Cardiff Fire are on a revenge mission against Swindon Wildcats at Ice Arena Wales this evening (Sunday).
Head coach Mark Cuddihy and his team were furious when a Wildcats official slammed the Welsh team and accused the Welsh club of ‘Pretending to be hockey players’.
That came after a 15-1 Swindon win in Wiltshire, but the comments left a lot of bad feeling between the clubs.
Wildcats include former Devils players Max Birbraer and Welshman Phil Hill and they are third in the National League One South table, but they are certain to get a warm reception from a Fire team who have worked relentlessly through a difficult season.
Their clash with Swindon looks certain to be physically punishing.
Birbraer, from Kazakhstan, and Cardiff-born Hill were firm favourites among Devils fans when they played for the club and will be warmly welcomed, but there looks certain to be an edge to the clash.
Fire won National League titles in each of the last two seasons, but were moved up to the second tier of British ice hockey for 2017-18, below Elite League. They have yet to win a match, but have battled throughout.
They are affiliated to Cardiff Devils and Cuddihy’s team showed spirit and determination during a home clash with Kent’s Invicta Dynamos on Saturday.
Invite edged to victory 4-3 after overtime with Czech player Jaroslav Cesky netting the winner three minutes one second into the the extra five minutes.
Cesky is a former Devils forward, having made 12 appearances for the club during the season before Calgary-based owner Steve King and his consortium took charge.
A tweet after the game said: “It’s been far longer than @Mark_Cuddihy20 would have liked, but @CardiffFireIHC got off the mark and secured a point.
“Going from the 4th tier to the 2nd in one jump was one of the hardest things any team has done in hockey. Really delighted for them.”
Callum Buglass, one of the most promising young skaters in Wales, is the Fire captain, while Sam Bryant and Jordan Powell are the assistants.
James Manson, a hugely experienced defenceman, patrols the blue line for Fire, while they also have two of the best teenage goaltenders in Britain.
Jordan Lawday and Lewis Davies are both Great Britain junior internationals. Lawday is starting goalie for GB’s under-20 team, while Davies, from Barry, plays at under18 level.
Jackson Price, Tamas Elias and Josh Haslam scored for Fire against Invicta, while assists were provided by David Manning, Manson, Powell and Bryant.
The visitors outshot Fire 43-38, while the Kent club also picked up 57 minutes in penalty against Cardiff’s 32.
Fire’s National League match against Swindon at home this evening (Sunday) starts at 6.45pm. It’s pay on the door for spectators at Ice Arena Wales.
@cardiffdevils season ticket holders get £2 off adult tickets.