Cardiff Devils vs Hull Stingrays 05/01/2013

Tonight saw the first game of the new year for the Cardiff Devils, as the Red Army welcomed the Hull Stingrays into the Bay.  Coming off a loss to the Dundee Stars over the weekend, Cardiff had something to prove, especially playing at home in the fortress known as the BBT.

 Both sides got down to business quickly, with resident tough guy Jesse Gimblett faces off against rival  Ryan Hand just three seconds after puck drop.  With tempers flaring it looked to be an entertaining matchup for both sets of fans... The Devils' continued to wow fans with an early goal from MOM Ben Davies, a neat back hand in front of the net, also coming before the minute mark at just 0.49.

 As is known for the BBT, the Devils demonstrated a physical strategy in the opening ten, with Josh Batch in particular making some incredible hits, leaving Rays' feeling a bit stung all over the ice.  Power forward Phil Hill also saw some pushing and shoving, himself and Ondrej earning themselves two minute minors for roughing - which was topped by Chris Blight and Ozolin trading blows for the second fight of the period, earning themselves a set of majors (Blight was also given 2 for instigating and a 10 minute misconduct, though the reason is unclear).

 But being shorthanded never bothered the South Wales side before, Mac Faulkner proving why with a beautiful breakaway goal while Blight was still in the box, giving Cardiff a two-nil lead.  However, Hull weren't down and out - Jereme Tendler replying quickly with a shorthanded goal of his own, after skilfully stealing the puck from Devils' d-man Tyson Marsh before sending the puck 5-hole on Phil Osaer.  Cardiff had a chance to lengthen the gap once more but had a goal disallowed as Phil Hill got tangled in the crease.

 Hull continued their momentum though, with both Cloutier and Tendler adding to the tally to give the Rays a 3-2 lead at the end of the opening period - finishing out the period on the power play after Mark Richardson was sent to the box for interference.

  With what seems like a full game of hockey being condensed into the first twenty minutes, the final two periods seem almost dull from a statistics point of view.  Despite many chances for both sides, the score remained the same, Hull taking the 2 points home at the end of the night.  They also saw many penalties but Cardiff were just not able to capitalise no matter how hard they tried.  In a desperate attempt to even the score in the dying minutes, Osaer was pulled to give the home side an extra attacker but nothing seemed to help.

  Cardiff are heading up to Edinburgh to face the Capitals tomorrow, hoping to bring home some of those crucial but elusive league points.  With a shaky away record across the Scottish border, they need all the support they can get, so get cheering Red Army! Let's Go Devils!

Devils 2 - 3 Stingrays - Final

You can check out Holly's blog here http://theworldofsportbyateengirl.blogspot.co.uk/