Devils host Coventry Blaze on Friday night in a return to Challenge Cup action, making this the first home CC game against their old foes.
The last time the two met, which was in this competition, Blaze skated off the victors in a 4-2 win, cancelling out the home sides earlier victory over upstarts, Guildford Flames of the same score, who, they face the next day.
It has been a weekend to forget for the home team, with back to back losses, so they will look to bounce back as well as to avenge their recent defeat to Blaze and keep their pace high for silverware this campaign.
So, what should we expect for this weekends games, particularly on Friday night?
What We Know
Chad Pietroniro is back after that bad hit in the game vs Belfast Giants. In a post via their social media outlets, the team announced he is doing okay, so no concussion, just some bumps and stitches.
I would expect him to ice out this Friday on a pairing similar to what they had on D with Marcus Crawford, though he does link well with Josh Batch.
Brandon Alderson is anticipated to get his first game in club colours this Friday, pending a successful review of his documents to play. Should that happen, he will definitely be included in the roster, most likely slotting in on the third line, which could mean Waller to drop to the 4th.
This would mean either Brandt or Duggan to be scratched, my take would be Duggan again, as Brandt put up the marker with a goal in his last game, so that should earn his roster spot, at least for Friday.
What To Expect
Callum Booth marshalled between the pipes for the opening Challenge Cup games, so it is to be expected he would want to cement a solid performance, especially on home ice.
Bowns has had a great start, despite recent results, so for a successful tandem to work, both goalies need to play.
More intensity would be the message from Coach Russell, despite the shot heavy performances, the execution of passing and shots need to improve, otherwise it will frustrate the players and the level of play would inevitably drop.
Trusting the process is crucial for each team, both players and fans alike, so despite the recent loss, it really did feel like the team controlled the game and it was a match they should have easily won.
During the last 2 games, the Devils put up 139 shot attempts, with 75 SOG, 4 goals and an average of 5.45% in shot efficiency. This is a perfect example of where they need to improve and simply get used to scoring for fun, which hasn’t happened in a long while, stretching back nearly a full year.
The shooting and generation is there, but for conversion, a small surprise might be here, in the fact that since the last brace of CC games, Cole Sanford has hit a dry spell. Whilst there has been praise for the depth lines contributing, the scoresheet is missing a familiar name.
Hopefully, he can get back in the goals column and continue his CC efforts, so far recording 3 points in 2 CC games.
Expected Line Up vs Coventry Blaze;
Trevor Cox – Joey Martin – Cole Sanford
Cole Ully – Jamie Arniel – Justin Crandall
Ryan Barrow – Tyler Busch – Brandon Alderson
Joshua Waller – Ben Davies – Riley Brandt
Mark Richardson – Josh Batch
Marcus Crawford – Chad Pietroniro
River Rymsha – Cody Donaghey
Callum Booth
Ben Bowns
IR – Evan Mosey
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