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Andrew Lord believes Cardiff Devils defeat in the Challenge Cup final can ‘fuel and motivate’ the team over the final month of this season.
Elite League leaders Devils were visibly shocked by their 6-3 defeat against Belfast Giants in the final at Ice Arena Wales.
Belfast coach Adam Keefe and his players lifted the trophy and celebrated on the ice and Lord talked about the ‘brutal’ pain of defeat.
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Devils, though, are hot favourites to win the league title for a second successive season, effectively needing three wins from eight games to be certain.
They are also aiming to win two other trophies in the Erhardt Conference and play-off championships.
“It’s brutal, absolutely brutal,” said Lord. “Hats off to Belfast. They played a tremendous match.
“Our first period was fine and we had good minutes, but Giants first goal really changed momentum and gave them belief.
“They took things up a notch after that, particularly in the third when they had us down by a goal and we were not at our best for portions of the game.
“Look at the turnovers on our defencemen. We weren’t simple enough out of our D-zone.
“Defeat in a final leaves a real bitter taste. Their first goal made it hard and their fourth was immense, putting them 4-2 ahead when there wasn’t much time left.
“Giants were playing extremely well and were hungry to win. We still had a huge amount of belief going into the third, but their fourth goal burned us.
“Belfast played hard in the third, played in the right way and we didn’t counter that.
“Now we have to let this fuel us and motivate us. We want a huge end to the season now.
“Our run-in is huge and we must shake off this defeat and come out flying on Saturday.
“Any time you lose a championship final in front of your own supporters and die-hard fans it’s a terrible feeling.
“The amount of noise they brought was incredible. I thank every one of them.”
The next test for Devils is at home against Edinburgh Capitals on Saturday (7pm) followed by Sheffield Steelers away the next evening (5pm).
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The match against Edinburgh will be streamed live by IceTime TV. The cost is £8 if purchased prior to game day or £10 on the day.
Details can be found on the Cardiff Devils website or via http://www.icetime.tv/
Minute-by-minute coverage is provided by Devils Inferno and can be accessed via their official website.
