Cardiff Devils 3, Coventry Blaze 4

after sudden death overtime

A goal double by man of the match Andrew Hotham failed to stop Cardiff Devils slipping to defeat against Coventry Blaze at Ice Arena Wales.

Barry Almeida fired a breakaway winner for Blaze in overtime, earning a hard-fought Elite League away win watched by a capacity attendance of 3,088.

Devils did earn one point because the score was tied on 3-3 after regulation time and big rivals Sheffield Steelers also lost, against Belfast Giants in Northern Ireland.

That match also went to overtime with Giants, in second place, clawing back a point behind leaders Devils and moving one point further ahead of Steelers in third.

Nottingham Panthers were a third team to win in overtime, beating Braehead Clan 4-3.

Cardiff now play coach Ryan Finnerty’s Clan in Glasgow on Sunday evening (6pm).

Captain Jake Morissette and his Devils team fought back from 2-0 and 3-1 down to earn their point, but suffered heartache during the extra five minutes.

The home team were pressing and almost scored, but Blaze broke fast and Almeida fired the sudden death winner unassisted.

Hotham scored two Devils goals, while Patrick Asselin netted his eighth of the season.

But they made a slow start, falling 2-0 behind by the end of the first, and were never able to regain control.

There were plenty of good moments and a huge amount of effort from Devils, but Blaze fought hard to take the extra point.

Match stats:

Scorers, Devils: Andrew Hotham 2+1, Patrick Asselin 1+1, Guillaume Doucet 0+2, Joey Martin 0+2,

Blaze: Robin Bergman 1+1, Brett Robinson 1+1, Jordan Pietrus 1+0, Barry Almeida 1+0, Kevin Noble 0+1, Shawn Boutin 0+1.

Period scores (Devils first): 0-2; 2-1 (2-3); 1-0 (3-3); 0-1 (3-4).

Shots on goal: Devils 9+11+11+1=32; Blaze 7+9+6+3=25.

Penalties in minutes: Devils 2+2+2=6; Blaze 0+6+6=12.

Powerplays: Devils 0/5; Blaze 0/2.

Men of the match: Devils, Andrew Hotham; Blaze, Robin Bergman.

Referee: Dean Smith.

Attendance: 3,088.