Cardiff Devils held firm to take a 5-3 win over Belfast Giants at the Vindico Arena on Friday night, completing a strong four-point week and extending their unbeaten home start in the league.
The Devils struck early through a slick passing play. Joey Martin’s smart backhand feed sent Cole Sanford through on a 2-on-1, and he found Brett Perlini across the crease for the game’s opening goal at 3:29. Ben Davies doubled the lead at 10:44 as the hosts continued to dominate the early exchanges.
Belfast responded after a Jake Gaudet tripping call, capitalising shorthanded when Nicholas Guay broke away and beat Christian Stoever at the second attempt with 12:23 played.
Just over six minutes into period two, and moments after a Devils powerplay had expired, Reid Irwin drove the net and saw his shot saved by Stoever, only for the rebound to fall kindly for Brandon Whistle to tap home his first goal of the season and tie the game.
The Giants were left to rue a missed 3-on-1 opportunity moments later when play swung up ice, Sam Duggan threading a perfect pass into the slot for Josh MacDonald to beat Jackson Whistle top shelf and restore Cardiff’s lead at 30:12. From the restart, the Devils broke forward again, and Cole Sanford beat Whistle short side just six seconds later to make it 4-2. Giants Head Coach Adam Keefe immediately called a timeout to settle his team, who had gone from almost leading to two goals down in the space of 15 seconds.
Belfast had a 5-on-3 chance to pull closer but couldn’t convert. They did, however, make it 4-3 when Jordan Kawaguchi’s shot found its way through a screen from Jake Gaudet at 34:25. The Giants pressed hard, but Kristoff Kontos had a glorious opportunity to restore Cardiff’s two-goal cushion, only for Whistle to deny him on the breakaway.
An even final period followed, with Whistle producing a pair of spectacular desperation saves to keep the Giants within one. However, with the netminder barely off the ice for an extra skater and 82 seconds to play, the Devils broke forward and Sanford calmly waiting to reach the red line before slotting into the empty net from halfway to seal the victory.
Photo: Dave Williams