Game Review; Devils Douse Flames in Easy Win

Challenge Cup So Far; 3 – 0 – 0, 6pts, 1st Place, Group A

CARDIFF, WALES – It was a night of big expectations and some ready to go storylines for a visiting team with a host of former players, hungry to build on a good win the week before.

For the home team, it was to maintain their form and continue to work through the gears, to put on a show and cement their position in the group as early as they can.

The match up usually fails to disappoint, tonight was no exception.

Here are my 10 key takeaways from the game vs Flames;

1. Stuttering start for Devils, tilted away from Flames

For the initial start to the game, Devils found themselves in a familiar position vs Flames, hit hard with pace, physicality and nuisance of a forecheck.

It set a tone early on, leaving the good guys almost scrambling to keep themselves in it, avoiding costly turnovers and to even keep puck possession.

It emulated from the dots, as Flames dominated on the draws, losing just a single face-off in the opening frame and they even went ahead early in the hits department.

This culminated in a goal for the good as far as the road team were concerned, again, an OZ draw win and a shot through traffic to open their account for the night.

It was their last real effort for nearly the whole game.

During the early onslaught of pressure and going a goal down, the good guys never dropped their shoulders, got frustrated or lost focus.

They did struggle to keep tape with the puck, with unforced handling errors, errant touches, passes and missed-timed break outs.

It started to dissipate as the first frame got going, especially once the hits started to build up. This created space for the wingers and blue liners to gain the zone, tidy up the NZ and slow down the pace from the opposition.

After nearly 12 minutes, they eventually evened the score then, toward the end of the first frame, on a power play thanks to former Devil Tyler Busch, Sanford put away the puck very quickly on the restart.

Momentum fully swung to the home team and they never looked back.

2. Determined Flames quickly ran out of fuel, as they succumbed to hellacious Devils

One of the most notable attributes for the visitors was their lack of push back once the home team found their bearings in the game and took a stranglehold on it.

After the third goal went in, Devils were in free flow and beat their opponents to the puck each time, won each battle, forced high danger turnovers, caught them napping in the NZ, even Lacroix beat them for pace (albeit very early on in the game).

The craft and IQ from the likes of Estes, Oligny, Perlini et al paved a hard battle line that saw the energy drain from the bodies of the Flames.

They were cooked before the end of the 2nd dance and utterly grilled before some handbags were thrown in a malaise at the benches half way through the 3rd.

Not the compete levels Coach Dixon would appreciate so early on in the season, especially in a competition they were soundly eliminated from early on last time.

For the Devils, they never left 2nd gear. Mainly, thanks to smart rotation within the lines and a fair bit of stoppages to total up the PIMS.

3. Multi-point nights for a host of players

As Yaremko had a brace of goals, Davies and Sanford with a lamp lighter each extending their scoring streak in the cup to a goal per game, MacDonald finally got a goal and just like Kontos, had a brace of points.

Estes had a stat night and firmly put his hat in the bag for first star of the game and weekend, extending to 8 points in just 3GP.

In total there were 5 individual players on multi-point nights.

4. Yaremko with a Gordie Howe Hatty (including a rapturous amount of respect)

He has so far been one of the smartest pick ups of the offseason, to what many would call, a sneaky good bit of business.

He has so far been that game changer the club has been missing for the last few seasons.

He can handle his own.

He can score goals.

Great hand eye off the puck.

Effortless skater.

Battles in the right way when in those greasy areas and around the net.

Will go with anyone.

Will pummel absolutely anybody.

He finished off Matt Alvaro convincingly, who was already brutalised by Ryan Barrow earlier in the game, who also got a good hit on him before that.

To top it off, he earned 3 points on the night (2G, 1A) and with his fighting major, earned the coveted Gordie Howe Hat-trick.

Take a bow, Nolan, your team mates owe you beer or plenty.

5. Organisation ruled the day

As mentioned already, Flames started off in their typical fashion, that should be expected of them. Fast, determined, a nuisance to play against.

Then, as the Devils tilted the game in their favour, as well as keeping their cool, the Flames fizzled out and lost all composure.

It might have taken a while for the frustration to truly boil over, but their inability to compete against the relentless nature of the home team certainly took them off their game and the afters started to build.

Cross checks here, high sticks there, slashes everywhere.

Then, there was the confusion across their bench as the lines got so disjointed, it seemed like a game of men vs boys and for the boys, it was their first game out, unsupervised.

Not an indictment that their coach would want, but the evidence and game tape is there to see.

Devils dropped to 5 men on D with a late call up for Bryceland, but this never fazed them. They grew with confidence and an assured swagger throughout, sticking to their game plan and finding ways to put away their foes.

6. Bowns strong between the pipes

He picked up the Save of the Week in the EIHL top 5 last weekend and may have put up the biggest hand or glove yet to reclaim it again ,as Flames did at some flashpoints, test his resolve.

The shot through traffic the only blip on the night, he still made the net a daunting target, with the likes of Gosselin, Coughler and Jacome whiffing shots left, right and centre, with some great positional plays by his blue liners.

He faced 33 SOG, one less than his team fired at the other end, which came as a surprise, but held his own with that confidence he is known for, earning a 96.97 SV% for his efforts.

50% of Flames’ high danger shots were wide of the target, with 14 completely wide from the net.

