Cardiff Devils stayed a point off the top of the Elite League with a three-goal win over Dundee Stars at the Vindico Arena.
Before puck drop, the Devils retired Neil Francis’ number 29, which will hang in the rafters in recognition of the Welshman’s contribution to the club on and off the ice.
On the ice, Cardiff had the better of the early play, including a puck cleared off the goal line, but it was Dundee who struck first. Just over seven minutes in, a turnover allowed the Stars in behind the defence and Jonathan McBean beat Christian Stoever to open the scoring.
The Devils responded midway through the period. Kristoff Kontos fed Brett Perlini, whose initial shot was saved, but Kontos reacted quickest to poke home the rebound and level the game.
Cardiff took the lead just seven seconds into the second period through Cole Sanford.
A heavy hit from Connor Caponi shortly afterwards led to a fight with Matt Boudens. While Boudens got the better of the exchange, the momentum swung firmly in Cardiff’s favour. Gleason Fournier went coast to coast and fired past Jarrett Fiske at 25:29 to make it 3-1, and Brett Ferguson added another just 50 seconds later to stretch the lead. Dundee called a timeout following the goal.
The Stars pulled one back late in the period when Drydn Dow fired home from the point to reduce the deficit.
Fiske left the net with two minutes remaining as Dundee pushed to get back into the game, but Josh MacDonald sealed the result with an empty-net goal to complete a 5-2 Devils win.
Photo: Aled Hopkins
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