Cardiff Devils Set To Announce Fixtures This Week

Cardiff Devils fixtures for 2017-18 will be confirmed on Friday morning at 9am.

They will have a similar schedule to last season with almost an even split between Saturday and Sunday home games.

Devils will also host two Friday night games at Ice Arena Wales in Cardiff Bay.

Face-off times will remain the same for Saturdays (7pm) and Sundays (6pm) with the Friday nights starting at 7.30pm.

Devils again travel to Belfast for a double header, but there will be no Scottish triple header.

Managing director Todd Kelman explained his thinking behind that decision, saying: “I said last season that we wouldn’t do it again and I stood by that decision at the fixtures meeting.

“It takes it’s toll on the players and as much as our fans enjoy making a long weekend of it in Scotland, I don’t think it is fair to put the guys through that again. Some teams will choose to do it, but I chose not to.

“I’m not saying we will never do it again, but we are taking a year off from it. Three games in three nights is too much and the savings on travel to me does not outweigh the well-being of the players.”

Signings for 2017-18 season so far:

Netminders 2: Ben Bowns, Thomas Murdy.

Defence 5: Josh Batch, Mark Richardson, Gleason Fournier (import), Drew Paris (import), Mark Louis (import).

Forwards 9: Matt Pope (import), Jake Morissette (import), Layne Ulmer (import), Andrew Lord (import), Joey Martin (import), Joey Haddad (import), Sean Bentivoglio (import), Matthew Myers, Craig Moore (British u-23), Justin Faryna (import).

Devils early fixtures:

August

Saturday 12 Aladdin Cup v Nottingham Panthers (away, 7pm)

Sunday 13 Exhibition match v Nottingham Panthers (home, 6pm)

Saturday 19 Aladdin Cup v Braehead Clan (home, 7pm)

Sunday 20 Exhibition match v Krefeld Penguins (home, 6pm)

Sunday 20 Aladdin Cup, Nottingham Panthers v Braehead Clan (Nottingham, 4pm)

Champions League

Cardiff Devils will travel to Switzerland and the Czech Republic for their first two Champions Hockey League matches.

They take on HC Davos away on Thursday, August 24 and then travel to take on Czech team Bili Tygri Liberec two days later.

The first home match for Devils in CHL Group E is against Liberec on Thursday, August 31.

Davos travel to South Wales on Sunday, September 3, while Swedish team Vaxjo Lakers are at Ice Arena Wales on Tuesday, October 3.

Devils complete their group matches when they travel for the return in Sweden eight days later.

The top two teams in the group progress to the next round of the CHL.

Cardiff Devils Champions Hockey League group fixtures

August

Thursday 24: HC Davos v Cardiff Devils (7.45pm CEST)

Saturday 26: Bili Tygri Liberec v Cardiff Devils (3.30pm CEST)

Thursday 31: Cardiff Devils v Bili Tygri Liberec (7pm UK time, 8pm CEST)

September

Sunday 3: Cardiff Devils v HC Davos (6pm UK time, 7pm CEST)

October

Tuesday 3: Cardiff Devils v Vaxjo Lakers (7pm UK time, 8pm CEST)

Wednesday 11: Vaxjo Lakers v Cardiff Devils (7pm CEST)

Ticket information is available on the club’s official website at cardiffdevils.com