Cardiff Devils remained unbeaten and at the top of Group A in the Challenge Cup with an impressive 7-1 win over Guildford Flames at a sold-out Vindico Arena.
A fast start saw the Flames take the lead inside three minutes when Charlie Curti’s shot from the point sailed through a crowd of players in front of Ben Bowns and found the net at 2:43.
Cardiff grew stronger as the period progressed and levelled when Jimmy Oligny’s shot at 14:41 was tipped by Nolan Yaremko to wrong-foot Justin Fazio. The Flames could have regained the advantage but were denied by the post, and instead Cole Sanford put the Devils in front with 1:25 left in the period.
Sam Duggan almost made it 3-1 when he struck the crossbar early in the second, but Ben Davies was in the right place to bang home a loose puck at 27 minutes for the Devils’ third. Josh MacDonald added a fourth just over five minutes later to put Cardiff firmly in control.
The Devils pulled away at the start of the final period. A neat set-up from MacDonald allowed Brandon Estes to make it 5-1 just 27 seconds into the third, before Yaremko added his second and Kristoff Kontos struck soon after to take the hosts to seven goals- all inside a three-minute spell.
A melee in front of the benches resulted in six players receiving penalties, including an ejection for former Devil Tyler Busch. That proved to be the final major incident as the Devils saw out a comprehensive victory to remain unbeaten and top of Group A.
Photo: James Assinder