Match Review - Devils Vs Giants

It was time for the Red Army to mobilise once more as the Belfast Giants came to town last night!  After a thrilling 6-5 overtime victory over the Nottingham Panthers, which had everyone in the BBT biting their nails in anticipation, morale has been lifted in the Bay and everyone was excited to see the Devils fight it out for those crucial points.  Can they pull off another fantastic performance?

The first period didn't start off as most in red would have liked; with an early power play goal from Rycroft putting the Giants ahead, things were quiet.  The home crowd were treated to some huge hits, by fan favourite Max Birbraer and serial chirper Devin Didiomete, which got the Red Army roaring but the period finished with just the one goal, despite the large amount of shots taken by both teams.

 Having clearly put the first period behind them, the Devils' came out for the second looking more confident in themselves.  The passing had greatly improved and the Giants' goaltender Stephen Murphy was putting on a brilliant display, whilst trying to keep his team ahead.  End to end action followed throughout the early stages of the period, with the Giants beginning to exert more pressure on the South Wales side.

  While the passing had improved from the first, it was the power play that suffered during the second.  The Devils were gifted two advantages in quick succession around the 25 minute mark but failed to capitalise on the chance, with the Giants having some good shots on goal despite being a player down!  This domination continued as the Giants were awarded a few power plays of their own, with Devils' fans watching on as referee Mike Hicks rewrote the rule book, putting Cardiff's Didiomete in the box for 'Clipping', Kenton Smith following behind shortly after.

  Birbraer continued to rouse the crowd with some extremely powerful hits but Murphy was immoveable in the Giants' net, so the period finished with the Giants still leading by one.

  The luck was definitely on the side of the Irish, with a succession of early third period goals putting the Belfast side four goals ahead, leaving Cardiff a lot of work to do if they were willing to fight for those all important points.  Fans and players from the Welsh side were looking lost entering the final five minutes, everyone praying that they would be able to pull something out of the bag.  Unfortunately, any attempts were too little, too late and the Giants' skated away with the points.

  Despite the disappointment, the Cardiff Devils will be shaking off the loss and throwing themselves back onto the ice on Saturday 29th September, when the Edinburgh Capitals cross over the Welsh border.  There's everything to play for and looks to be an interesting game.  Puck drops at 7pm, make sure you're there to support the boys!  Let's Go Devils!

Cardiff 0 - 4 Belfast - Final

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