Canadian goals ace Mike Hedden scored two goals and was man of the match for Cardiff Devils in their 5-1 win against Coventry Blaze.

“He has a great mix of speed, skill, intensity, energy and firepower,” said coach Andrew Lord. “It’s fun watching the guy.

“Mike brings everything he has to the team, scored an early goal and then added a nice tip-in. That’s something he has done throughout his career.”

Devils scored four final period goals to earn their win and Lord said: “We played muck more like our style in the third. 

“We were flat for the first two periods. At the same time Coventry were great, coming at us in wave after wave, playing with intensity.

“In the third we moved the puck faster and once we had momentum skill came through after what had been a not so great 40 minutes.

“We all needed to be better, including myself, and there is nothing wrong with getting fired up and emotional. That’s what the guys did and the edge and intensity we found played a big part in our win.”

Devils play Sheffield Steelers away this afternoon (Sunday, 4pm). New signing Brendan Brooks fired their winner at Manchester Storm last night, stepping off a trans-Atlantic flight on the day to make his club debut.

His goal came 15 seconds from the end of regulation time to earn Sheffield a 2-1 win.

“Steelers are a great team who play with massive intensity,” said Lord. “We need to be at our best for 60 minutes. Certainly, we must come out far better than we did against Coventry.

“Sheffield have top players and are well coached. We will have to be fully prepared.”