Devils to face Panthers in play off final

NOTTINGHAM, UK – The second semi final of the day between the Cardiff Devils and Belfast Giants began at a much slower pace than the first match up. Belfast were low on forward numbers so defencemen Graham Walton and Mike Hoffman had to be used on the Giants 3^rd forward line while Cardiff were at full strength.

The game soon came to life as Tyler Michel netted the games opening goal after 7 minutes of the contest to fire Cardiff into the lead. Michel was gifted the opportunity after a mix up in the Giants defence saw the Devils forward presented with the puck only a few yards from goal. Michel made no mistake and beat Stephen Murphy with a low shot.

Belfast had obviously done their homework on how Devils played as Giants forward Simon Lambert was trying to take advantage of any space in behind Cardiff’s defensive pairings. However Cardiff soon became aware of this tactic and altered their defensive line slightly. Giants had a great opportunity to level the game as they had a 5 on 3 powerplay opportunity mid way through the period however Belfast were caught out with a sucker punch as Max Birbraer netted the Devils 2^nd goal of the game on the shorthand.
Devils increased their lead just after the 30 minute mark when Cardiff captain Ryan Finnerty scored to give Gerad Adam’s side an imposing 3-0 lead. Belfast started to impose themselves on the game towards the end of the 2^nd period and Mike Jacobsen netted for the Giants after 35 minutes to give the side from Northern Ireland a glimmer of hope.

Giants continued to pressurise the Devils defence in the final moments of the middle session as Devils struggled to clear their lines on a number of occasions. Belfast would have gone into the final period on a high after the way they ended the previous period however Giants did not come to the party in the last period.
Belfast appeared to be devoid of attacking ideas for the majority of the final period as non of their forward lines were really firing and Giants had to rely upon defenceman Kaspars Astasenko to drive them forward on several occasions. The absence of Brandon Benedict and Marc Garside seemed to disrupt Giants’s offensive play as the side from Northern Ireland struggled to create many g enuine scoring opportunities during the 3^rd period.
Devils further increased their lead on 54 minutes when Stuart Macrae fired a sweet strike past the helpless Steven Murphy in the Giants goal. Cardiff could have extended their lead even further minutes later as Tyler Michel shot wide when in a good scoring position. Belfast did manage to exert some pressure on Devils in the final moments of the match. Giants had a 6 on 3 powerplay for the last minute of play as Devils picked up a couple of late penalties while Giants pulled Stephen Murphy for the extra skater in the hope they could find a late goal.
Cardiff were able to hang on their lead and Devils will be full of confidence after todays comfortable 4-1 victory when they take on Nottingham Panthers in the final game of the 2010/11 Elite League campaign tomorrow.
Contact the author – chris.mackenzie@prohockeynews.com
Images courtesy of Paul Lynch Photography