Cardiff Devils coach Andrew Lord. Pic: David Williams.

‘Our Guys Excited By Giant Challenge In Cup’ Says Devils Coach Andrew Lord Ahead Of Quarter-Final

Head coach Andrew Lord and his Cardiff Devils head for Northern Ireland intent on an ice hockey revenge mission.

Belfast Giants and Devils, the most successful Elite League Challenge Cup clubs over the last five seasons, clash in a quarter-final to be decided over two legs. The  have lifted the trophy twice each with Nottingham Panthers the other winners.

Giants host the first leg at their SSE Arena home rink on Wednesday before the rivals clash in the return game at Cardiff Bay’s Viola Arena a week later.

Adam Keefe’s Belfast team left Devils fans shattered only a couple of weeks ago when they won back-to-back EIHL matches in Cardiff, winning 4-3 and 4-1.

Lord’s men have bounced back with four successive League wins, including away victories in Sheffield, Glasgow and Fife – and are growing in confidence.

“Belfast away in midweek – that’s going top be a good one,” says Lord. “They have a great team. A fast, hardworking team. 

“It will be an unbelievable quarter-final and our guys are excited. We need a full 60-minute performance, that’s for sure.

“Our Challenge Cup performance has b sen a little bumpy at times, but it was nice to claw our way through to the quarter-finals.

“We’ve played a lot of games overall at this stage and when you look at where we were a month or two ago, we much, much better, much improved.

“Overall, I like where our team is at right now.”

Cardiff are second in the League table, one point behind leaders Sheffield with five games in hand, with Giants third.

The title chase is one of the most closely fought since Elite League was formed 16 years ago and Lord says: “Parity now in EIHL is fantastic. Standards have improved year on year.

“This season EIHL has taken another jump. Every team has a good goaltender, D-corps and scoring power right now.

“Over the next couple of years standards will take another jump. That makes life tough for e very coach, but I’m excited about how far the League has come and where it’s going.”

Former Giants captain Blair Riley returns to Belfast for the first time since he left coach Keefe’s team after three seasons in Northern Ireland. Canadian Riley helped Belfast win two Challenge Cup titles and the 2018-19 Elite League title before heading to South Wales.

Both Devils v Cardiff quarter-finals will be broadcast live on Freesports.

The return leg in Cardiff is being held on Wednesday, December 18. Tickets for the game are selling fast with special prices of £10 for adults and £5 for kids. CLICK HERE to buy tickets or call us on 0800 0842 666

Challenge Cup quarter-finals:

Ties are a home and away, aggregate-scoring series. 

November

Friday 22 

First leg result – Dundee Stars 1, Glasgow Clan 1

December

Wednesday 11 (all 7.30pm)

Belfast Giants v Cardiff Devils

Nottingham Panthers v Guildford Flames

Sheffield Steelers v Manchester Storm

Glasgow Clan v Dundee Stars – second leg

Wednesday 18 (all 7.30pm)

Cardiff Devils v Belfast Giants

Guildford Flames v Nottingham Panthers

Manchester Storm v Sheffield Steelers

Semi-finals

The highest-ranked team left plays the lowest-ranked team left in the first semi-final and the remaining two teams clash in the second tie. 

Semi-finals decided over two legs and home advantage in the second leg goes to the team with the higher ranking (subject to ice availability). 

The ranking of teams after the group stage is:

1 Dundee (group winners)

2 Guildford (group winners)

3 Sheffield (group winners)

4 Nottingham

5 Cardiff

6 Glasgow

7 Belfast

8 Manchester (play-in round winners)

Great Britain play Poland and Kazakhstan next April and May in preparation for their World Championship challenge in Switzerland. 

GB face Poland on Friday, April 17 (7.30pm) at the Skydome in Coventry, before the two sides face each other in Cardiff’s Viola Arena the next day, Saturday, April 18 (7pm).

Pete Russell’s side will then take-on Kazakhstan on Sunday, May 3 (5.30pm) in Milton Keynes ahead of the sold-out encounter with Canada two days later at the Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham.

Ticket prices (already on sale): adult £18, senior £13, student £13, under-16 £10

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