Cardiff Devils and Sheffield Steelers go head-to-head in the most crucial weekend of the season so far.
The rivals clash in an Elite League fixture on Friday, when a Devils win would lift them top of the table, and then face each other again in the Challenge Cup final one Sunday.
Both matches are at the Viola Arena in Cardiff Bay and will be played in front of 3,000-plus sell-out attendances.
March is the final month of the regular season and the pressure is on for the top two, while Nottingham Panthers, Belfast Giants and Coventry Blaze are all still have a shot at the title.
“It has been dramatic and extremely stressful at times, lots of ups and downs, but the parity has never been so high in our league,” says Steelers coach Aaron Fox.
“The situation here in Sheffield is that we have great fans, great ownership and we are expected to win.
“When the regular season is the important one, there are no off-nights. Games in early October mean as much as they do in March.
“That grinds on you mentally.
“I am literally coaching most games as play-off games and shortening the bench because those games in October/November might have cost me the title if we are not careful.
“So for me that is the grind of a 54-game season starting early September and going into April with not being able to take your foot of the gas at all.”
Both Devils and leaders Steelers earned one win from two games last weekend and they are separated by one point. Cardiff, though, have three games in hand.
Fox and his Steelers travel to South Wales on Friday and stay at a hotel location until after Sunday’s cup final.
Devils lost 7-3 at Nottingham Panthers on Saturday and Lord said: “It was an extremely good hockey game.
“The first period was arguably our best of the season. We were dominant, executed how we wanted to play, but missed the net a ton of times. I don’t think we’ve missed that many all season.
“Nottingham’s shorthanded goal [their first of the match] was critical and so was their second to tie it up at 2-2.
“Our second period was sloppy and our awareness was lower than I’ve seen in a long time. We did not restrict Sam Herr, who is one of the better players in the league and he scored a hat-trick.”
Devils then defeated Dundee Stars 6-2 on Sunday with Charles Linglet scoring a hat-trick and Lord said: “I loved our response [to Panthers defeat]. Last time we played Stars, in their rink, we mismanaged the puck.
First we had the Bownsy wave, then came the Dusey clap and last night, @Briles25 did this ….👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/fbI7Mg7FYJ
— Cardiff Devils (@cardiffdevils) March 2, 2020
“This was much better. Stars are a tricky team to beat, a trap team and they counter well. We did lot of good things over the course of the 60 minutes.”
Mark Louis and the suspended Stephen Dixon sitting out, while Matt Pope and Bryce Reddick were rested on Sunday. Devils have two spare imports and Lord faces big selection decisions for this weekend’s clashes with Steelers.
Friday’s league match starts at 7.30pm, while Sunday’s final, also at the Viola Arena, will face-off at 4pm.
Sunday: Cardiff Devils 6, Dundee Stars 2
Match stats v Dundee Stars:
Scorers, Devils: Charles Linglet 3+0, Gleason Fournier 1+0, Joey Martin 1+0, Mike McNamee 1+1, Joey Haddad 0+4, Stephen Dixon 0+2, Shaone Morrisonn 0+1, Blair Riley 0+1, Evan Mosey 0+1, Sean Bentivoglio 0+1, Sam Jardine 0+1
Stars: Anthony Beauregard 1+1, Egils Kalns 1+0, Craig Gans 0+1, Kevin Duifour 0+1, Craig Garrigan 0+1
Period scores (Devils first): 2-1; 2-1 (4-2); 2-0 (6-2)
Shots on goal: Devils (on LeClerc) 11+19+13=43, Stars (on Ben Bowns) 11+15+15=41
Penalties in minutes: Devils 4+6+0=10; Stars 2+0+0=2
Powerplays: Devils 1, Stars 4
Face-off won: Devils 33, Stars 24
Referees: Tom Pering, Andrew Miller
Attendance: 3,100
Devils team v Stars:
Goalies: Ben Bowns (back-up Thomas Murdy)
First line: Gleason Fournier, Mark Richardson, Sean Bentivoglio, Joey Martin, Evan Mosey
Second line: Mark Louis, Sean McMonagle, Charles Linglet, Stephen Dixon, Joey Haddad
Third line: Shaone Morrisonn, Sam Jardine, Masi Marjamaki, Mike McNamee, Blair Riley
Fourth line: Josh Batch, Matthew Myers, Sam Duggan
🗣Reaction: @PanthersIHC 3️⃣🆚4️⃣ OT @covblazehockey | #EIHL pic.twitter.com/xdMOdAAAAb
— Elite Ice Hockey League | #EIHL (@officialEIHL) March 1, 2020
Saturday: Nottingham Panthers 7, Cardiff Devils 3
Scorers, Panthers: Robert Lachowicz 1+0, Mathieu Tousignant 2+0, Samuel Herr 3+2, Brett Perlini 2+1, Ryan Horvat 0+2, Oliver Betteridge 0+1, George Golovkos 0+1, Jacob Hansen 0+2, Brian Connelly 0+3
Devils: Evan Mosey 1+0, Joey Martin 2+1, Matt Pope 0+1, Sean McMonagle 0+2, Hoey Haddad 0+1
Period scores (Panthers first): 1-1; 2-1 (3-2); 4-1 (7-3)
Shots on goal: Panthers (on Ben Bowns) 7+10+9=26, Devils (on Kevin Carr) 14+8+20=42
Penalties in minutes: Panthers 6+4+2=12; Devils 2+6+2=10
Powerplays: Panthers 4, Devils 4
Face-offs won: Panthers 28, Devils 26
Attendance: 6,185
Referees: Tom Pering, Matt Thompson
Devils line-ups v Panthers:
Goalies: Ben Bowns (back-up Thomas Murdy)
First line: Gleason Fournier, Mark Richardson, Charles Linglet, Joey Martin, Joey Haddad
Second line: Sam Jardine, Shaone Morrisonn, Evan Mosey, Toms Rutkis, Matt Pope
Third line: Bryce Reddick, Sean McMonagle, Masi Marjamaki, Mike McNamee, Blair Riley
Fourth line: Josh Batch, Matthew Myers, Sam Duggan
Elite League results:
Sunday: Nottingham Panthers 3, Coventry Blaze 4 (after overtime and penalty shootout); Cardiff Devils 6, Dundee Stars 2; Manchester Storm 0, Glasgow Clan 2; Guildford Flames 5, Sheffield Steelers 4
Saturday: Dundee Stars 3, Manchester Storm 1; Sheffield Steelers 8, Fife Flyers 2; Belfast Giants 4, Guildford Flames 5 (after overtime); Nottingham Panthers 7, Cardiff Devils 3; Coventry Blaze 7, Glasgow Clan 3
Elite League standings (all teams play 54 fixtures)
| # | Team | GP | Score | Pts |
| 1 | Sheffield Steelers | 48 | 208:147 | 63 |
| 2 | Cardiff Devils | 45 | 155:135 | 62 |
| 3 | Nottingham Panthers | 46 | 147:124 | 58 |
| 4 | Belfast Giants | 47 | 146:124 | 58 |
| 5 | Coventry Blaze | 46 | 173:155 | 57 |
| 6 | Guildford Flames | 47 | 146:146 | 53 |
| 7 | Manchester Storm | 48 | 118:147 | 41 |
| 8 | Glasgow Clan | 47 | 137:178 | 39 |
| 9 | Dundee Stars | 46 | 141:172 | 38 |
| 10 | Fife Flyers | 48 | 123:166 | 34 |