Due to their team being so gassed, there was rarely a follow up on any rebound and if so, they lost the battle against the puck recovering opponent.

A solid performance that more than contributed to the goal fest the other end.

7. Former Devils caused havoc, for their own team

There were 5 former Devils players dressed for the Flames, amazingly, Burman didn’t get a chance to take over the net after Fazio was deep fried both on and off the ice.

With a 2 + 5 + 20 (game) on the night, Tyler Busch continued where he left off as a Devil, the original penalty lead to the go ahead goal for the Devils.

Ully also put his team on the back foot later on in the game with a lazy and very amateur stick infraction near the NZ, leaving the officials with no option but to raise a hand to signal the penalty.

Despite their dominance on the dots, Coughler and Busch combined for a single SOG, Busch not hitting the mark at all with just a single shot attempt.

For just over 17 minutes of TOI, Coughler also managed a single shot, albeit on target.

Waller managed just 3 and went 33.3% for shots on target and Ully, far more productive, with more chances of scoring, but rarely got enough to create grade A attempts.

All 4 skaters were out for at least one goal, but that would be hardly lighting the world with surprise considering the scoreline.

8. Estes masterclass, shades of former greats

He might have got the GWG vs Steelers in OT last Sunday, however the previous power plays were as nervy as the game was as a whole.

Despite this singular flaw in the earliest stage of the season, Estes has delighted every fan of the Devils, with many hailing his performances to the likes of Andrew Hotham.

He can skate a lot better, which immediately gives him a head start, often leaving the likes of Fournier as an after thought.

Of course, Fournier didn’t immediately make an impact on the scoresheet, he developed his game with each season. The last blue liner to really light the lamp and collect points at pace was Marcus Crawford.

Except, Estes has a broader hockey IQ, a sharper vision and can move the puck extremely well.

Seldom gets drawn into bad battles and rarely gets outmuscled during them or off the puck and doesn’t have the fiery temperament that could send him to the box.

A cool, calm, collected player, just quietly going about his craft.

With a cannon of snipe for extra tekkers.

He currently has 8 points in 3GP, leading the Challenge Cup for now, with 4 of them tonight. 1 goal and 3 apples has launched him into the light, for a Devils team that are putting the pieces together for what should be a really engrossing season.

9. Scoring trends taking form, however there is a caveat

With Sanford (7), Davies (4) and Yaremko (4) all having a goal per game in the cup, the early form is building nicely for the group and that is without legendary leader Joey Martin and highly regarded Kohen Olischefski in the mix, as they recover from injuries.

Both players were of course key top 6 forwards and represent 50% of the clubs’ leadership group.

Sanford is now 15 points from 300 as a Devil in all EIHL competitions and 6 more goals from 150 in 270GP.

Meanwhile, Davies is just 8 games shy of 850 EIHL games played and 9 points from 350. Something is showing that he will have a barn stormer of a season.

After just 3GP in the cup, they have scored 16, going just over 5GF per game and conceding on average 2GA.

Is this the answer to the question of the off-season regarding goals or is it still too early to tell?

At this stage last season to compare, they are exactly the same, except an OTL at home vs Storm in a bonkers 11 goal game.

The main difference is line defence, conceding 9 at this point last season and just 6 so far. Their determination and enterprising play being a key factor so far, earning them an early OTW, where as the last campaign, they never obtained a single OT win.

Of the goals conceded, they have neatly trended downward in a positive fashion, from 3 – 2 – 1. Just one more level to go, so no pressure.

There is a difference between right now and previous seasons.

With the 7:1 rout of the Flames, that creates a belief in the team, the system and the process. As long as it continues, that trend might tilt positively from break-even, to the plus. Previously, once they hit 4 or 5 goals, that was it. Nothing else and that caught them out far too often.

There is no mercy in hockey, load up that puck basket, the boys and fans are hungry for more.

10. Physicality prevails

The main gripe that harangued the club over the last 5 seasons was physicality.

Sure there was intensity. There was also grittiness.

But it wasn’t prolonged and went absent too often.

Yes, this team has players who can hit like a freight train and not just one player making the plays. Also, there are a fair few who are willing to drop the mitts when called upon.

So far, teams have tested this resolve to learn the reaction and what to truly expect.

Each game and each game week, I have often pondered what the hitting is truly like.

This creates the space, eliminates dangerous plays through the passing lanes and grinds down opponents’ strength, speed, affecting their skill and critical thinking and like with their opponents on the night, utterly obliterating their spirits.

Flames roared ahead in this department early on, along with their face-off wins, going up 7 to 2 with hits and eventually became the first on the board with the game opener.

From then, the tables turned and Devils established their supremacy and took the reins of the game firmly in their grasp.

They eventually lead in the hitting department 11:7.

This didn’t stop there, as they upped the ante in the 2nd, blowing out the visitors on the scoreboard and in the micro battles throughout the game.

Flames managed just 2 hits in response as Devils battered their way to an 18:9 advantage.

Eventually, after the hand bags and bruised egos from the visitors, they ended their match up with 22:11 on hits.

Not as many as expected, but it added to the game and how it panned out.

This is a major factor to winning games. Perhaps this has now put the league on notice.

Coventry awaits.

Three Stars of the Game vs Flames