Fife Flyers 1, Cardiff Devils 2

Cardiff Devils flew home from Scotland having completed a four-point Elite League weekend.

Captain Jake Morissette and his team followed their five-goal win against Nottingham Panthers at home by grinding out a win against Fife Flyers.

Sean Bentivoglio and Joey Martin, with a shorthanded strike, netted for Devils, who came out on top thanks to the work of their special teams.

Flyers had eight powerplay opportunities, including 33 seconds of 5v3, but Devils killed each one and carved out a second period goal when they had only four skaters.

Bentivoglio scored on the PP for Devils, helped by Andrew Hotham and Martin, as they went 2-0 ahead and then held on for a crucial win.

Flyers pulled their goalie, Shane Owen, in the final minute, but despite piling on the pressure, Cardiff’s Ben Bowns turned every shot aside to hold on for the win. He stopped 32 of the 33 shots he faced.

Martin was Devils man of the match for the Devils with a goal and an assist.

Cardiff collected two wins from two games over the weekend, while Sheffield Steelers were beaten at home on consecutive nights by a Belfast Giants team running into exhilarating form.

Now Devils focus on their Challenge Cup semi-final first leg clash with Giants at Ice Arena Wales on Wednesday (7.30pm). The winners will play Steelers or Nottingham Panthers and the final will be played at IAW.

Match stats:

Scorers, Flyers: Chris Wands 1+0, Mathew Sisca 0+1, Brendan Brooks 0+1.

Devils: Sean Bentivoglio 1+0, Joey Martin 1+1, Andrew Lord 0+1, Andrew Hotham 0+1.

Period scores (Flyers first): 0-1; 0-1 (0-2); 1-0 (1-2).

Shots on goal: Flyers 12+8+13=13; Devils 12+8+6=26.

Penalties in minutes: Flyers 2+2+4=8; Devils 4+6+8=18.

Powerplays: Flyers 0/8; Devils 1/3.

Attendance: 1,712.

 

Elite League – top five only

All teams play 52 matches

Pl Pts

1 Cardiff Devils 35 53

2 Belfast Giants 36 52

3 Sheffield Steelers 34 47

4 Braehead Clan 37 38

5 Fife Flyers 34 38