Devils tame the Panthers to round off an impressive home weekend

HAVING beaten Fife Flyers 4-1 the previous night, Cardiff Devils rounded off their first weekend with fans back in Ice Arena Wales with an impressive 5-1 victory over the Nottingham Panthers.

Mac Carruth got the start in net for the Devils, while at the other end it was Kevin Carr for the Panthers.

Both goalies were solid in the first twenty minutes, but after a scoreless opening period, the Devils came to life in the middle frame.

Josh Waller put the Devils ahead 2:02 into the period, shooting low in the slot, finishing off a Ben Davies’ pass from behind the net.

A wonderful tic-tac-toe play, finished off by Trevor Cox gave the Devils a two-goal lead with 27:39 gone. The Panthers pulled one back with just over five minutes to play in the period when JC Brassard beat Mac Carruth from the blueline to halve the deficit and give his team some life.

Three quick-fire goals from the home side saw them take control of the game in the final period.

Matt Register put home his own rebound at 44:49 after nice work from Jake Coughler to put the Devils up 3-1.

Three minutes later, Sam Duggan deflected Register’s shot past Kevin Carr to extend the lead to 4-1 at 47:57.

Cole Sanford ended the scoring at 49:41 with a slick individual effort, picking up a misfired shot in his own end and going the full length of the ice, dancing through two defenders before sliding the puck past Carr to make it 5-1 for the Devils.

A near perfect weekend at home, with the Devils treating their fans to two of the most exciting games of the season and two impressive wins.