect pass to Matt Pope, who tipped the puck past Mike Garnett to give the Devils a 2-1 lead after 20-19.

Panthers tied the game, again on the powerplay, with Jon Rheault finding the back of the net at 27-59.  

A bad line change saw Devils called for too many men on the ice at 36-52 and on the ensuing powerplay Panthers scored again to take 3-2 lead through Tyler Biggs.

The visitors came out flying In the final period and built up their lead with goals Jordan Kelsall (42-03) and Brett Perlini (49-03).  Panthers led 5-2, although Devils pulled a goal back with one minute, nine seconds remaining through Joey Haddad on the powerplay.

With Bowns pulled and Devils pressing for another goal, Panthers cleared the zone and scored an empty netter to make it 6-3 with 45 seconds to play.

Devils are still some way from where they want to be for the start of their CHL matches, but that opening fixture is still 18 days away and Lord has a full week working with his team this week.

To book tickets for any pre-season or CHL games: CLICK HERE or phone 0800 0842 666.

Pre-season tickets are £2 cheaper than the normal ticket prices for 2018-19.

Cardiff Devils early fixtures and results list in August, including pre-season matches and Champions League group fixtures.

August

Saturday 11: Nottingham Panthers 5, Cardiff Devils 5

Sunday 12: Cardiff Devils 3, Nottingham Panthers 6 (Panthers won 11-8 on aggregate)

Saturday 18: Cardiff Devils v HK Poprad (7pm, pre-season)

Sunday 19: Cardiff Devils v HK Poprad (6pm, pre-season)

Saturday 25: Cardiff Devils v Coventry Blaze (7pm, pre-season)

Sunday 26: Coventry Blaze v Cardiff Devils (5.15pm, pre-season)

Thursday 30: Cardiff Devils v Red Bull Salzburg (7.30pm, Champions League)