League Record So Far; 4 – 0 – 1, 9pts, 1st Place
CARDIFF, WALES – Devils skated home from Coventry with a comfortable road win to cement a 4 point weekend, to bounce back from a week of disappointing results and outcomes.
There was a lot to discuss before the weekend begun, however, it felt right to let the hockey play out, then reflect without emotion ruling the keyboard.
Up first, are 10 key points from the game vs Panthers;
1. Devils found perfect response
It was a game that had some nerves about it. The previous meeting in Cardiff went to the visitors in a 5 goal shutout to embarrass the home team and send their fans reeling.
They had lost midweek at Sheffield in the cup, which consigned them to fate for the other game, where Panthers went to extra hockey and penalties to secure a win vs Blaze. In a cruel irony, that entire result meant Devils failed to progress in the cup, much like when they defeated Panthers in the final game last season, consigning Blaze to an early exit.
The damage was already done on road wins, so had Devils beat Panthers at home, they could have been in a much better position. In fact, had they taken those wins on that weekend, progression would have been secured with games to spare.
Following that result, Devils were taken to OT vs Clan, who skated home with maximum points. A sour point indeed.
Throughout October in the cup, Devils lost all of their games. In the league however, they collected 5 points from 6 available, with two games going to OT.
A response was needed, but after going a goal down on the PK, they continued without distraction and easily picked apart the Panthers, to take the points in a 4:1 regulation win.
2. Brandt on the money
For the tying goal, the puck was expertly fed to Brandt, who was left alone at the top of the point and he sniped the biscuit above the shoulder of Grande who stood no chance.
The way Brandt can finish close range, one on one vs the Goalie, is elite. After 5 league games, he has gone for 3 goals and a helper. Not a bad start for his regular season.
3. Martins double delight
Martin made himself a nuisance for the 2nd goal of the night, as the top pairing combined to send the puck at the net and the Goat got a stick in to deflect. It was the go ahead and game winning goal, before he finished the business with around 30s left, to secure the win with an ENG.
His awareness and driven play helped to create space and provide anchor points for the supporting cast as he lead his men in red to a smooth win against an embattled road team.
4. Estes slick with back hand beauty
Brandon Estes, similar to other players had hit a pointless skid of late, which considering his electric start. had some concerns as to whether it was more flash in the pan that something to expect.
He helped to set up the Goat with the go ahead goal, then in the middle frame, he took the puck under pressure on the back hand, saw a pocket of space in the net, with a lot of traffic built up in front of Grande.
Then, as cool as you like, he flipped the biscuit back hand for a beauty of a finish. From my own view point, I spotted the empty space in the top left corner (Grande’s right), thinking, would he dare to?
He did and it was sublime.
It was his first goal in 5GP in all EIHL competitions, which would have been a huge relief for him.
That wasn’t his only good play on the night, as at one point, he got turned over after whiffing a shot on the point, then skated back to regain possession in the NZ and set up a dangerous play.
That kind of tenacity has been missing for the past few seasons, so seeing him get that goal was a huge reward for his excellent character on the ice.
5. Bowns stoic, puts in performance of the season
He made 29 saves and was unlucky to have the goal against whilst on the PK, then at one point, he got run over in a friendly fire play that took the air from him.
Even after that, he made some outrageous saves, from some hard angles, high danger looks and through traffic.
He didn’t want the puck anywhere near him and it showed.
It broke the spirit of visitors, who just couldn’t find a way through, especially 5 on 5.
6. Barrow line set the tone
The previous week saw an ominous decision to drop Barrow to the 2nd line, a week after his heroics, especially against the Panthers.
It had been 3 times in as many weeks with games vs Panthers and Blaze, which one player has stood out. In fact, he has all season.
So, it came as no surprise that there was imbalance in the set up and difficulty to produce effective offense. So, with a return to the top line, it created a huge dividend in breaking down the Panthers defensively and slowing them up when off the puck.
Hard hits, dominant on the dots and method of pulling them apart from all directions lead to a windfall for the rest of the lines, with the 2nd and 3rd each making a mark on the game sheet.
Not to mention the blue liners and Mosey linking up with Sanford for the final goal.
In the end, the hits went massively in the Devils’ favour, outhitting the visitors 19:9.
7. Power play woes – what is the solution?
After 5GP, Devils are yet to convert on the PP. This isn’t new, as it has been a recurring theme since Jarrod Skalde was coach.
Even then, their PP wasn’t pretty, as the favoured blue liner, Matt Register ate minutes, mainly from taking an ice age to skate from the goal line to the OZ blue line, then ultimately getting pinched. Time and again.
Under the Quarter Backing of Marcus Crawford, there was a night and day change, but it was one dimensional.
Then, with Pete Russell, it was here or there, but never consistent. The PK however, was dominant.
The sole criticism I can make about Estes, is that he is not the man to command the PP, at least not yet.
Similar to Register, he takes for too long to break out and get the unit to the blue line. This snail paced attempt at zone entry inevitably gets snuffed out, as the defending PK has time to see the play, turn over the puck or disrupt the passing sequences and send it back the opposite end.
The cycle repeats. The puck is moved too slow, the passes then move too slow and players end up skating ahead of play as they look to line up positionally with their unit.
Where an over lap is created, the puck is still too slow or deep, allowing the PK to wait and pinch with ease.
The 2nd PP unit isn’t much better, as they tend to use the wings all be it often under more pressure to get something going. So, the passes are errant, their line mates are not set up positionally or the passes again, arrive off the tape too late and are easy to break up.
