09 Dec 2023, 19:00 | Regular season | Dundee Ice Arena |
Dundee Stars | 2-4 | Cardiff Devils |
Periods: Shots: | 1-0 (7-13) | 1-3 (19-9) | 0-1 (13-8) | Total: 39-30 |
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Referees: Craig/Ferguson  |  Spectators: 1629 |
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Goals and assists
Cardiff Devils kept up the chase on leaders Sheffield Steelers with a two-goal win in Dundee over the Stars.
Despite
Cardiff having the majority of the puck possession and out-shooting
their hosts by almost two to one through the first 20 minutes, it was
the Stars who led after period one. Carter Johnson was sitting a Hooking
minor when the Devils got caught changing, and the Stars broke 3-on-1
where Spencer Naas beat Ben Bowns five-hole to open the scoring - cue
hundreds of teddy bears being launched onto the ice.
Ten seconds
into period two, Brandon Alderson tied the game as the Devils began to
make the most of their chances. Some five minutes later, the Devils
broke on an odd-man rush where Jamie Arniel fed Justin Crandall at the
far post to beat Kevin Carr and put the visitors ahead. Naas grabbed his
second of the game with the equaliser 81 seconds later, taking a
wonderful reverse pass from Harms to fire home from the slot. However,
Cole Sanford ensured the Devils would be ahead at the break with their
third with 3:46 left in the period.
Dundee came close to an
equaliser in the third period on several occasions, with most good
things happening through Ryan Valentini or Anthony Rinaldi. Inside three
minutes to go, Kyle Pouncy had a golden opportunity to level things but
Bowns just about got enough of his one-timer coming in at the far post.
At the other end, Carr was called into action to deny the on-rushing
Trevor Cox from putting the game to bed.
Marc LeFebvre called his
timeout with 1:52 to go and pulled Carr, but the Devils did settle
things with 64 seconds remaining despite Stars' protests of a missed
call in the lead up to Crandall's empty net goal. Drydn Dow took a minor
penalty for his complaints as the Devils took the 4-2 win, while
LeFebvre was ejected for his emotions getting the better of him.