For me that was never a 50/50 game, I so wish it was, grateful for the 2 points obviously, but on the night the best offensive team lost and for that we most certainly rode our luck. We will play games better than our opposition and lose, and we will play inferior than our opposition and win, that’s sport. But the gods were certainly with us tonight, we gave it everything we had, and left it all out there on the ice, but by god we got out of jail big time thanks to Carruth, and the post.
Devils Vs Giants - League - 27th Nov 2021
- Thread starter James
- Start date
We were heavily outshot yes, but in terms of grade A scoring chances I would say both teams were quite even. And credit to our defense for that. Luckily, we have the better goalie and we took an extra chance so the game went our way.
A rather flat atmosphere all round tonight. I sense you could see that Belfast were a team that spent 8 hours at an airport today, and we kind of sunk to their level a little bit. But if we keep winning games against top teams when we're not at our best, that's a very promising sign.
A rather flat atmosphere all round tonight. I sense you could see that Belfast were a team that spent 8 hours at an airport today, and we kind of sunk to their level a little bit. But if we keep winning games against top teams when we're not at our best, that's a very promising sign.
Yes but as per the interviews, Devils wiped the floor with Giants on special team production. Think Keefe is rather papering over the fact his team missed their attention to detail and took dumb penalties at dumb times. Not saying Belfast weren’t good. They were for large periods but they also lost for very valid reasons in the context of a hockey game.
Even in Lordo’s era a huge part of Devils success was special teams conversion. Devils quite convincingly have the best PP in the league so you watch how straight teams will have to start playing it against them and that all helps to make life in the offensive zone easier. I see no reason Devils aren’t starting to build some challenging momentum.
I’m agreeing Giants are a decent team and put in a shift but especially that dumb interference penalty at the end cost Giants dear. When your talking a top of the table clash it’s that level of detail can cost you a game. Giants might be a skilled team but have they the mental capacity to be champs. If there is question marks over Devils credentials they exist over Giants as well.
Hence me saying that was a 50/50 game Devils did well to come out on top in by executing on the opportunities presented to them however with a smattering of good luck thrown in but I’m always a believer luck comes to teams who work hard and keep skating.
Even in Lordo’s era a huge part of Devils success was special teams conversion. Devils quite convincingly have the best PP in the league so you watch how straight teams will have to start playing it against them and that all helps to make life in the offensive zone easier. I see no reason Devils aren’t starting to build some challenging momentum.
I’m agreeing Giants are a decent team and put in a shift but especially that dumb interference penalty at the end cost Giants dear. When your talking a top of the table clash it’s that level of detail can cost you a game. Giants might be a skilled team but have they the mental capacity to be champs. If there is question marks over Devils credentials they exist over Giants as well.
Hence me saying that was a 50/50 game Devils did well to come out on top in by executing on the opportunities presented to them however with a smattering of good luck thrown in but I’m always a believer luck comes to teams who work hard and keep skating.
When the final whistle blew last night my overwhelming feeling was we had committed daylight robbery. Heavily outshot and under pressure most of the game, Belfast must have been wondering how they hadn’t won comfortably.
However, the more I think back to the game the more my opinion changes.
The majority of Belfast’s chances seemed to come from our mistakes. Not clearing the zone, turning over the puck etc. Other than that though Belfast struggled to create any clear cut chances on their own. And although Carruth was solid and made a ridiculous amount of saves I don’t remember any jaw-dropping saves?
What also struck me was that when Belfast did have odd men rushes they almost always took the shot when the pass looked the better option.
Compare that to ourselves who when we did create chances almost always took the right option. Every goal came from us opting to hold onto the puck for an extra second, and then passing it to a player in a better position.
It should also be pointed out that every time we did concede we upped our work rate and scored very soon after.
It’s a different style of hockey and it’s taking a while to get used to be I really enjoyed last nights game and found it very entertaining.
However, the more I think back to the game the more my opinion changes.
The majority of Belfast’s chances seemed to come from our mistakes. Not clearing the zone, turning over the puck etc. Other than that though Belfast struggled to create any clear cut chances on their own. And although Carruth was solid and made a ridiculous amount of saves I don’t remember any jaw-dropping saves?
What also struck me was that when Belfast did have odd men rushes they almost always took the shot when the pass looked the better option.
Compare that to ourselves who when we did create chances almost always took the right option. Every goal came from us opting to hold onto the puck for an extra second, and then passing it to a player in a better position.
