Glasgow Clan 2, Cardiff Devils 4
Cardiff Devils ground out their sixth successive Elite League victory, beating Glasgow Clan to move three points clear at the top.
Devils have scored 25 goals, conceding nine, in that run and take on Nottingham Panthers at the Viola Arena in Cardiff Bay this evening (Sunday, 6pm).
New signing James Livingston wore number 62 in Glasgow and makes his home debut against Panthers (6pm).
“We closed the game out with some timely defensive zone efforts and the empty net goal near the end was great,” said coach Andrew Lord.
“It was another great game. A lot of fixtures have been tight lately.
“I was happy with the first period when we played to the game plan, competed hard and managed the puck.
“The second was a flip flop. Clan worked hard, they are strong off the rush and we allowed a few too many odd mans.
“We made it hard on ourselves at times, but I like the way we came out in the third and our powerplay goal was huge.”
Panthers will be dangerous opponents at the Viola after their 3-0 home defeat against Manchester Storm, a result result which left coach Rich Chernomaz in a grumpy mood.
“If you don’t score a goal there is no way of winning,” he said. “We could not get enough traffic, enough bodies, in front of their net.
“There was not enough fight through the consistency of the game.”
Ciaran Long (28-44) plus Dallas Erhardt (49-40 59-40, empty net) earned Storm their win.
Devils set off to a good start in Scotland when they scored inside six minutes through Evan Mosey.
Joey Martin doubled the lead with three minutes left in the first, but Matt Heywood scored twice to make it 2-2 with the second of those after 42-35.
A powerplay goal by Sean Bentivoglio with eight minutes 58 seconds to go put the Devils back in the lead. ‘Benti’ had the final touch on Martin’s shot, although the referees watched goal-line technology before awarding the goal.
Cardiff’s Mike Hedden was awarded a penalty shot which could have killed the game, but the Devils forward blazed his chance high.
Martin’s empty net goal with just over a minute to go confirmed the points were going the way of Andrew Lord’s side.
There was high drama during the second period when Zack Fitzgerald and Mark Louis dropped their gloves and clashed in a short fight.
One punch by Louis was enough to put Fitzgerald down on the ice and it was over. American D-man Fitzgerald acknowledged the Louis win with a tap on the back as they were sent to the penalty box.
Match stats:
Period scores (Clan first): 0-2; 1-0 (1-2); 1-2 (2-4).
Shots on goal: Clan (on Bowns) 1+7+3=11; Devils (on Rumpel) 12+6+13=31.
Special teams: Clan PK 4/6, PP 0/3; Devils PK 3/3, PP 2/6.
Stars of the game: Clan, Matt Haywood; Devils, Gleason Fournier.
Scorers, Clan: Matt Haywood 2+0, Gerard Hanson 0+1. Travis Erhardt 0+1, Brendan Connolly 0+1, Rasmus Bjerrum 0+1.
Devils: Joey Martin 2+1, Evn Mosey 1+0, Sean Bentivoglio 1+1, Mark Louis 0+1, Gleason Fournier 0+2, Ben Bowns 0+1,
Penalties in minutes: Clan 2+11+6=19; Devils 2+9+2=13
Referees: Blke Copeland and Pavel Halas.
Attendance: 2,712.
Other Saturday Elite League results: Sheffield Steelers 3, Dundee Stars 6; Nottingham Panthers 0, Manchester Storm 3; Milton Keynes Lightning 5, Fife Flyers 6 (overtime); Guildford Flames 7, Coventry Blaze 8 (overtime).
Cardiff Devils now have three crucial League matches at the Viola Arena in Cardiff Bay.
Nottingham Panthers are visitors on Sunday (6pm), while Lord’s men have back-to-back home fixtures against closest title rivals Belfast Giants next weekend.
Giants visit the Viola Arena on Saturday, January 19 (7pm) and Sunday, January 20 (4pm).
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ELITE ICE HOCKEY LEAGUE 2018/19
| TEAM | GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | PCT | GF | GA | PIM | STREAK |
| Cardiff Devils | 35 | 26 | 5 | 4 | 56 | .800 | 141 | 86 | 412 | 6-0 |
| Belfast Giants | 35 | 26 | 8 | 1 | 53 | .757 | 134 | 81 | 474 | 2-0 |
| Nottingham Panthers | 40 | 20 | 12 | 8 | 48 | .600 | 126 | 122 | 667 | 0-3 |
| Fife Flyers | 35 | 19 | 12 | 4 | 42 | .600 | 122 | 117 | 485 | 1-0 |
| Glasgow Clan | 34 | 18 | 14 | 2 | 38 | .559 | 119 | 115 | 411 | 0-2 |
| Guildford Flames | 35 | 17 | 16 | 2 | 36 | .514 | 115 | 110 | 454 | 0-1 |
| Coventry Blaze | 34 | 15 | 13 | 6 | 36 | .529 | 120 | 132 | 409 | 3-0 |
| Sheffield Steelers | 36 | 17 | 18 | 1 | 35 | .486 | 113 | 126 | 485 | 0-4 |
| Dundee Stars | 37 | 13 | 15 | 9 | 35 | .473 | 99 | 130 | 379 | 1-0 |
| Manchester Storm | 36 | 15 | 18 | 3 | 33 | .458 | 102 | 127 | 836 | 2-0 |
| Milton Keynes Lightning | 37 | 11 | 22 | 4 | 26 | .351 | 92 | 137 | 684 | 0-3 |