By Rebecca Hall
Cardiff Devils’ hard-fought victory against Sheffield Steelers was the perfect way to mark a momentous night for captain Mark Richardson.
After taking over the captaincy following the Covid pandemic, Richardson clocked up his 1,000th game for the team in front of an appreciative home crowd.
The clash between these two long-standing rivals also saw the introduction of newly-signed Steelers goaltender Jere Huhtamaa, who made his debut for the away side as a replacement for the injured Matt Greenfield.
The Devils showed their sometimes-doubted physicality in the opening stages as Josh MacDonald and Reid Duke both threw some big hits to get their team going.
It appeared to work as the Devils opened the scoring in the 5th minute through MacDonald.
Devils kept the pressure on the Steelers after their goal but some good pass interceptions by Sheffield meant Cardiff could not inch away.
Devils then found themselves on the powerplay as Joona Huttula for the Steelers sat in the penalty box for two minutes for a check to the head in the 10th minute.
New recruit Huhtamaa in the Sheffield net made some solid saves to keep his team trailing just by one, but soon enough the Devils made it 2-0 with a goal by Ben Davies off the rebound.
Things got more heated at the end of the first period as both Steelers’ Maxim Golod and Devils’ Andrew Macwilliam sat two minutes in the box for roughing.
This did not stop the Devils, though, as they capitalised again making it 3-0 with a goal by Gleason Fournier timed at 17:32 to cap a very solid first period for the home side.
Pic: Rebecca Brain
The Devils refused to hold back as the second period began despite their clear advantage.
A cross-net pass by Duke led to a fourth goal for the Devils scored by Brett Perlini, just two minutes in.
The home-side kept their foot on the gas, constantly putting pressure on the Steelers and just two minutes later they struck again through Macwilliam for a 5-0 advantage.
With Devils goalie Ben Bowns standing tall, the second period ended with that scoreline.
The third period started with lots of end-to-end hockey being played as both teams battled for possession.
This momentum then stopped as the puck was deliberately launched out of play by Steelers number 5 Huttula, who then sat for two minutes for a delay of game penalty timed at 43:51.
The Devils could not make anything of the extra attacker, but fortunately for them after a slap shot by Cole Sanford rifled into the back of the net, athey extended their lead to 6-0.
Sheffield did pull one back with a goal by Daniel Ciampini, timed at 48:57.
Shortly after that, Devils power forward Riley Brandt number 25 then dropped the gloves with a willing Mark Simpson after a hit on Sam Duggan.
Pic: Rebecca Brain
Both players sat in the penalty box for five minutes for fighting, with Brandt getting an extra two minutes for instigating. This gave Sheffield the extra attacker for two minutes but like the Devils, Sheffield could not make anything of it.
Cardiff then found themselves in the same predicament as Sheffield earlier on in the game as they were in the bin for two minutes as Jarrod Gourley sat for a delay of game penalty.
This time, Sheffield did capitalise with their second goal of the game timed at 58:11 and scored by Mitchell Balmas.
After a few good passages of play, Steelers scored a third with only 13 seconds left on the clock, through Simpson.
After a scrambling finish, the game ended 6-3 in favour of the Devils as they outworked the Steelers in all departments.
There were certainly lots of positives for the Devils to take into their next game against the Guilford Flames on the 1st of December.