Coventry Blaze made it a perfect weekend with a 2-1 victory over the Cardiff Devils in a tight contest at the Skydome.
“It’s always good to get a win. It sucked to go down early as the shot squeaked its way through, but I think that’s one of my strengths – to stay composed,” said Mat Robson, who stopped 45 of the 46 shots he faced in the Blaze net. “I had belief in the guys in front of me and we found a way to get it done. It’s never good to have guys go down injured, but it’s giving opportunities for others to step into roles and we’re really happy with how everyone is stepping into whatever is asked of them.”
The Devils wasted no time in getting going and were ahead inside the opening minute. A bobbling puck in and around Robson was put home by Ryan Barrow after 53 seconds. Christian Stoever pulled off a couple of decent saves as the Devils ran into penalty trouble towards the end of the period, but they stayed ahead by a single goal.
Period two was the Blaze’s turn to start fast. Fifty-three seconds were on the clock this time when Stoever stopped Grant Mismash’s shot, but Mike Pelech was on hand to put the rebound home for a powerplay goal. The Devils took two further minors in the period but came out all square.
“I felt like we lost our momentum when we started taking minors, then when we got our opportunities we were out of gas,” admitted Devils stand-in captain Jimmy Oligny. “We believe in our team and have had a great start. I don’t think tonight is a good representation of what we can do.”
Just over two minutes into period three, a loose puck rolled perfectly for Colton Saucerman to fire home a slapshot and put the Blaze ahead. Sam Duggan saw Robson deny him on a breakaway chance as the Devils tried to get level, and as the game neared its conclusion they laid siege to Robson’s net but to no avail.
“We’re feeling good. Bringing home silverware for the fans is something we want to do this season and we’re taking every game seriously,” continued Robson. “It’s a bit different this year starting with just Cup games, but it was a really good test for us tonight going into the week ahead.”
Despite the loss, Oligny is enjoying his time in Cardiff. “It’s been awesome in Cardiff so far. This team is treating myself and my family so well. I’m excited about the team; we work hard, have a good group of guys, and I’ve enjoyed the Elite League so far.”
Photo: Scott Wiggins
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