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- Devils Pay The Penalty After Panthers Hit Back
Cardiff Devils suffered heartache in Nottingham, going down to a last minute goal at the Motorpoint Arena.
They led 2-0 and 3-1, while sharpshooter Joey Martin failed to convert a penalty shot when the score was 1-1.
The Canadian centre Luke Pither scored Panthers’ fourth goal 40 seconds from the end, dancing through Devils defence before blasting the puck over the shoulder of netminder Ben Bowns for the game-winning goal.
Panthers coach Rich Chernomaz told his players to play with courage when he sent them out for the final period and he said after the victory: “The players showed a lot of character.
“We deserved to win, absolutely, but I saw two different teams out there in our colours. For the first 40 minutes we were a little hesitant at homes after losing our last home match. The guys looked nervous and focused on not making mistakes.
“I told them to play with courage and have the mindset that they had nothing to lose.
“Scoring 10 seconds into the third period gave us a lot of life and we stuck to the game plan. Our D-men were fantastic and the forwards capitalised on Devils mistakes, particularly on the powerplay.
“That was the key to our win.”
Devils made an outstanding start when man of the match Joey Haddad lifted a backhand shot over goaltender Michael Garnet on three minutes 48 seconds.
Bryce Reddick doubled the Devils lead when he tipped in a shot from Haddad after 7-27.
The middle period was owned by the goaltenders at either end of the ice with Bowns stopping 11 shots and Garnett making six saves to keep the scoreline at 2-0 going into the final period.
Panthers stormed back on the first play of the third period, scoring just 10 seconds in when Tommy Hughes tipped the puck past Bowns to pull the Panthers within a goal.
Sean Bentivoglio tucked a loose puck under Garnett on a powerplay at 48-48 to give the Devils a 3-1 lead, but this one was far from over.
Just over a minute later Alex Guptill fired a rocket past Bowns to make it 3-2 and then, at 14-52, Panthers scored on a powerplay with Pither to tie the game.
Devils had a chance to put the game away at 56-31 when Martin was pulled down and awarded a penalty shot, but Garnett made the save and kept the game tied at 3-3.
Cardiff ran into penalty trouble when Gleason Fournier was called for hooking and Mark Richardson for delay of game when he shot the puck over the boards while on the penalty kill.
Devils managed to kill off the 5 on 3 powerplay, but with 40 seconds left Pither scored a solo goal to hand his team victory.
It was a heartbreaking loss for the Devils, who led for most of the game and their first of the domestic season after four successive wins.
Match stats:
Panthers: Tommy Hughes 1+1, Alex Guptil 1+1, Luke Pither 2+0, Robert Farmer 0+1, Mark Hurtibise 0+1, Brett Perlini 0+1, Justin Kovacs 0+1, Dylan Olsen 0+1.
Devils: Joey Haddad 1+2, Bryce Reddick 1+0, Sean Bentivoglio 1+0, Craig Moore 0+1, Mike Heden 0+2.
Period scores (Panthers first): 0-2; 0-0 (0-2); 4-1 (4-3).
Shots on goal: Panthers (on Bowns) 10+11+14=35, Devils (on Garnett) 7+6+8=21.
Special teams: Panthers PK 0/1; PP 2/4; Devils PK 2/4; PP 1/1.
Penalties in minutes: Panthers 0+7+2=9; Devils 0+7+2=11.
Referees: Tom Darnell and Liam Sewell.
Attendance: 4,444
Stars of the game: Panthers, Luke Pither; Devils, Joey Haddad.
The next home fixture for Devils is against Glasgow Clan at Ice Arena Wales on Sunday (6pm).
Devils home tickets: CLICK HERE TO BOOK ONLINE or CALL 0800 0842 666 to book
CLICK HERE to be redirected to the Cardiff Devils full fixtures list.
Remaining Devils fixtures in September
Saturday 29: Guildford Flames v Cardiff Devils (6pm, CC)
Sunday 30: Cardiff Devils v Glasgow Clan (6pm, EL)
