Looking back - Weekend in Review

Regular  contributer Holly Acott gives us her round up of the weekends action

Cardiff Devils @ Belfast Giants 12/11/11

Devils 2 - 1 Giants ( Final)

  It was clear that the results from last weekends games, especially the 3-1 defeat over Nottingham on Saturday, has definitely boosted the Devils' confidence.  With Mark Smith being the only scratch, on account of  recovering from concussion-like symptoms, everything was looking good for the Welsh side as they prepared to take on the league-leading Giants.

  As we all know, it is a weekend for remembering and so, the players and fans took a minute out before the game started to applaud for a loyal Giants' fan who had recently passed on.  Once the applause had died down, it was down to business.  After losing to the Giants twice in as many games played against them, the Devils were gunning for revenge.  They came out fighting, with some serious end-to-end action, but were struggling to get the puck on the net.  With the shots on goal finally starting to climb, the Devils were playing well but just could not capitalize.  Both teams threw some big hits and some even bigger shots, with Devils' Matzka and Dobben going close and the Giants' Dowd challenging Stevie Lyle, but neither team could seal the deal.

  It was clearly tense in the Odyssey Arena, with neither side managed to get ahead.  At 7:40, Max Birbraer was sent to the box for tripping and the Giants threw their-all into the powerplay, getting some great chances but failing to make more of it.  Devils managed a couple of shorthanded breakaways that came to nothing, as well as killing the penalty.  But it seemed that the Devils' fire had been ignited.  At 9:26, Phil Hill put the puck behind Stephen Murphy, with the only assist going to Scott Matzka.  In true Devils' fashion, they followed up with a penalty (S Smith-slashing-11:50).  Once again the Devils' PK unit held strong and when Giants' Dowd was called up for holding, the Devils PP unit put in a good performance, though they failed to capitalize on the man advantage.  A couple of Devils' penalties followed throughout the remaining minutes of the first, but the score remained the same.  End of first, 1-0 Devils.

  Despite the Devils leading 1-0, the Giants came out with the advantage - just over a minute of powerplay action.  True to their form throughout the first period, the Giants threw their all at the net but both netminder and PK unit were holding steady, with a few shorthanded attempts getting throughout.  On the other hand, they piled on the pressure on the PP but unfortunately had as much luck as the Irish.  Both teams were starting to get a bit antsy and the hits were coming thick and fast.  Due to this, the Welsh side may have been getting sloppy, with Giants getting passed them to take shots and make good plays.  Captain Stuart MacRae was sent to the box for slashing and the Giants did not fail to use this advantage.  Jeff Mason leveled the score at 25:49.  But the Devils were determined; at 26:40, Kenton Smith put Devils ahead once more, on a delayed penalty.

  The rest of the second period followed with penalties.  At one point, it looked like Belfast were going to equalize, but Frank the Tank managed to get in the way, getting called up for interference in the process.  Second finishes 2-1 Devils.

 With the third came a new kind of desperation for the Giants, who were trying everything to get that equalizing goal.  Unfortunately for them, Lyle and the defense held strong.  Down the other end, Cardiff were also failing to widen the deficit.  With no penalties and no goals in the final twenty minutes, the game finished 2-1 Devils.

Cardiff Devils vs Braehead Clan 13/11/11

Devils 3  - 4 Clan (OT Final)

  Coming off a brilliant away win over the league-leading Belfast Giants, the Cardiff Devils landed back in Wales just in time to take on the Braehead Clan.  Last time these two teams played each other was on a double-header weekend, seeing Cardiff in Braehead on the Saturday -where they suffered a disappointing 3-1 loss- and Braehead visit the Welsh Capital on the Sunday, where Cardiff got revenge in full with an incredible 5-2 win.  Will the tables turn and the Clan dominate in the BBT?

  Just like every sporting event yesterday, the BBT served a minutes silence before getting down to business.  It was slow to start with the Devils, getting an early penalty for too many men (served by Jeff Pierce at 2:35) but they held their heads up and killed off the unfortunate penalty.  It took a little bit of time but the Devils managed some nice end to end action, with both goaltenders making good saves and with certain players, cough Frank cough, throwing some hard hits. The momentum started to pick up and Clan goaltender Jaakko Suomalainen was forced to make some super saves, with captain Stuart MacRae missing an open net in the middle.  The final minutes of the first period saw a couple of Devils' penalties, with the Clan spending all of the powerplay in the Devils' zone, testing Stevie Lyle and his defense.  Luckily our Welsh wall held strong and the period ended 0-0.

  Unfortunately, due to a power problem, the second period had a delayed start.  Everyone was definitely powered up for the action to start though, keeping themselves amused with renditions of the Mexican Wave to keep the spirits up.  Once the lights were back on, the Devils went straight back to business, with Hill getting a penalty for interference.  Despite immense pressure from the Clan's PP unit, the Devils kill off the penalty and return the favor tenfold when the Clan's Kevin Phillips was sent to the box.  Although the penalty had finished, the Devils continued with their pressure and managed to find a hole, with Jeff Pierce volleying the puck passed Suomalainen to put the Devils on the scoreboard.

  With the score leaning in the Devils' favor, they seemed to get their confidence back; or, at their least their physicality.  Within 60 seconds, Hill was back in the box and Frank was thrown out for a dangerous check from behind, receiving a match penalty in the process.  With almost two minutes of 5-on-3 powerplay, it was clear that the Clan were definitely at the advantage and they used it well.... at 34:16 the Clan equalize with a powerplay goal, coming from Mike Bayrack.  However, the Devils were not to be beaten.  In the following minute, the Devils went back ahead with a shorthanded goal from Max Birbraer.  The Devils looked to have their magic back, when captain Stuart MacRae also tipped the puck over the line; unfortunately, Ref Carson called offside and the goal was disallowed.  Braehead used this to their advantage and came back to score one of their own, making it 2-2, Mike Bayrack getting his second of the night.

  The events of the second period seemed to have taken an effect on Cardiff, as, just 1:58 into the third period, Mike Bayrack claimed the puck and scored his third goal of the night, earning himself a hat-trick.  For the following ten minutes, neither team were taking clear shots, until, at 54:32, Ben Davies got hold of the puck and leveled the score.  With just under seven minutes to play, the score was tided at 3-3, with both teams desperate to get that winning goal.  Despite all their efforts, the game went to overtime.  The five minutes of the OT period were close, with both teams coming extremely close several times but in the final minute of OT, the Clan clinched the game, earning themselves a four-point weekend, after an incredible 10-1 win of fellow Celts, the Fife Flyers.

  Putting the past behind us, the Devils will now spend the week preparing for their double-header against the Coventry Blaze. The last time these two teams met finished in a 6-1 home win for the Devils.  Make sure you're down at the BBT on Saturday, for the 7pm face off, and that you follow along on the MNL if you can't make it to Coventry on Sunday!  Let's Go Devils!

You can check out Holly's Blog here http://theworldofsportbyateengirl.blogspot.com/