Devils Vs Giants - League - 27th Nov 2021

[Slartibartfast]

Great defensive performance. Outshot 47 23 but we got the win. I like this new defensive devils. Carruth played another blinder but on the few rebounds he gave up there was always a Devils there to pick up the puck. We are not leaving the holes at the back that we used to but we can still score when we need to even against quality betminders like Beskowotsit.
This team is looking a lot better than a month ago.

 

[Martynwo]

jury still out on O'Connor, gave up too many pucks in his D zone, scary sometimes.

 

[Wannabe2]

Well I thought we certainly got out of jail tonight, and Carruth was untrue, possession and chances were certainly with the Giants who played a very good game. Thank god for McNally our Faryna MK 2, I thought we were pretty disjointed tonight, and looked a bit lost in big patches and thankfully we dug in deep and got out of the mire. Myself I didn’t think it was physical unfortunately,a few niggles but nothing to write home about, thankfully the lads took the 2 points but it could have so easily have gone the other way, and tonight I thought it was going too. So well done boys we beat a team that was on song tonight thankfully.

 

[Drop_your_gloves]

Very quiet on the inferno this evening.

 

[OJLloyd]

Sorry Wannabe, I have to disagree.
There were large portions of that game where we were in complete control.
Their shots were pretty clustered around the net and on the blue line (as confirmed by the tracking on the EIHL site). This makes me think that we were blocking well and keeping chances in the danger zone down to a minimum.
There were some scary moments, but Belfast are a very good team and you’d expect them.
I also think the refs were a little kind to Belfast at times. McNally’s penalty on their first was a 50/50 until McNally tried to tell him to go away.
Overall, I felt we were in decent control of large parts of that game

 

[jimmy snels]

Thought our best players were mcnally, louis and batch, with carruth excellent. Our forwards remain too small to retain puck possession in the opposition end and we ended up defending 80% of the final two periods. We won tonight but by god we used are luck for the year. Louis and batchy really did a ton of work. Deserve a beer tonight!

Separate note officials had a night to forget. At least three icings went against devils that shouldn't, one of which near the end was played by a belfast player! Couple of hits, one either way given that just weren't imo. Really frustrating.

 

[Wannabe2]

OJ, This just confirms that we see things differently, and thank goodness for that as it makes the reading more interesting. I love the fact you thought we were the better team on the night and that’s always good to hear, but for me to a certain extent I thought the better team lost tonight thankfully,and to me Carruth had a lot more to do than Besko. Anyway we took the points and that’s all that matters or is it.

 

[BostonBart22]

Great win, but that 2nd period we were outplayed by far but we got through it thanks to carruth with some point blank saves, good few moves by Waller as always tonight, devils need his signature for at least the next 5 years, gets better every game, shout out to belfast, stuck in belfast airport since 8am, not ideal prep, a really good hockey side who i think will finish in the top 3 and will win some silverware.

 

[jenks33]

I’ve got my tin hat on. Mr Glass half empty is here

First of all the positives.
- Carruth. As good as Brodie Reid has been I still think our MVP so far this season has been Carruth. I feel so, so relaxed with him in goal. Fantastic goalie.
-Mcnally has been a revelation. Talk about being in the right place at the right time. Possibly one or two silly penalties tonight but I can see him putting up very decent numbers this season.
- Effort and buy in. Can’t fault our effort tonight. I thought we looked like a team that are giving 100% at the moment. I was satisfied with the first period, I thought 1-1 was a fair scoreline.

Now the negatives/concerns.

- Rightly or wrongly everytime I watch us I ask myself “Is this a title winning team”. Or “Do I see us challenging for the title”. I’ve got to be honest I’m still waiting for a performance where I say to myself “There we go, if we play like that more often than not we will be there or thereabouts”. Up until our PP goal towards the end of the second period i thought Belfast dominated the 2nd. I don’t think they created a ton of great chances but still I don’t want teams coming to our barn and dominating games for 15 minute periods. Of course good teams are going to have their moments but at times we get dominated for large portions of games. Maybe I’m being harsh but that shouldn’t happen at home. Belfast had 80 shots tonight! Granted only 47 were on Carruth but we should not be getting outshot 47-23 at home.

To the people who are happy with that performance tonight (not the result, the performance). I’m sorry but you have to look at the bigger picture. I’m chuffed with the 2 points but that team I watched tonight (Devils) will not win the league.

As I said, Tin hat on and I’m sure people will see things differently.

 

[Wannabe2]

Thought our best players were mcnally, louis and batch, with carruth excellent. Our forwards remain too small to retain puck possession in the opposition end and we ended up defending 80% of the final two periods. We won tonight but by god we used are luck for the year. Louis and batchy really did a ton of work. Deserve a beer tonight!

Separate note officials had a night to forget. At least three icings went against devils that shouldn't, one of which near the end was played by a belfast player! Couple of hits, one either way given that just weren't imo. Really frustrating.

Totally agree, we defended 80% of the final two periods, and we certainly used up a lot of our luck. Never like to say this but the most offensive team lost tonight and without a few D Men and a superb nettie this game would have been lost.