It should also be pointed out that every time we did concede we upped our work rate and scored very soon after.
It’s a different style of hockey and it’s taking a while to get used to be I really enjoyed last nights game and found it very entertaining.
Interesting game. I thought we played well in the first. We moved the puck well and transitioned out of our zone with ease that got us in the Giants faces quickly using our speed, it limited their ability to make full line changes and we faced a tired team in places - then all that seemed to change in the 2nd and 3rd.
Broken record time… we started having to go in deep, beyond the goal line and scrap against the boards. This team can’t do that. Some players can but you need a collective commitment to doing it….Cox, Waller and Crandall we’re getting crunched and easily dispossessed. Not their fault, they aren’t huge body players. When we stay out of there we look so good - slick and unplayable. This meant the momentum shifted. We had about a 3 or 4 minute spell in the 2nd where we didn’t clear our zone, took penalties and were on the back foot. This happened a fair bit in the 3rd. Giants second goal came from being too exhausted to clear the puck even though we had good opportunities to do so.
Not a classic performance or classic game but a gusty one. Winning badly is still winning and an important quality. We had our backs against the wall and dug in. You can’t coach that. That’s team spirit. That’s commitment and dedication to the cause.
Thought DuPont had another good showing, McNally was just normal McNally - a pain and brilliant - Carruth, where would we be without him? Some big performances defensively too. Blocking shots and some big hits - a clear sign that we won’t get pushed around.
Wonder if anyone can clear up why O’Connor doesn’t get a penalty for deliberately hitting the puck out of the ice and hitting the banners? Is it because it’s treated the same as hitting the scoreboard at centre ice? I’m sure there’s an obvious explanation.
Don’t see how McNally got a penalty for that hit. He got called for interference but the hit was within the expected time he gets to make a hit. Great hit and a poor call for me. May be because it was one of those nasty looking ones where a player is two feet from the boards. No idea. Great performance from him. Love those kinds of players who get the game and team by the scruff of the neck to try and drag a better showing out of them.
Well done all. Two points. A good return.
Broken record time… we started having to go in deep, beyond the goal line and scrap against the boards. This team can’t do that. Some players can but you need a collective commitment to doing it….Cox, Waller and Crandall we’re getting crunched and easily dispossessed. Not their fault, they aren’t huge body players. When we stay out of there we look so good - slick and unplayable. This meant the momentum shifted. We had about a 3 or 4 minute spell in the 2nd where we didn’t clear our zone, took penalties and were on the back foot. This happened a fair bit in the 3rd. Giants second goal came from being too exhausted to clear the puck even though we had good opportunities to do so.
Not a classic performance or classic game but a gusty one. Winning badly is still winning and an important quality. We had our backs against the wall and dug in. You can’t coach that. That’s team spirit. That’s commitment and dedication to the cause.
Thought DuPont had another good showing, McNally was just normal McNally - a pain and brilliant - Carruth, where would we be without him? Some big performances defensively too. Blocking shots and some big hits - a clear sign that we won’t get pushed around.
Wonder if anyone can clear up why O’Connor doesn’t get a penalty for deliberately hitting the puck out of the ice and hitting the banners? Is it because it’s treated the same as hitting the scoreboard at centre ice? I’m sure there’s an obvious explanation.
Don’t see how McNally got a penalty for that hit. He got called for interference but the hit was within the expected time he gets to make a hit. Great hit and a poor call for me. May be because it was one of those nasty looking ones where a player is two feet from the boards. No idea. Great performance from him. Love those kinds of players who get the game and team by the scruff of the neck to try and drag a better showing out of them.
Well done all. Two points. A good return.
Just because the Devils played a Dundee style game doesn't mean they are the same quality as Dundee of old. Yes Belfast dominated the offense for at least half of the game but we did what it took to win. We have seen several games this season where Devils have totally dominated offense but lost due to holes left at the back. Since our style has become more defensive we have won 5 games in a row including 3 on the road.
Last night we were 75% on the power play and 25% on PK. Thats pretty impressive and we would have killed for that in past seasons.
Yes this team are not going to dominate the league but we have as a good a chance as any of the top teams of winning.
We seem to be a bit in awe of Belfast which I understand because they seem to have everything, size, strength, speed and skill. But we have beaten them twice now. When Belfast went to Sheffield earlier this month they lost 7-1. A week later we beat the Steelers 5-0 in their own barn.
