Cardiff Devils 3 Belfast Giants 5
Cardiff Devils will play Manchester Storm in the Elite League play-off quarter-finals.
The first leg is at Ice Arena Wales in Cardiff Bay this Saturday (7pm) with the return in Altrincham the next evening (5.30pm).
Devils had the three trophies they have already won – League championship, Challenge Cup and Erhardt Conference – on show at the IAW for their match against Belfast.
Supporters took the chance to have their photographs taken with the silverware, but the performance was well below the standards they have set this season.
“We lacked urgency, work ethic, desire and pace in the first two periods,” said coach Andrew Lord. “In the third we did come out a lot sharper. Even then we weren’t at our best, but a step in the right direction.
“Overall, it was not our best night.”
Lord rested a number of players, including himself, while Chris Culligan was ruled out by a minor injury.
Goalie Ben Bowns, Andrew Hotham and Joey Martin all sat out the match and Lord explained it was because they have played a lot of hockey this season, saying: “We’ve played 72 fixtures in total this season and those guys have played in virtually all of them and deserved a rest.”
Devils had beaten Giants 4-3 on Saturday to clinch the Erhardt Conference title, but Belfast bounced back to take the points on Sunday and secure runners-up spot behind Cardiff in the League.
After a goalless first period Devils made a major error behind their own net and Colin Shields fired home with Blair Riley making it 2-0 four minutes later.
Layne Ulmer pulled one back for the Devils, but Chris Higgins added a third for Giants late in the period.
Defenceman Ryan Martinelli increased Belfast’s lead to 4-1 four minutes in to the final period, but Matt Myers goal midway through the period kept Cardiff within touching distance.
Ulmer struck his second of the game after Devils had pulled goalie Thomas Murdy to set up a nervous final minute for Giants.
At 4-3 down Devils pressed hard and went close to a goal, but the shot flew wide and a James Desmarais fired into an empty net to clinch Belfast’s win with 10 seconds left.
Coventry and Edinburgh have missed out on qualifying for the play-offs, while the quarter-final draw is: Devils v Storm, Braehead Clan v Dundee Stars, Belfast Giants v Fife Flyers, Sheffield Steelers v Nottingham Panthers. All ties to be played over two legs.
Devils v Giants match stats:
Scorers, Devils: Layne Ulmer 2+0, Matthew Myers 1+0, Patrick Asselin 0+2, Sean Bentivoglio 0+1, Joey Haddad 0+2, Scott Hotham 0+1.
Giants: Colin Shields 1+1, Blair Riley 2+1, Chris Higgins 1+1, James Desmarais 1+2, Ryan Martinelli 0+1, Brandon Benedict 0+1.
Period scores (Devils first): 0-0; 1-3 (1-3); 2-2 (3-5).
Shots on goal: Giants (on Murdy) 11+11+13=35; Devils (on Murphy) 5+5+9=19.
Penalties in minutes: Devils 2+4+2=8; Giants 2+18+0=20.
Powerplays: Devils 1/4; Giants 0/3.
Referee: Jan Schmejkal.
Attendance: 3,088.
Men of the match: Devils, Layne Ulmer; Giants, James Desmarais.