By Rebecca Hall
Cardiff Devils bounced back after tough week to thrash Glasgow Clan 6-1.
Devils were back at their Vindico Arena after a demoralising 6-0 loss the previous Sunday away to the Manchester Storm – and they got back on track in some style.
Glasgow were also looking for a response after losing 5-4 to Guildford Flame on Wednesday night – and given they beat the Devils 4-1 in their last meeting, they would have been hopeful.
End-to-end hockey characterised the first period with both teams having chances early on.
The Devils made the most of their opportunities as they put themselves one ahead just three minutes into the game with an unassisted goal by Josh MacDonald.
The fast-paced play continued throughout the first period but neither team could capitalise meaning the Devils led 1-0 going into the second phase.
Just three minutes after the restart the Devils found themselves a man down as Mark Richardson received two minutes in the penalty box for holding.
Clan then equalised with a well-executed powerplay goal, as a shot from Cole Ully slipped past Ben Bowns, with the goal assisted by Mitchell Heard and Cade Neilson.
Pete Russells’ side then began to pull away, scoring their second goal on the 30-minute mark as a rifle of a shot from Riley Brandt confused Clan keeper, Landon Bow for a goal assisted by Andrew Macwilliam and Richardson.
Luck then intervened for the Devils as they found themselves back on the powerplay as Heard sat out two minutes for slashing in the 36th minute.
The Devils then took a 3-1 lead through Tyler Busch, assisted by Kohen Olischefski and MacDonald with just two minutes remaining in the period.
The home side refused to let up, scoring their fourth goal just one minute later after a shot from Schoonbaert found its way to the back of the net, assisted by Cody Donaghey and Ryan Barrow.
As the second period ended, Clans’ Bow was not happy as he made his feelings known about the 4-1 scoreline to the referee and the rest of the arena.
Just 25 seconds into the third period, the Devils added to their tally with a goal by Cole Sanford, assisted by Macwilliam and Joey Martin, making it 5-1.
Both teams threw everything at each other, with Bowns standing tall for the Devils heading into the final eight minutes of play.
The Devils wanted more, and in the 54th minute their sixth goal was netted by Barrow after a great passing sequence round the back of the Clan net by Schoonbaert and Ben Davies.
Overall this was a solid win by the Devils to take with them into Sunday’s game away to the Dundee Stars.