Cardiff Devils 5, Nottingham Panthers 4
After overtime
The GOAT struck gold and left Nottingham Panthers stunned at the Viola Arena in Cardiff Bay.
Joey Martin – nicknamed the Greatest Of All Time among Devils fans – struck with an overtime winner to leave Panthers down and out.
Devils earned a seventh successive Elite League win and are five points clear at the top.
Their next two fixtures are at home against second-placed Belfast Giants, who have a game in hand, and those clashes will go a long way towards deciding which club are crowned champions.
Devils have won the title for two successive seasons and are going for a hat-trick, something which has never been achieved in the top flight of British hockey.
Great hockey game. Fast, physical and entertaining. Great 4 point weekend, @cardiffdevils Looking forward to the big showdown next weekend. Let’s GO!!
— Steve King (@Tacosteve10) January 13, 2019
After two periods, Devils were trailing 4-2 and looked in trouble. They hit Panthers with a Welsh storm which blew them off their feet.
Stephen Dixon (41-37) and Layne Ulmer (47-19) tied things up at 4-4 to force overtime before Martin struck 29 seconds into overtime.
Coach Andrew Lord sent out Gleason Fournier, Martin, Michael Hedden and Charles Linglet for the start of OT with Devils on a powerplay.
New signing James Livingston made his home debut for Devils and a sell-out attendance of 3,000-plus cheered their team on.
Devils again showed the character, team spirit and commitment they have in their group, hitting back with a venomous backlash against Panthers.
Layne Ulmer scored twice and was named man of the match, but this was a massive team effort which sets up two massive clashes against Belfast Giants at the Viola Arena next weekend.
Match stats:
Scorers, Devils: Layne Ulmer 2+0, Drew Scheistel 1+2, Mark Richardson 1+0, Joey Martin 1+1, Stephen Dixon 1+0, Evan Mosey 0+1, Jake Morissette 0+2, Bryce Reddick 0+2, Charles Linglet 0+1, Gleason Fournier 0+1.
Panthers: Dylan Olsen 1+0, Luke Pither 1+0, Chris Stewart 1+0, Alex Guptil 1+0, Timm Billingsley 0+2, Brett Perlini 0+1, Jaynen Rissling 0+2, Kevin Henderson 0+1, Mark Hurtubise 0+1.
Period scores (Devils first): 2-2; 0-2 (2-4); 2-0 (4-4); 1-0 (5-4).
Shots on goal: Devils (on Garnett) 13+14+11+1=39; Panthers (on Bowns) 10+12+6+0=28.
Penalties in minutes: Devils 0+2+2=4; Panthers 0+0+2=2.
Special teams: Devils PK 2/2, PP 0/1; Panthers PK 1/1, PP 0/2.
Stars of the game: Devils, Layne Ulmer; Panthers, Dylan Olsen.
Referees: Tom Darnell and Stefen Hogarth.
Attendance: 3,100.
Belfast Giants visit the Viola Arena on Saturday, January 19 (7pm) and Sunday, January 20 (4pm).
For Devils home tickets CLICK HERE TO BOOK ONLINE or CALL 0800 0842 666
CLICK HERE to be redirected to the full fixtures list.
Other Sunday EIHL results: Manchester Storm 7, Fife Flyers 4; Coventry Blaze 5, Guildford Flames 6 (after overtime and penalty shots); Dundee Stars 6, Sheffield Steelers 1; Glasgow Clan 8, MK Lightning 3.
ELITE ICE HOCKEY LEAGUE 2018/19
| TEAM | GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | PCT | GF | GA | PIM | STREAK |
| Cardiff Devils | 36 | 27 | 5 | 4 | 58 | .806 | 146 | 90 | 416 | 7-0 |
| Belfast Giants | 35 | 26 | 8 | 1 | 53 | .757 | 134 | 81 | 474 | 2-0 |
| Nottingham Panthers | 41 | 20 | 12 | 9 | 49 | .598 | 130 | 127 | 669 | 0-4 |
| Fife Flyers | 36 | 19 | 13 | 4 | 42 | .583 | 126 | 124 | 497 | 0-1 |
| Glasgow Clan | 35 | 19 | 14 | 2 | 40 | .571 | 127 | 118 | 421 | 1-0 |
| Guildford Flames | 36 | 18 | 16 | 2 | 38 | .528 | 121 | 115 | 466 | 1-0 |
| Coventry Blaze | 35 | 15 | 13 | 7 | 37 | .529 | 125 | 138 | 425 | 0-1 |
| Dundee Stars | 38 | 14 | 15 | 9 | 37 | .487 | 105 | 131 | 387 | 2-0 |
| Manchester Storm | 37 | 16 | 18 | 3 | 35 | .473 | 109 | 131 | 848 | 3-0 |
| Sheffield Steelers | 37 | 17 | 19 | 1 | 35 | .473 | 114 | 132 | 518 | 0-5 |
| Milton Keynes Lightning | 38 | 11 | 23 | 4 | 26 | .342 | 95 | 145 | 706 |
|