Speaking before Saturday night’s game, Devils captain, Alex Cole, said “We’ve been on a roll, and hope to keep that going in tonight’s game. No team in this league can be taken lightly, so we will be looking to come out of the blocks hard and get the job done early.”
The Basingstoke Buffalo may have surprised the Devils somewhat, as they came out hard too, both teams playing fast and physical hockey, with Blair Dubyk getting a bit to physical with Cole, as Cole headed across the centre line, Dubyk was sent to the penalty box for elbowing Cole, taking him off his feet.
The Devils applied the pressure, Drew Campbell attacking hard, but the Buffalo team kept things tight and Dubyk returned to the ice with the score unbroken.
Mark Pitts scores SOlent’s third goal – Photo courtesy of Dave Chapman.
Minutes later, a face off in centre saw the puck sent in to the Devils zone where it was picked up by Mason Wild. Wild took the puck down the ice, crossing the Buffalo blue line at speed, passed across in front of goal to Richard Facey, who finally managed to get the scoring started.
Play restarted, and both teams carried on the battle on the ice, neither wanting to give ground to the other. After the puck was frozen in the Basingstoke end, the puck was dropped and Alex Murray scooped it out and across to Facey, who stopped it in front of Aaron Craft. A bit of fancy stick work, Craft committed to a dive and Facey changed where the puck was going, Craft’s outstretched glove not quite able to reach to stop the puck ending up in the net once more.
Moments later, the Devils took a penalty of their own after Rhys McCormick was caught hooking, deep in the Buffalo zone. The Devils, however, braved the onslaught of the Buffalo attack, and the score remained 2-0 through McCormick’s penalty all the way to the end of the period.
Five minutes in to the period, Daniel Lackey was heading hard at the Devils goal, when Ben Lock hooked him and brought Lackey to the ice. Lackey was awarded a penalty shot, and with just the Devils netminder to beat he went in fast, moving the puck with incredible agility on the end of his stick, and as he tried to wrong foot Aaron Taylor, Taylor remained focused on the puck. Lackey tried to nip to the side at the last minute and slot the puck past the post, but Taylor was there to stop it dead.
Both teams returned to the ice, and the play resumed with the same intensity as before. Evan Crockford made a huge run down the ice towards the Buffalo goal, and his shot went just high of the goal, rebounding from the glass. The loose puck was picked up Chris Hocquigny, sent to the front of the goal, in to the path of the oncoming Mark Pitts, who used his momentum to sent the puck past Craft before the netminder could react.
Basingstoke somehow picked up the intensity following this goal, but anything that made it past the Devils defence was stopped by Taylor, who made some truly remarkable saves, especially recovering to stop rebounds.
The end of the period, and the score was still 3-0 to the Devils, and with the atmosphere alive in the Gosport Arena the teams came back to the ice to play the final twenty minutes.
Basingstoke Buffalo were attacking hard, really making Taylor work, but somehow, the cat like netminder threw himself around between the pipes, making an impregnable wall that the puck couldn’t break through.
As Alex Trendall took the puck from the Devils zone and was heading down the ice towards the Buffalo goal, Samuel Compton came in hard and earned 2+10 for a check to the head on Trendall.
The Devils took the puck in to the Buffalo zone, and sent it round and around the goal, Craft knocking it back, the defence trying to clear it, but the Buffalo always in danger. It was only a matter of time with Campbell, Murray and Facey all pressuring the goal, the puck was bound to go in, Facey getting the final touch – the forth game in a row he earned a hat trick.
At 4-0 up, the Devils suffered their first set back of the game, first as McCormick was caught hooking once more, then seconds later when Pitts earned himself a cross checking penalty. This gave the Buffalo a 5 on 3 advantage for 1:42. Somehow though, the Devils refused to let anything in, the defence throwing themselves in front of every shot, anything making it past them getting turned away by Taylor.
First McCormick, then Pitts returned to the ice, and the play was cranked up to eleven, both teams charging up and down the ice, hammering shots at the goals.
Kieran Annis went on a run at the Buffalo goal, his shot blocked and the rebound heading out to centre where Facey picked it up and slid it to the far post, Pitts ready and waiting to slot it home.
Kyle Goddard earned himself a penalty for cross checking, with barely five minutes to go. A minute later, Dubyk and Pitts got snarled up in the corner, holding the puck, not letting it go, so the referee gave them both two minutes for delay of game.
Solent mascots with Christian Cole – Photo courtesy of Dave Chapman.
As the final buzzer went, the Devils cheered, all applauding the efforts of Aaron Taylor on his shut out performance.
Devils coach, Alex Murray, was happy to talk after the game, saying “Great result, we knew it was going to be tough, they came ready to play tonight and I’m really proud of the guys, we stuck to our plan and got the two points.”
Aaron Taylor, when asked if he was looking for more starts this season said “I’m not putting anyone under any pressure, I am here to do a job when I’m called upon and I am happy with where I am at.”
As they prepare for their rare home double header the following week, Murray commented “This year we have a deeper squad than we previously had, but only usually have one game weekends, so the guys don’t get as tired. Its going to be a challenge for me. A squad this size is great, everyone stays competitive, a double header will be fine, we have a big squad and everyone will be able to handle it.”
Saturday night, the Devils will face Cardiff Fire, followed by hosting the Bristol Pitbulls on Sunday.
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