Devils Vs Clan - League - 30th Sept 23 - 19:00 FO

[James]

Devils kick off their league campaign on Saturday night against the Glasgow Clan. We've already seen the Clan in pre-season and came away the better side of the scoreline in both occasions so we can hopefully keep up the tradition. We're back to full strength as a team and it looks like another sell out at the Vindico

 

[Pembo]

Great to see us full strength and Waller back as we’ve definitely missed a bit of his speed and directness. Congrats to the new Dads as well. Quite excited to see Glasgow as on paper looks like the best Clan side for a while. Their keeper look legit with a lot of Liiga experience.

 

[Kevlar68]

Bowns starts, no Duggan

 

[Swarley]

Slow and sluggish start for us the first few minutes but they soon turned it around, Clans #44 needs his ass handed to him by someone because he is such a muppet I almost feel bad for clan having signed a guy who's that tall and that useless.

Stand outs for me were Ben with his 2 goals and Chad for taking Clans #22 to the wood shed, Batch switching to forward also really made a difference to his game as well.

I still think we are lacking a bit of size and muscle but if they keep fighting like this for a win I can deal with it

 

[Hedd Wyn John]

Devils battled hard to win there, strong performance tonight. Overall the D was good though they were caught napping fir the 2nd clan goal. Offense was strong & made a lot of chances. We could have scored several more.

 

[Pembo]

Nice to see goals going in from different lines. Good sign if we aren’t totally dependent on top line carrying scoring burden. Bowns looked great. Fiesty game, very entertaining. Clan looked a bit more solid after switching keepers but damage had been done. Let’s hope we kick on and nick 2 points from the Steelers tomorrow to complete a perfect weekend!

 

[kristian]

Nice touch by Barrow giving Batch a tap when he came out of box

 

[Rempel16]

Slow and sluggish start for us the first few minutes but they soon turned it around, Clans #44 needs his ass handed to him by someone because he is such a muppet I almost feel bad for clan having signed a guy who's that tall and that useless.

Stand outs for me were Ben with his 2 goals and Chad for taking Clans #22 to the wood shed, Batch switching to forward also really made a difference to his game as well.

I still think we are lacking a bit of size and muscle but if they keep fighting like this for a win I can deal with it

I thought the Devils didn’t get out of 2nd gear tonight and they didn’t need to. It was a solid performance.

My concern is that teams know they can beat down on our star defencemen with no retribution. Sol was hilarious for his antics, he is clearly just big, not really a super tough guy.

Stevenson on the other hand is tough and could have done serous damage. Not sure it would have happened if we had a Louis or similar in the line up.

I fear that teams are going to take runs at us all season.

 

[The_Puck]

I thought the Devils didn’t get out of 2nd gear tonight and they didn’t need to. It was a solid performance.

My concern is that teams know they can beat down on our star defencemen with no retribution. Sol was hilarious for his antics, he is clearly just big, not really a super tough guy.

Stevenson on the other hand is tough and could have done serous damage. Not sure it would have happened if we had a Louis or similar in the line up.

I fear that teams are going to take runs at us all season.

Why would we retaliate when the game is dead and buried and we have a crucial match the next day. Don't want to take any injuries or suspensions.

They tried to goon us around and they got thumped. I'll take the 2 points thank you very much.

 

[Devils86]

Goals against - thought Bowns was unlucky with an early deflection. Apart from that Clan were a bit disappointing in the final third, and only capitalized when our heads went with the Chad/Batch penalty (can't remember!) - something we need to stamp out. Bowns had a v good night

I'll make a couple points now before I await the highlights to refresh my memory: Cody Sol - wow, totally understand what some Clan fans were saying when they re-signed him - the guy is a goon without any fight. I get that hockey can be pantomime at times (oh no it can't!) but wow he had a mare tonight. He can't hide because of his size but that bloke must have a great agent or else the Braehead staff need glasses...

I was worried early doors when Crawford and Brandt got "reverse checked" (???) basically bounced off when they tried to make a check or got knocked over pretty easily early doors. But tbh I was underwhelmed by Clan and their supposed big-bodies and rough and tumble style.

In particular I thought Stevenson was what the youth of today would call a 'melt' - didn't do anything all game then picked a 'fight' with Crawford with a second left on clock....ISTR he's their captain this season. Bugger me. Thought of all of their players Pelech looked decent.

Poor Bryce and Reece lol

End of the day we got the win which is what league games are about. Hopefully without any injury and without getting out of 2nd gear. A decent game for Waller and Barrow to get some minutes in.

Our D seem much more comfortable clearing the net than last season when it was left down to Lou.

Chad had a great night - he's making a great start to this season.

Shout to Cody D - if that fella has a good season then so will we, get the feeling he needs to appreciate how good he is compared to the guys he's playing with and against. Big player for me this year

 

[Swarley]

I thought the Devils didn’t get out of 2nd gear tonight and they didn’t need to. It was a solid performance.

My concern is that teams know they can beat down on our star defencemen with no retribution. Sol was hilarious for his antics, he is clearly just big, not really a super tough guy.

Stevenson on the other hand is tough and could have done serous damage. Not sure it would have happened if we had a Louis or similar in the line up.

I fear that teams are going to take runs at us all season.

Definitely think they will take runs at us but it'll get to a boiling point where someone other than Chad or Brandt will have to step up and put everyone on notice, in a ideal world that would be Batch laying down the law but if he plays like he did tonight when he switched from D to forward I'm happy for him to just keep doing what he's doing. He seemed way more confident and comfortable playing upfront.

