Weekend Review; Devils Industrious in Silverware Charge

League Record So Far; 28 – 15 – 2, 58pts, 4th Place

L10GP; 6 – 4 – 0, Trend = Increasing

CARDIFF, WALES – Devils hosted title chasing and 3rd placed Panthers in a show down that kicked off the last 10 games left in regular season, on the eve of a big night in Belfast for the Challenge Cup Final.

The result has left Panthers one point shy from Steelers and Devils now firmly back in the picture for the a late title push, especially to keep driving for a better playoff position.

That was also both teams second of back to back games needing extras, with Devils earning an OTW in Coventry the night before and Panthers defeating Steelers in a shootout.

To add, that was the 4th game for Devils needing extra hockey, with the slate now evened up in sensation style, form, class and resurgent optimism.

Here is a run down of the weekend from Devilsland;

As the article has been written, there were other games ongoing, with a brief snapshot of the league table, here is an interesting variable for GF (goals for) of the top 5 teams, including Coventry.

Taken from the EIHL website of current GF vs GA in the top 5

It wasn’t long ago that from a poor run of form which momentarily dropped Devils to 5th overall, they had less goals than 8th place Stars. Unbelievable at the start of the season to suggest as such.

Back to Back OT Wins for the Men in Red

For what was an egregious decision to award Blaze a goal from a shot that only hit the crossbar and went out, to the goal awarded for a clear, distinct kicking motion, the OT heroics were something this club needed all season.

That kind of high drama, even high jinx from the men in stripes with such baffling decisions and displays of ineptitude, getting the game done and won like that, just before a massive cup final in the home barn of a team that drubbed you weeks ago, lifts more than just good spirits.

Then, in a game where everything was done to win but score, due to the brilliance of the opposition net minder, maintaining a shutout and launching a run of wins in the process, proven that this team is a united group and with a full squad to choose from, can be hard to beat.

Good teams find a way to win. Championship teams find a way to keep going, no matter what is stacked in front of them. This team, already, is both. now they need to use this momentum and secure another.

Grande stood tall and earned league wide respect

We often point to skaters as being great mid season pick ups, but this year it has to be a nod toward Panthers goalie, Jason Grande.

He has been solid since the start for his team, quickly ascending to the top of the goalies lists and with game he plays, the averages still stack in his favour.

He made 46 saves on the night, earning 97.87 SV%. The previous night, 96 SV% with 29 stops and a shootout win. He looked unbeatable.

He currently leads the league in both GAA (1.82) and SV% (94.49), eventually knocking Bowns off his season long hold on some of those stats after 23GP. Like Carruth, he has 2 shutouts in the league so far.

What an incredible signing, especially considering the club would have had just Hunter Vorva and Ryan Bednard, so credit to the little guy that is follicly challenged and lost his nerve a little after Sanfords OT winner.

Devils industrious in pursuit of maximum points

When teams face a hot goalie, frustrations start to seep in, bad decisions in the heart of the moment get made, opportunities become missed and even dry up.

In a game where both goalies have kept their teams honest and made to continue searching for ways to the treasure chest of points, it will often go against the better team when blood is first drawn.

It could have happened at any time. Especially as calls were mostly in Panthers’ favour, despite some beauties and whoppers being flagrantly missed.

Despite what the game sheet might read, the unsportsmanlike game misconduct penalty probably went to Panthers head cheer leader, Danny Stewart.

There were late calls in the end of the middle and final frames, which gave Panthers some life around the net, at one point they even managed to control the puck in the Devils DZ for more than 45 seconds.

Those are the times when you need your goalie to step up and to battle through the penalty to kill it off and keep your chances alive.

They are usually those times teams fail and eventually fall when the final buzzer sounds.

Not this team.

Remember, there is no quit in them and they had proven that on back to back nights against 2 teams on both occasions.

Their output and dominance on the game can be seen clearly with the shot generation. Devils had more SOG (47) than Panthers had shots (46).

Devils managed to shoot at just over 70% on net throughout the game, keeping Grande busy, but also forcing turnovers, winning board battles, protecting the puck and executing their passes in the NZ.

A noticeable difference was their percentage zone entries, which if tracked properly by the ‘stattos’ in the league, would be able to paint and vivid picture of the skill on show vs their visitors.

The Barrow (wheels) line was extremely effective on the forecheck, but also at creating chances. Schoonbaert had 6 shots, with Barrow at 5. They worked relentlessly to keep the pace going and that put Panthers under immense pressure, allowing for turnovers, unforced giveaways and some chippy melees after whistles.

A lot of their chances were created by the success on the dots from Busch, taking 68% in wins on the draws. When matched up with Gourleys line, there was so many looks, shut down plays and constant cycling. How it went to OT with no goals scored was outrageous.

MacWilliam Masterclass

He often gets called for things such as boarding, roughing but tonight MacWilliam was allowed to do MacWilliam things.

Big Mac, for his other known name, came up clutch defensively and utterly destroyed other humans in the process. There were several massive hits that drew in the crowd, the ire of the other team and the fear in the men in stripes if they dared to whistle against them.

He has had a season where just by being technically sound, a strong athlete and high quality shutdown defenseman, he has received some stupidly baffling calls against him, due the lack of ability of his opponents, coupled with the lack of high level acumen from the officials.

Simply put, he is too good for this league, even at his age and stage of his long, high end career. However, if you want to learn how to be that big bodied shut down blue liner, roll the footage for what Andrew MacWilliam does night after night.

Belfast awaits

Next up for the Devils is the midweek cup final vs Giants in Belfast. After the run of results so far this season, it is not an enticing prospect for them. Each game has been a defeat and last time, over the DH weekend, they went 10 goals unanswered and were shutout in the process.

However, since then, despite a rocky response, the Devils have pieced together a convincing run of form, added a new player and had multiple returnees in the mix.

Giants, have been battling for every point, but failing to light the lamp as much as when they pumped the good guys at home a few weeks ago.

Their lead has been cut to two points with Devils 7 adrift. Since that weekend, they had only scored 8 goals in the league (not including the Sunday game vs Flames) and got shutout on their way to the final by Panthers, scraping through on aggregate by one goal.

Devils have scored 24 goals since that shutout, earning two in the process from both goalies and absolutely spanked the Steelers in the process.

The question will be and this is a big question, who starts in net for Devils come Wednesday?