Devils give Clan hell as they dominate tough clash
Braehead Clan’s weekend got off to the worst possible start as they were thrashed by current Elite League champions Cardiff Devils.
Clan had been hoping to build upon a four-point weekend from the previous week but were quickly halted in their tracks by the Welsh side.
John Tripp’s side were on their travels for the final time in September as they prepare to return to Braehead Arena for their next outings.
Things got off to a poor start for Clan, with the Devils hitting an early goal after only three minutes.
Josh Batch was the man to force the hosts ahead as he reacted quicker than the Clan defence to f i re home a rebound following Mark Richardson’s original effort.
Clan were clearly frustrated by how things were going and Jacob Doty’s temper boiled over as he dropped gloves with Devils’ Mark Louis.
The pair were on the receiving end of five- minute major penalties for fighting as the action heated up.
Once the action got back under way, Clan found themselves even further behind when Sean Bentivoglio struck low beyond Ryan Nie to double to the lead.
Andrew Lord’s side seen found themselves three goals ahead as Richardson finally got himself on the scoresheet for Cardiff, firing home from Drew Parris’ wellworked assist.
Braehead looked to finally kick in to life in the second period but netminder Ben Bowns was at the top of the game to keep the scoreline edged in the favour of the hosts.
Clan managed to keep it tight at the other end of the ice but Cardiff finally killed the game off early in the third as Richardson struck his second goal of the game and his third point of the night to make it 4-0.
And a couple of minutes later, Andrew Hotham rounded off the scoring to make it 5- 0 as the Devils confirmed their dominance and to secure maximum points.