Cardiff Devils 7, Glasgow Clan 3
Captain Joey Martin and his Devils team completed a magnificent Elite League ice hockey weekend, having beaten Sheffield Steelers away and Glasgow Clan at home, both 7-3.
Their success against former EIHL leaders Clan was clinical and convincing, leaving the Scots down and out after one period.
Devils led 4-0 after 20 minutes and made Clan suffer after their trip from Scotland to South Wales.
Remarkably, there were 17 different scorers for Cardiff on a night when team spirit and character came shining through.
Devils scored four powerplay goals and Clan coach Zack Fitzgerald said: “Devils are good on the PP and we could not shut them down.”
Fitzgerald played because of the injuries suffered by Clan. Travis Ehrhardt was back, while Scott Tanski, Mac Howlett, Nolan Laporte and Linden Springer and Craig Peacock were ruled out.
“We had a short bench going into Sheffield with two players suspended and we were great to a man,” said head coach Andrew Lord. “Our first 40 in Sheffield were fantastic.
“Matthew Myers, Batchie (Josh Batch) and Sam Duggan were all bringing it as was every player. The buy-in and commitment was there.
“Yes, we got a few bounces, but we started to execute and that was fun.
🗣Reaction: @cardiffdevils 7️⃣🆚3️⃣ @ClanIHC | #EIHL pic.twitter.com/NJenMSUw6D
— Elite Ice Hockey League | #EIHL (@officialEIHL) December 1, 2019
“We had Masi (Marjamaki) and Redds (Bryce Reddick) back and we tweaked the lines a little. In that first period and most of the second we were really good.”
Masi Marjamaki and Sean Bentivoglio returned to the squad after suspension, although ‘Benti’ was rested to give a niggling injury the chance to improve.
Defenceman Bryce Reddick was moved forward onto the wing and did a good job, while Sean McMonagle took his points tally to 33 in 30 games (6+24).
The Canadian-born Italian international played a key role in helping Frisk Asker win the Norwegian championship last season and is a highly influential D-man alongside Mark Louis.
Gleason Fournier, one of the best skaters in EIHL, was voted man of the match for Devils, who are second in EIHL, three points behind Sheffield Steelers with four games in hand.
Devils head north next weekend when they play Glasgow Clan in Scotland. Their next home fixture is against Nottingham Panthers on Saturday, December 14 (7pm).
What a weekend @cardiffdevils We didn’t lose the league last weekend. We didn’t win it this weekend. Stay the course and #believe
— Steve King (@Tacosteve10) December 1, 2019
Match stats
Scorers, Devils: Blair Riley 1+0, Joey Haddad 1+0, Mike McNamee 1+0, Gleason Fournier 1+2, Matthew Myers 1+0, Sam Jardine 1+0, Stephen Dixon 1+0, Ben Bowns 0+1, Sean McMonagle 0+1, Shaone Morrisonn 0+2, Blair Riley 0+1, Bryce Reddick 0+1, Sam Duggan 0+1, Charles Linglet 0+1, Matt Pope 0+1, Joey Martin 0+1, Joey Haddad 0+1
Clan: Chad Rau 1+2, Matt Beca 1+0, Rasmus Bjerrum 1+0; Scott Jacklin 0+1, Matt Pufahl 0+1, Scott Pitt 0+1, Jordan Heywood 0+1
Period scores (Devils first): 4-0; 1-1 (5-1); 2-2 (7-3)
Shots on goal: Devils (on Patrick Killeen) 36, Clan (on Ben Bowns) 20
Penalties in minutes: Devils 0+6+6=12; Clan 6+0+4=10
Powerplays: Devils 5, Clan 5
Face-offs won: Devils 18, Clan 11
Attendance 2,862
Referees: Tom Pering, Matt Rose
Devils man of the match: Gleason Fournier
4 POINT weekend!! 14 goals! Great effort against 2 top teams. Go @cardiffdevils !!
— Brian Parker (@brian_bparker) December 1, 2019
Other Sunday results: Dundee Stars 1, Belfast Giants 4; Fife Flyers 3, Guildford Flames 4; Coventry Blaze 1, Manchester Storm 4.
Devils team:
Goalie: Ben Bowns (Back-up Thomas Murdy)
First line: Gleason Fournier, Mark Richardson, Charles Linglet, Matthew Myers, Matt Pope
Second line: Sam Jardine, Shaone Morrisonn, Josh Batch, Stephen Dixon, Joey Haddad
Third line: Mark Louis, Sean McMonagle, Mike McNamee, Joey Martin, Blair Riley
Fourth line: Toms Rutkiss, Sam Duggan, Bryce Reddick, Masi Marjamaki
Referees: Tom Pering, Matt Rose
Elite League standings
Team | GP | PTS | W | OTW | L | OTL/SOL | GF | GA | PTS % |
1 Sheffield Steelers | 23 | 28 | 12 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 100 | 74 | 0.61 |
2 Cardiff Devils | 19 | 25 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 67 | 58 | 0.66 |
3 Belfast Giants | 20 | 24 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 59 | 54 | 0.60 |
4 Glasgow Clan | 20 | 23 | 10 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 74 | 72 | 0.58 |
5 Guildford Flames | 18 | 20 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 52 | 47 | 0.56 |
6 Nottingham Panthers | 19 | 20 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 53 | 54 | 0.53 |
7 Fife Flyers | 21 | 20 | 9 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 60 | 66 | 0.48 |
8 Coventry Blaze | 20 | 18 | 9 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 70 | 80 | 0.45 |
9 Manchester Storm | 19 | 17 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 52 | 60 | 0.45 |
10 Dundee Stars | 21 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 61 | 83 | 0.36 |