 

[jenks33]

Totally agree, we defended 80% of the final two periods, and we certainly used up a lot of our luck. Never like to say this but the most offensive team lost tonight and without a few D Men and a superb nettie this game would have been lost.

It does make me laugh that some fans seem to think 2 points = Excellent performance. As I said in my previous post I can’t fault our effort and commitment but we have to be more polished than that if we want to challenge for the title. We were dominated for large parts of that game. Carruth our best player

 

[Earnie]

Two points - take it any time. I am not going to knock you jenks. As others have said Giants had an arduous travel day that did not go to plan.
I did enjoy watching Keefe loose the plot completely. It was a great rant.
I think he was after a 5 on 3 and the refs were not interested.

 

[OJLloyd]

My view is the periods in which we did well, we did very well.
Of course we were under pressure during this game - we were playing a team that, on paper, are either the top or second team in the league.
Even in our best seasons, we gave up big games to teams like this (Belfast 8-0, anyone?)
Compared to our earlier games this season though, when we went 1-0 down despite being on top, I knew we could come back. We have to earn that winning knowledge.
I have no complaints.

McNally - what a player. I’m sure he rubs people up the wrong way, but you’d rather he be on your team than theirs.

 

[matbur]

Well I thought we certainly got out of jail tonight, and Carruth was untrue, possession and chances were certainly with the Giants who played a very good game. Thank god for McNally our Faryna MK 2, I thought we were pretty disjointed tonight, and looked a bit lost in big patches and thankfully we dug in deep and got out of the mire. Myself I didn’t think it was physical unfortunately,a few niggles but nothing to write home about, thankfully the lads took the 2 points but it could have so easily have gone the other way, and tonight I thought it was going too. So well done boys we beat a team that was on song tonight thankfully.

Pretty much my assessment too. Played them twice and got out of jail on both occasions.

 

[OJLloyd]

Two points - take it any time. I am not going to knock you jenks. As others have said Giants had an arduous travel day that did not go to plan.
I did enjoy watching Keefe loose the plot completely. It was a great rant.
I think he was after a 5 on 3 and the refs were not interested.

I didn’t even realise it hit the banner. Thank god we’ve had some success over the years, eh?

 

[jenks33]

Two points - take it any time. I am not going to knock you jenks. As others have said Giants had an arduous travel day that did not go to plan.
I did enjoy watching Keefe loose the plot completely. It was a great rant.
I think he was after a 5 on 3 and the refs were not interested.

Happy with us as a contender though Earnie? I appreciate its probably not the right time for this debate but I felt I was watching a Fife or a Dundee at times tonight. I was comfortable with that feeling when we played in the BBT. We usually didn’t have a pot to pee in before Steve King and his pals came along and any type of win was a positive. I don’t think it’s unrealistic to expect a bit more than that now

 

[jenks33]

Pretty much my assessment too. Played them twice and got out of jail on both occasions.

100%. Keefe must be wondering how on earth they’ve left Cardiff with 0 points from 2 games. Same with Guildford and Paul Dixon. You won’t find a more honest guy than Dixon and after our last game against Guildford he pretty much said the Devils have been lucky against Guildford so far this season. And he’s right! I’m loving these wins but it goes without saying that we’re riding our luck

 

[Kevlar68]

I saw it as an ugly game. Nothing pretty about it BUT I'm always about the 2 points, nothing more.

 

[Mooney#16]

I think the counter is it’s very easy to see the negatives in your own team. I thought that was just a very 50/50 game. Both teams had periods of momentum and control. The good thing is Devils capitalised in there’s and Giants didn’t. I actually think that was a championship winning sign as they found a way to come out on top in a very tight game. Namely by having a very good powerplay.

Plus having a cool head in Skalde over a rabid lunatic in Keefe played a huge part. As soon as he lost it you knew they’d take a dumb penalty.

I get your perception we weren’t as good as them as we’re usually used to seeing teams feed of scraps whilst Devils dominate so a 50/50 game can be perceived as bad but I’m not sure it was that bad. I think Devils just won a top of the table clash by being better defensively, more disciplined and better on special team chances.

Always room for improvement no doubt though.

 

[jenks33]

I think the counter is it’s very easy to see the negatives in your own team. I thought that was just a very 50/50 game. Both teams had periods of momentum and control. The good thing is Devils capitalised in there’s and Giants didn’t. I actually think that was a championship winning sign as they found a way to come out on top in a very tight game. Namely by having a very good powerplay.

Plus having a cool head in Skalde over a rabid lunatic in Keefe played a huge part. As soon as he lost it you knew they’d take a dumb penalty.

I get your perception we weren’t as good as them as we’re usually used to seeing teams feed of scraps whilst Devils dominate so a 50/50 game can be perceived as bad but I’m not sure it was that bad. I think Devils just won a top of the table clash by being better defensively, more disciplined and better on special team chances.

Always room for improvement no doubt though.

50/50 game!? Eh? Cmon now Mooney that was not a 50/50 game. 50/50 first period definitely. Belfast were the better team in the 2nd and 3rd tho but couldn’t finish. Watch Skalde and Keefe’s interviews and see what they thought? They certainly didn’t think it was 50/50