Devils Head Coach Andrew Lord Losing Sleep Over Two Big Ice Hockey Questions

By Terry Phillips

 

Cardiff Devils head coach Andrew Lord admits he is losing sleep when he ponders the remaining three months of this Elite League ice hockey season.

Lord must find the answer to two big questions as leaders Devils aim to maintain their quest to be crowned champions.

They first is whether Devils should bring in an extra import player to strengthen their hopes of success – and should Lord leave the bench, maybe temporarily, and pep up his team?

Those thoughts came to the fore after Devils lost 3-2 in overtime against Belfast Giants at Ice Arena Wales last Sunday.

This weekend Cardiff Devils play Coventry Blaze away on Saturday (7pm) and are then at home against Sheffield Steelers the following evening (6pm).

The clash with title rivals Steelers is certain to be a 3,000-plus sell-out and Devils welcome back 6ft 6ins enforcer Patrick Bordeleau after he was suspended for the home match against Giants.

Head coach Andrew Lord has plenty to ponder, including recruitment. Pic: Richard Murray.

Lord’s men are planning a big weekend, but he is also planning in the long-term.

“Throughout every season we have to keep our finger on the pulse in terms of recruitment,” said Lord. “Right now it’s up in the air. It’s something that keeps me up at night, going back and forth.

“We have a great group of guys here and when we play to our potential there is no reason to think of anybody else. But against Belfast when we were looking for a few more gamers and the performance was dull at times you think ‘if a name pops up’.

“But there is never a knee jerk reaction at our club. We stay composed, take our time with big decisions and right now we are all focused on Coventry Blaze away and nothing else.”

Lord also spoke about his dilemma on whether to stay on the bench alongside Jamie Elson or return to playing. If he goes back on the ice one import player would have to be rested.

“That’s another tough subject,” said Lord. “When we are going, when we are on our game there is no reason for me to be in the line-up.

“Overall it probably helps the team more with me being on the bench, but when we have passengers, as we did against Belfast, it’s something to think about.

“But let’s keep things in perspective. I just want more consistency, a little bit more pace and relentlessness. When we play like that we can be unstoppable.”

Devils will be at full strength against Coventry at their Skydome home rink on Saturday and coach Lord will demand a high tempo start from his players.

Ticket information is available from the club’s official website at http://www.cardiffdevils.com or via the hotline on 0800 0842 666.