 

[Devils86]

Definitely think they will take runs at us but it'll get to a boiling point where someone other than Chad or Brandt will have to step up and put everyone on notice, in a ideal world that would be Batch laying down the law but if he plays like he did tonight when he switched from D to forward I'm happy for him to just keep doing what he's doing. He seemed way more confident and comfortable playing upfront.

Less pressure. Make a mistake upfront and you lose possession; mistake on D results in a chance on net

 

[Diablo3]

I know we don't have a Lou type player, but I've been impressed by our team in the way they won't be pushed around. Pietroniro is becoming a real Devil. I hope we have him nailed to a long contract. Great performance all round, may it continue tomorrow night.

 

[Devils86]

Quick questions:

Chad - 2x Majors - DOPS look at him?

Fighting in last 2/5 mins of game an automatic 1 game/match ban, still?

 

[E.D.S.]

Chads first penalty was harsh. If Davies had stayed down after his hit by Sol I think Sol would have had 5. Chads hit looked like a beauty and good on him.
Thought Kelly had a very neat game. He looked very good. Credit to him. He skated well.
Donaghey... what a find he's turning out to be.
Crawford needs to grow a pair. Punches Sol, then Sol gives him one back and he goes down trying to buy a penalty. I don't want to see that. Take a leaf out of Ben's books. Clear elbow to the head and he gets straight back up. Then Crawford gets into a scuffle later on and doesn't drop them. Yes, I know we're leading and the game is in the bag but all of his cheap shots and mouthing off is coming back to haunt him. I'd rather he answered the bell for making his own problems than have Brandt, Chad or Batch do it. That's not the kind of policing I expect them to be doing.

 

[E.D.S.]

Good energy from Crandall as well last night. He looks like he's trying to prove the doubters wrong with his energy at least.... and what about Barrow? Still recovering from his hit and still being a menace. I thought he was going to fight at one point - which would have been madness but shows the spirit of the kid.
Another stellar performance from Davies. It's a toss up between him and Mosey for player of the month for me. Mosey has made a massive difference.

 

[Rempel16]

Why would we retaliate when the game is dead and buried and we have a crucial match the next day. Don't want to take any injuries or suspensions.

They tried to goon us around and they got thumped. I'll take the 2 points thank you very much.

I agree with the suspensions… not up for that, and Stevenson should be suspended, but the message has been sent for the season.

Every single game I have watched so far the opposition has taken runs at our players… even Guildford did it.

2 points and no suspensions- great. Let’s just hope there’s no injuries also.

I maintain that wouldn’t have happened if we had toughness in the lineup.

 

[BostonBart22]

Great first lge game had it all, but a big but at that, we need a tough cookie , we just cant let teams bully us week in week out especially in our barn, cody sol, a proper wind up goon who will start trouble then turtle if anything starts, stevenson what a dick, our little enforcers had no intention attempting to stop him pummeling crawford, and they shouldnt be to start with, look at tonight presume bowns starts with a kid back up, steelers runs bowns , may get injured 2 pts sheffield thank you very much, we need a deterant on the ice to stop this bullying our team and its got to be a big body, i believe PR will get someone in before our bad month november a fournier type from last season to combat this. ..well don ben man of match great to see a brit do this.

 

[Phinktastique]

Good energy from Crandall as well last night. He looks like he's trying to prove the doubters wrong with his energy at least.... and what about Barrow? Still recovering from his hit and still being a menace. I thought he was going to fight at one point - which would have been madness but shows the spirit of the kid.
Another stellar performance from Davies. It's a toss up between him and Mosey for player of the month for me. Mosey has made a massive difference.

I thought Crandall was excellent last night - up and down the ice - back checking and great vision picking out some Stellar passes. Great to see. Some great hands by Ully making opposing players head spin. Donaghey also excellent again, and nice seing batch in the front line - he looked a lot more assured even in that glimpse.
I’ll end with Pietriniro - that lad has a lot of heart for this hockey club and not just with the physicality and scraps, he has a lot of speed, menace and tenacity. Hopefully more of the same this afternoon against a very tough opponent in good form.

 

[Wannabe2]

Chads first penalty was harsh. If Davies had stayed down after his hit by Sol I think Sol would have had 5. Chads hit looked like a beauty and good on him.
Thought Kelly had a very neat game. He looked very good. Credit to him. He skated well.
Donaghey... what a find he's turning out to be.
Crawford needs to grow a pair. Punches Sol, then Sol gives him one back and he goes down trying to buy a penalty. I don't want to see that. Take a leaf out of Ben's books. Clear elbow to the head and he gets straight back up. Then Crawford gets into a scuffle later on and doesn't drop them. Yes, I know we're leading and the game is in the bag but all of his cheap shots and mouthing off is coming back to haunt him. I'd rather he answered the bell for making his own problems than have Brandt, Chad or Batch do it. That's not the kind of policing I expect them to be doing.

If you’re waiting for Crawford to answer the bell you unfortunately have a long wait in front of you, he is a okay player but has no backbone. If you’re a bit of a pussy then don’t go sucker punching people, as they will react. Both Bens were awesome last night, Chad is certainly a shining light, we have a very good team, but todays game at Sheffield will be a real tester. Why did Clan resign Sol, he offers nothing and they don’t look like they will be challenging for much, we certainly have some beauties this season, so tonights game may show us where we stand. Let’s go lads.