Cardiff Devils completed a successful four-point weekend with a 3-0 road win over Coventry Blaze at the Skydome on Sunday night, with goaltender Ben Bowns logging a 27-shot shutout.
“I thought we were a little slow in the first period, maybe a bit of bus legs or a hangover from yesterday, but we ground it out and battled hard,” said Bowns. “We boxed out well, cleared rebounds, and the guys really stepped it up in the second and third. We’re taking it one game at a time – we know what this league takes and just have to make sure we compete every night.”
The opening period was evenly matched, with both teams creating chances but unable to break the deadlock. Blaze forward Matt Gleason forced Bowns into a big early save just over two minutes in, while Alessio Luciani’s pass found Elijiah Barriga at the back post midway through the frame, only for Bowns to make another strong stop. Coventry had to kill a late penalty to Grayson Constable but did so effectively to end the first period 0-0.
The Blaze had an early powerplay in the second but couldn’t capitalise. Cole Sanford came closest for the Devils midway through the frame when he struck the post. Coventry thought they’d taken the lead through Barriga at 32:10, but the goal was waved off for a faceoff violation. Just minutes later, Cardiff went ahead when Brett Perlini broke in alone on Matt Robson and fired high to open the scoring.
The Devils took full control in the third period. Sanford doubled the lead just over two minutes in, and despite Coventry’s push to get back into the game, Bowns stayed perfect in net. Ryan Barrow added an empty-net goal with 82 seconds left to round off the win.
“I thought we had a pretty good game for the first 40 minutes,” said Blaze defenseman Ivan Chukarov. “A few tough bounces, but a team like Cardiff will make you pay for your mistakes. We’ve been struggling to score a bit, so we need a good week of practice to find what works for us and go from there.”
Photo: Scott Wiggins