By Ethan Harris
CARDIFF Devils held on to push past Manchester Storm at the Viola arena, running away 3-1 victors on the night.
Two goals from Joey Haddad and an opening strike from Matthew Myers were enough to seal the points for the Devils at home, as they moved up the league table into tied second place.
Captain Dallas Ehrhardt struck in the second period to give the visitors a slender consolation, but the Storm were sent home defeated on the night.
Slick passing play early on granted the Devils their first score of the evening.
Quick movement kept the Storm defence on its toes before landing at Matthew Myers, who buried the puck into the top right of the net with just 5:54 gone in the first period.
In a physical match-up, both teams began throwing their body weight around as they looked to set the tone.
Gleason Fournier was next to fire when he got a good look at the net, but his effort was well saved by goaltender Matt Ginn.
The returning Layne Ulmer tried to sneak a shot past Ben Bowns as the former Cardiff Devil tried to equalise for his side, but the stopper was wise to it and pushed the puck away from danger.
In fact it would appear to be Bowns evening, as he made a string of super saves throughout the match to keep the Devils ahead.
Adam Hughsman was next to test Bowns for the Storm, as he slid across the ice and looked to bury a certain goal from just two yards away, but Bowns slid across and managed to catch the puck before it could cross the line as the first period came to an eventual close.
The Devils would start the second period with a bang, doubling their lead within half a minute of the restart through Joey Haddad.
Weaving through the defence, the Devils man slammed the puck into the top-right of the net, leaving Ginn no chance to stop it as they struck early once again.
The visitors would be awakened by their latest setback, and soon began a barrage of chances on the Devils goal.
A period of sustained pressure nearly provided a way back into the game, but successive attempts were of no use as the Devils stood strong.
As the second period wound down, the Storm found their way onto the score sheet courtesy of captain Dallas Ehrhardt.
A rifle of an attempt struck the bottom right corner with force from a long distance away from the goal, as the captain led by example to bring his team within one.
However it was not to be, as through a tense third period the Devils sealed the game with just seconds remaining.
As they pushed for an equaliser, the Storm went for a man advantage on the ice as they left their net wide open with no goalie.
It would be a bold tactical move that came back to haunt them, as Joey Haddad recovered possession for the Devils and slipped the puck into the net from his own half.
The victory moves the Devils to tied second place, whilst the Manchester Storm remain at the bottom with four points on the board.
Highlights & post-game interviews with @AndrewLord17 & @Mcr_Storm’s Ryan Finnerty 👇🏻 https://t.co/NDSRIuUlb6
— Cardiff Devils (@cardiffdevils) October 6, 2019
Starting Line-ups:
Cardiff Devils – Ben Bowns, Mark Richardson, Gleason Fournier, Matt Pope, Sean Bentivoglio, Joey Martin
Manchester Storm– Matt Ginn, Dallas Ehrhardt, John Negrin, Layne Ulmer, Cody Thompson, Scott Simmonds.
Images by Robert Jones.