By Terry Phillips
Cardiff Devils 0, Nottingham Panthers 8
Cardiff Devils’ eight match winning run came crashing to a dramatic end in front of almost 3,000 spectators at Ice Arena Wales.
Nottingham Panthers were two goals ahead inside two minutes and made it 3-0 after only five minutes nine seconds.
Home fans were stunned and head coach Andrew Lord described the team performance as: “Crazy. Insanity!”
The damage to Devils bid was restricted because closest challengers Sheffield Steelers suffered a 2-1 defeat at Belfast Giants.
Now, Lord must lift his players before the home clash with Steelers at the IAW in Cardiff Bay on Sunday evening (7pm).
He took himself out of the action halfway through the match against Panthers, taking his place on the bench with the game already out of Devils reach. Lord took an overview of what was happening and tried to get players going.
Three of Panthers goals came from blue line turnovers and Lord did not pull his punches, saying: “This was totally unacceptable in all facets. Panthers came in, worked extremely hard early and countered at every chance.
“Our work ethic wasn’t there, our attention to details and systems weren’t there.
“The turnovers were just so bad. There have been times where we have been sloppy this season, but this was crazy. Insanity.
“We have to learn from this move on and focus on a huge game against Steelers.
“I expect a response on Sunday. We have a smart hockey team in Cardiff. The hockey IQ is hands down the best I have been involved with. The players know when they are bad.”
Lord pulled goalie Ben Bowns after three goals and sent Thomas Murdy, but the pattern of the game did not change.
“Both goalies are disappointed with the way they played, but we also hung them out to dry,” said Lord in a bluntly honest post-match interview.
“I want to see a lot of heart (against Steelers). We must come out hard with energy and passion.”
It took the visitors less than a minute to get on the board when Brian McGrattan (51 seconds) and a minute later Stephen Schultz doubled the lead. The same played added a third on 5-09.
Devils made their goaltender change with Murdy replacing Bowns but the goals kept going in.
Andy Sertich scored shorthanded at 12-45 and with 26 seconds left in the opening period Dan Spang scored the fifth.
The middle period saw a bit of life from the home side, but Matt Carter made it 6-0 (27-50), Brad Moran netted the seventh (38-52) and Jeff Brown completed the scoring at 58-39.
Panthers goalie Miika Wiikman was perfect on the night, stopping all 30 shots he faced.
Devils are still top of Elite League by 10 points going into Sunday’s matches with Belfast now second, one point ahead of Steelers.
Match stats
Goals, Panthers: Schultz 2+1, McGratton 1+1, Sertich 1+1, Sprang 1+1, Carter 1+0, Moran 1+0, Brown 1+0, Kudroc 0+1, Farmer 0+2, Brown 0+2, Nikiferok 0+1, Lawrence 0+1, McMillen 0+1, Moran 0+1, Betteridge 0+1, Lachowicz 0+1.
Period scores (Devils first): 0-5; 0-2 (0-7); 0+1 (0-8).
Powerplays: Devils 0/2; Panthers 0/0.
Attendance: 2,835.
Referee: Jan Schmejkal.
Men of the match: Devils, Joey Haddad; Panthers, Miika Wiikman.