I can't see anyone dominating the league this year but as usual the front runners usually show themselves by Christmas and recent results suggest we could one of them and I don't think we are the finished article yet as this is still a very new team.
Last night we were 75% on the power play and 25% on PK. Thats pretty impressive and we would have killed for that in past seasons.
Yes this team are not going to dominate the league but we have as a good a chance as any of the top teams of winning.
We seem to be a bit in awe of Belfast which I understand because they seem to have everything, size, strength, speed and skill. But we have beaten them twice now. When Belfast went to Sheffield earlier this month they lost 7-1. A week later we beat the Steelers 5-0 in their own barn.
I can't see anyone dominating the league this year but as usual the front runners usually show themselves by Christmas and recent results suggest we could one of them and I don't think we are the finished article yet as this is still a very new team.
Carruth's positioning and technique is so good, you don’t see many jaw dropping saves where he is scrambling around performing heroics. But he was very busy last night. I thought he had a great game and won it for us. I hope he’s with for many years, an absolutely superb goalie who gives us a chance to win every night, even when we're being outplayed.
Did anyone see what happened for Keefe to go nuts, looked as if he was aiming his ire towards Franny/Skalde at one point?!
Did anyone see what happened for Keefe to go nuts, looked as if he was aiming his ire towards Franny/Skalde at one point?!
As ever you certainly make some valid points Mooney#16. I still think we will have to disagree in the main though. I came away from that match last night thinking we may have won the battle but by the end of the season Belfast will have won the war.
In my opinion no EIHL teams should be coming to Cardiff and getting 80 shots, with 47 of those on Carruth. No matter how anybody tries to play it down that is simply more rubber than Carruth should be facing on his home patch. Particularly against a team that had been stuck in an airport all day! Clearly it will happen in the CHL but it shouldn’t happen to us in the EIHL. Away from home is obviously different but so called title contenders should not be getting dominated at home for large periods like we were last night.
I also think people are being a bit generous about our defensive performance. Skalde said in his post match interview that we were a bit too loose defensively and as Keefe said they had about four or five 2 on 1’s in that match but they didn’t capitalise. That’s not a good defensive performance or part of the plan, That’s just luck. Some other quotes from Skalde
“Belfast carried the pace of play for most of the night”
“Mac Carruth had to make big saves all night long”
Maybe my expectations are too high but after a positive weekend in Scotland I was hoping to see a performance from us last night that made me think we were now title contenders. Sadly I didn’t.
Personally I don’t think we can rely on our PP being that good and Mac Carruth standing on his head all season.
In my opinion no EIHL teams should be coming to Cardiff and getting 80 shots, with 47 of those on Carruth. No matter how anybody tries to play it down that is simply more rubber than Carruth should be facing on his home patch. Particularly against a team that had been stuck in an airport all day! Clearly it will happen in the CHL but it shouldn’t happen to us in the EIHL. Away from home is obviously different but so called title contenders should not be getting dominated at home for large periods like we were last night.
I also think people are being a bit generous about our defensive performance. Skalde said in his post match interview that we were a bit too loose defensively and as Keefe said they had about four or five 2 on 1’s in that match but they didn’t capitalise. That’s not a good defensive performance or part of the plan, That’s just luck. Some other quotes from Skalde
“Belfast carried the pace of play for most of the night”
“Mac Carruth had to make big saves all night long”
Maybe my expectations are too high but after a positive weekend in Scotland I was hoping to see a performance from us last night that made me think we were now title contenders. Sadly I didn’t.
Personally I don’t think we can rely on our PP being that good and Mac Carruth standing on his head all season.
People saying we rode our luck, turned the puck over in the defensive zone, were weak on the boards and were saved a beating by our netminder. Who won the game? you make your own luck, it can be dressed up any way you like but the score was 4-2 to us. Good power play, good penalty kill and a red hot netminder is not a bad position to be in and will win us games.
“Who won the game? You make your own luck”
Perfectly reasonable quote after a one off challenge cup final or play off final. I don’t agree with that after a league game in November tho. If we are hoping to win the league then clearly winning games is vital but you have to look at performances as well.
Perfectly reasonable quote after a one off challenge cup final or play off final. I don’t agree with that after a league game in November tho. If we are hoping to win the league then clearly winning games is vital but you have to look at performances as well.
