Manchester Storm 2, Cardiff Devils 4
The Red Army bus was buzzing as Cardiff Devils fans headed home from the Silver Blades Arena in Altrincham.
More than 100 fans made the trip and Devils rewarded them with a hard-fought Elite League victory which extended their lead at the top to nine points.
Supporters on the packed Red Army bus loved the music on their return to South Wales, starting with: “We’re gonna win – we’re gonna be champions.”
Right now that is looking a distinct possibility, although Devils have a tough run-in.
Player-coach Andrew Lord and his players came from a goal down to take the points against Manchester and are now three wins from being crowned League champions.
There are six fixtures left and Devils remain in pole position.
Cardiff started with intensity and purpose, but were caught on the break after two minutes 54 seconds when Storm’s Darian Dziurzynski opened the scoring.
Devils levelled at 33-57 with Lord the scorer and then Patrick Asselin netted with a sublime finish (39-24).
That eased any Devils nerves a little, particularly among their loud and proud supporters
The final period saw both teams with plenty of chances, but Ben Bowns in net for the Devils and Mike Clemente in goal for the Storm both were both in top form and turned aside everything that came their way.
Devils finally extended their lead on a 2v1 break when Martin fed Bentivoglio, who tapped in the Devils third goal of the night at 52-46. Storm pulled one back on a powerplay with Joey Haddad sitting out holding minutes for holding the stick. Mark Heatley netted to make it 3-2 (55-48).
Storm pulled their goalie with 90 seconds left and Devils made sure of the points with an empty net goal. Andrew Hotham grabbed a loose puck and chipped it to Layne Ulmer, who found Haddad at centre ice and he fired the puck into the empty net.
Devils now put their league title ambitions to one side and focus on the Challenge Cup final at Ice Arena Wales in Cardiff Bay on Sunday (4pm).
The final is a 3,088 sell-out and is certain to be a fiercely contested clash.
Lord says he is looking forward to ‘one heck of a test’ when his side take on Steelers.
“We’re going for every trophy, every season.” Lord said. “2015 was our first trophy in ten years, and that meant a tremendous amount to the organisation, the fan base and the city and we’d love nothing more than to lift the trophy again.”
“But it’s going to be one heck of a test against Sheffield”
Match stats
Scorers, Storm: D.Dziurzynski 1+0, M Heatley 1+0, M Valery-Trabucco 0+1, P Phillips 0+1, C Cartier 0+1
Devils: A Lord 1+0, P Asselin 1+0, S Bentivoglio 1+0, J Haddad 1+0, M Myers 0+1, M Richardson 0+1, L Ulmer 0+2, J Martin 0+1, M Louis 0+1, A Hotham 0+1.
Period scores (Storm first): 1-0; 1-2 (2-2); 0-1 (2-4).
Shots on goal: Devils (on Clemente) 12+12+12=36; Storm (on Bowns) 10+9+4=23.
Powerplays: Storm 1/3; Devils 0/3.
Referee: Tom Pering
Attendance: 1,438
Men of the match: Storm, Omar Pacha; Devils, Patrick Asselin.