Even a speculative stretch pass from deep doesn’t work, as it would often be easily read and the defender is ready before the pass is made.
Then there is the lack of urgency to regain possession, once lost.
0 from 13 power play chances is abysmal. 8 goals from 40 attempts in the Cup, 8 from 53 overall. Just 15% both league and cup.
Luckily, they have a good defensive unit, which has so far kept the questions at bay, but ultimately, how can it be changed?
The first and most blatant issue is to drill into the team to gain the zone as quick as possible and even carry beyond the goal line, to draw in more PK’ers.
Then, with quicker tape to tape passing, find that lone shooter to set up shot after shot and hound the other team when the puck is loose.
It is far too casual and there hasn’t been any effort to address, adjust or assess it. There is plenty of hockey left to go, but with a lengthy pre-season and the bulk of the cup campaign already done, this should have been resolved by now.
8. Helgesen stands on business
One look at his CV and you wouldn’t be judged to expect a high PIM total from this player. He is imposing, hard as nails and has a no fuss attitude to his game.
His stick off the puck rarely gets drawn into penalties taken, he can lay the body into the boards with ease and players bounce off him.
He made 3 blocked shots on the night, in a sequence where he blocked one, then Bowns saved another. He was a formidable presence around his net and boxed out players with ease, finding ways to turn over the puck and free up the DZ.
He has settled in pretty quickly and with his slot on the third pair with veteran Brit, Mark Richardson, he seems to grow as a player week after week. To the point, Richardson has started to activate off the point more, knowing he can rely on Helgesen to back check effortlessly and even break up a dangerous counter play without being drawn into the box.
His IQ is proving to be more than what most expected from him. A coolness under pressure with a viscous physicality.
A defence man’s dream.
9. MacClean game for the newcomer
He might have had a nervy start last weekend, but the newest blue liner had a very clean game, adding an even bigger physical presence to the Devils defensive core.
He made sure nifty zone entry attempts were boxed out at the blue line and calm with the dump and change, picking spots and finding the right time to keep the line changes smooth.
He made a huge blocked shot and managed to recover the puck and set up a counter play, with a keen vision to see where pace met space on the back foot and was quick to shut down the lanes.
Once Fournier finds his hands again and gets contributing offensively, this unit will gel really well. Which leaves a headache for the coach. A problem any would rather have, than a host of injuries.
10. Sanford still searching for that next goal
Not for the first time in his career, Sanford went to 10 straight games without a goal, but managed to grab a primary assist on the night.
He only put up 3 SOG on the night, so that with some PP opportunities throughout the game, hasn’t helped himself to get on the board.
If he was on any team across the continent, he would have been released by now.
The very least, dropped further down the line up or scratched. His puck control was a lot more dynamic, rather than flailing in the past couple of weeks, so only time would tell until he snaps the cold streak.
The last one was 11 games. If history repeats, what would be made of it?
Key Takeaways vs Blaze
Devils faced off against Blaze on the road, for their 3rd meeting in as many weeks, with the hope of bagging some extras to cap off the weekend and ensure a strong start to their league campaign.
Bowns Boss
It started off as an even affair, with both goalies making key saves, Bowns called on again, with some barmy stops, making sure that for the EIHLs’ Saves of the Week were accredited for actual selections, instead of a cover stop.
He also faced another 27 shots, blanking Blaze for the 2nd time this month, in back to back games where the result ended as a 3 zip win for the good guys.
As the game wore on, the home team looked lost for solutions, lost for ideas and ending up losing their resolve entirely.
Power-Nap?
Again, Devils went without a PPG, after failing to convert on 2 man advantages. They did however generate more chances and camped in the OZ, unlike their previous efforts.
MacClean Grabs First Point
MacClean helped to set up a delicious breakaway for Perlini, who finished with a coolness that was just ice to the veins of Robson, who had to collect his pride and under garments from the ordeal.
It capped off a solid weekend for the new blue liner, who put in as much work as Estes for example, with the same amount of SOG and blocked shots.
Estes, for his efforts, who was resolute in leading his team on the night, got rewarded for a helper on the ENG.
GOAL SANFORD
The streak starts now, as Cole Sanford finally got on the board with a lamp lighter, collecting the trash from a spilled puck, tucking it behind Robson who could only look on as Sanford was waiting for the bounce.
A much needed goal for the start forward, who snapped his skid after 10 straight games.
Barrow Free Wheeling
The one player that has been adding week after week, was Ryan Barrow, who capped off the night with an ENG to secure the 4 point weekend, for a brace of points altogether.
This has been his best start to a season and is now just one goal away in regular season games from his total in the last campaign and one overall across both EIHL competitions, 2 away from all EIHL (9).
His brace on the night made it a point per game in the league so far, which adding to his 7 in the cup already, has seen him rise as firm fan favourite for this campaign.
He still has a long way to go to beat his best ever EIHL season, which was his first at Storm, of which put him on the radar. Will he best that and go on a monster run? We certainly hope so.
MacDonald MIA?
MacDonald is still missing in action this season, at least in terms of production. After 14GP, he has just 6 points. So, seeing Sanford convert should hopefully fire up his competitiveness and get going.
So far, the team has been able to close the door on games, something they haven’t been able to do for a few seasons, with different coaches.
This has been the biggest improvement overall, so adding the players currently missing on the scoresheet would see them be able to not just control and see out games, but to romp ahead for fun.
It is building. It will come.
Three Stars of the Weekend
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