Matthew Myers insists Cardiff Devils players are excited by the prospect of back-to-back Elite League title clashes with Belfast Giants in Cardiff Bay.
Highly experience Great Britain international Myers and his Devils team-mates top the table in pursuit of a record-breaking third successive championship, playing Giants twice at the Viola Arena.
Both matches will attract 3,000-plus sell-out attendances and Myers says: “I don’t see the boys getting nervous, if anything they’re excited.
“You want to play in games where there is a lot on the line. It’s fun.
“We also have to play two games in Belfast’s building next month so there is loads that can change between now and the end of the season.”
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Devils have earned seven successive wins going into their clashes with Giants and have a lead of five points ahead of their rivals.
Captain Jake Morissette and his team would extend that advantage to nine points with home victories on Saturday (7pm) and Sunday (4pm).
Myers’ GB team match Mark Richardson, who takes his Elite League appearances total in all competitions to 800 by playing in both games against Belfast, says Devils are a target for other teams.
“The rest of the league all want to beat us and try to stop us winning three titles in a row,” he says. “It’s been one of the most competitive seasons with a lot of teams beating each other.
“It’s really been a challenge, but we’ve put ourselves in a good spot heading in to a huge weekend now.”
https://twitter.com/BelfastGiants/status/1086229289505308674
Richardson was taken by surprise when it was revealed he was close to the 800 landmark, saying: “I didn’t have a clue the milestone was coming up.
“I can remember my first game in the old Wales National Ice Rink, then playing in the Big Blue Tent and now our Viola Arena.
“Given that we’ve played in three rinks during my career, 800 games starts making a bit more sense.
“Andrew Hotham was my defence partner for the better part of four years, the kind of player who just took the game by the horns and take over with whatever was needed.
“If you needed a big goal, he’d score it. If you needed a big play in our own end, Hotham would step up. He was such a competitor and a huge reason why we had so much success.”
Richardson will be only the sixth player to reach the 800 game milestone in the EIHL. Two of those are Welsh –
Cardiff-born Jonathan Phillips (Sheffield Steelers) and Matthew Myers.
The five players on 800-plus:
Jonathan Phillips (958)
Matthew Myers (896)
Jason Hewitt (811)
Ashley Tait (809)
Russell Cowley (801)
Belfast defenceman Mark Garside insists the double-header in Cardiff Bay won’t decide the Elite League title race, but Giants are confident they can earn an away win double.
Giants, fresh from a heartbreaking Continental Cup final shootout defeat against Arlan Kokshetau, are fired up and Scottish skater Garside says: “The cup final disappointment is fresh and guys are angry at losing.
“We’re keen to push on three fronts in the league, the cup and the play-offs.
“We’re good enough to win both and go in there thinking that.
“There is still a lot of hockey to be played either way and both sides will be going for the title right to the end.
“They’ve played one game more than us. We had a poor December which allowed them to catch up with us, but there are still 25 games left to go so hopefully we can catch up to them a bit this weekend.”
The last time the two sides met in Cardiff, a brilliant performance resulted in an 8-1 Belfast win, but Garside says that has no bearing this weekend.
“It’s so long ago that it’s almost been forgotten about,” he said. “It was one of those games where we had a good night and they had a bad night,
“We’ve seen them since in our building, they’re a really good hockey team and we’ll have to bring our best to win.”
Belfast Giants visit the Viola Arena on Saturday, January 19 (7pm) and Sunday, January 20 (4pm).
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ELITE ICE HOCKEY LEAGUE 2018/19
| TEAM | GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | PCT | GF | GA | PIM | STREAK |
| Cardiff Devils | 36 | 27 | 5 | 4 | 58 | .806 | 146 | 90 | 416 | 7-0 |
| Belfast Giants | 35 | 26 | 8 | 1 | 53 | .757 | 134 | 81 | 474 | 2-0 |
| Nottingham Panthers | 41 | 20 | 12 | 9 | 49 | .598 | 130 | 127 | 669 | 0-4 |
| Fife Flyers | 36 | 19 | 13 | 4 | 42 | .583 | 126 | 124 | 497 | 0-1 |
| Glasgow Clan | 35 | 19 | 14 | 2 | 40 | .571 | 127 | 118 | 421 | 1-0 |
| Guildford Flames | 37 | 18 | 17 | 2 | 38 | .514 | 123 | 118 | 479 | 0-1 |
| Manchester Storm | 38 | 17 | 18 | 3 | 37 | .487 | 112 | 133 | 859 | 4-0 |
| Coventry Blaze | 35 | 15 | 13 | 7 | 37 | .529 | 125 | 138 | 425 | 0-1 |
| Dundee Stars | 38 | 14 | 15 | 9 | 37 | .487 | 105 | 131 | 387 | 2-0 |
| Sheffield Steelers | 37 | 17 | 19 | 1 | 35 | .473 | 114 | 132 | 518 | 0-5 |
| Milton Keynes Lightning | 38 | 11 | 23 | 4 | 26 | .342 | 95 | 145 | 706 | 0-4 |