Devils double road trip comes with highs and lows.

This weekend, the Solent Devils had a double header on the road, starting Saturday in Cardiff.

As ever, when the two Devils teams from NIHL South 1 meet, tensions run high and the games are fast and physical.  This game was no different.

Andrew Magee – Photos courtesy of Reece Gough

Before four minutes had been played, Cardiff’s Joe Morris was found guilty of unsportsmanlike conduct, and given a two minute minor penalty.

Half way through the first, Solent’s Ralfs Circenis received two minutes for slashing.

Cardiff captain, Christopher Hart and Solent alternate captain, Richard Facey dropped the gloves, and each received two plus two for roughing.

To round off the period, Solent head coach, Alex Murray was sent to the sin bin for hooking.

Coming back after the break, Murray waited out his penalty, came back on to the ice, when he and his brother Mitch managed to find returning import Andrew Magee, after half a season away from Solent (and a brief dabble at Oxford), who put the puck past Michael Crisp in the Cardiff net.

Minutes later, Mitch Murray was given two minutes for tripping, and one second before he returned to the ice, Cardiff’s Zak Shanahan was caught hooking. Obviously, this is not all that happened, as he received five minutes, plus game misconduct.

Solent used this power play given to them, as Shaun Rudkin received an assist on a goal from Circenis.

Harri Taylor took up a spot in the Cardiff sin bin, as he got two plus two for roughing, however he headed off alone, with no one from Solent joining him.

Richard Facey – Photos courtesy of Reece Gough

It wasn’t long before the Solent sin bin got a visitor though, with Rudkin receiving two minutes for clipping.

The third started with more of the same, and after less than five minutes Cardiff’s Lee Duance got a rest on his own, for boarding.

Facey used this power play, and picked up an unassisted goal for the visitors, and made Solent’s lead 3-0.

This sparked an incident though, Circenis and Jamie Hayes each receiving two plus two for roughing.

Two minutes later, Solent D-man Ben Lock received five plus game for boarding.

With just over a minute to go, the Solent sin bin was once again in use, this time Steve Gosset caught tripping.

With only six seconds to play, Giacomo Raffaelli picked up a 25 minute penalty, for abuse.  The game ended, with the score line still 3-0 to the visitors.

Cardiff still picked up another pair of penalties, with Hayes and Duance both getting 25 match penalties.

Sunday, Solent Devils made the trip from Wales to Streatham, to take on the Redskins.

of Richard Brown taking the puck past Christopher Wiggins, with Steve Gosset in the background – Photos courtesy of Reece Gough

This game started roughly or the Devils, with Alex Murray being taken off the ice for treatment on the bench.  Murray returned to the ice, but looked shaken.

A few moments later, Ryan Giles was sent to the sin bin for high sticks, as his stick made contact with Magee’s head.

Facey ended up on the ice, bleeding from a cut on his nose, and received treatment on the bench, while the ice was cleaned of the red stain.

The game was halted with just under four minutes to go in the first, as an ambulance had to be called to take Alex Murray, who hadn’t recovered from his earlier incident.  Murray didn’t return to the game, and was released from the local hospital a few hours later with a suspected concussion.

The game restarted, with the extra time from the first being played at the start of the second.  Not long later, while the ref’s hand was in the air for a delayed penalty against Solent (Mitch Murray for hooking), Steven Fisher started the scoring for the home team, with assists from Joseph Johnston and Adam Wood.

Ten minutes later, Wood received a second assist, and Fisher got a second goal, putting the Redskins lead to two, and the Devils yet to score.

Despite a smattering of penalties for the Redskins, Devils didn’t manage to use them to their advantage, but prevented any more goals, and saw out the period 2-0.

Richard Brown – Photos courtesy of Reece Gough

Coming out in to the third, Joe Allen got himself an unassisted goal, pushing the home team’s lead to three.

Johnston managed to add a goal to his earlier assist, this time the helper coming from Dominic Hopkins.

Five minutes from the end, obviously feeling the loss of Murray, the Devils conceded a fifth goal, this time Fisher with the assist and Nick Chinn getting the goal.

Devils managed a late conciliation goal, Mitch Murray and Ralfs Circenis providing assists to Richard Brown’s third of the season, ending the game 5-1.