Devils in double-header against Slovakian side

CARDIFF Devils continue their preparation for the Elite League season when they take on Slovakian side HK Poprad in two home games over the weekend.

The puck drops tonight at 7pm and tomorrow at 6pm at Ice Arena Wales as Andrew Lord’s side continue their warm-up for the new campaign looking for a championship treble.

Cardiff have lifted the Elite League title for two successive seasons, qualifying for the Champions League again, and are preparing for a tilt at becoming the first club to win three in a row.

Poprad’s head coach Roman Stantien played for HC Slovan Bratislava and represented Slovakia at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, and retired from playing almost a decade ago.

American-born winger David Bondra is in the Poprad team along with Canadian defenceman Max Ross.

Vladimir Kosac, an athletic netminder with terrific reflexes, and Thomas Vosvrda are Poprad’s goalies, while their roster also includes Finnish D-man Joona Ervins and Simon Karlsson from Sweden.

Devils coach Lord will be looking for an improvement from his team, having had a full week of training since their 6-3 home defeat in a friendly against Nottingham Panthers.

Lord will want his team to be sharper on powerplays and penalty kills as they aim to be ready for the start of their competitive season at the end of this month.