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- Joey’S Joy At Overtime Success For Devils In Belfast
Joey Martin volleyed a magnificent winner for Cardiff Devils at the SSE Arena.
Canadian sniper Martin struck in sudden death overtime when the puck was lifted in front of the net and the Devils man finished clinically.
His hand-eye coordination was spot on and Martin stayed composed to fire past goaltender Jackson Whistle in the Belfast net.
That goal earned Devils a 3-2 win on the night and ensured the top two Elite League teams finished with three points each from back-to-back matches.
Devils owner Steve King tweeted: GET. IN!!!!!! Huuuuuuuge win @cardiffdevils Unbelievable effort from the boys.”
Giants won 4-3 after penalties on Friday, earning two points to Cardiff’s one, Devils took the extra point on Saturday.
Head coach Andrew Lord and his team stay seven points clear at the top and also have a game in hand on their second-placed rivals.
It was another Elite thriller in Northern Ireland with netminders Whistle and Ben Bowns in fabulous form. Both defied the odds to stop shots which looked certain to go in.
Layne Ulmer scored twice for Devils, while Justin Faryna won a penalty shot, but could not convert.
Giants had Brendan Connolly back in their line-up after suspension, while Devils stayed with the same team from Friday evening.
The first period was goalless, while Devils them swept into a 2-0 lead.
Ulmer scored after 26 minutes and doubled Devils lead with a powerplay strike on 33-17.
Spiro Goulakos pulled one back on 34-40, a shorthanded and delayed penalty goal, and captain Blair Riley scored Belfast’s second to force overtime.
Martin robbed Colin Shields in front of the Giants net only to be denied by another huge Whistle save, while netminder Bowns seemed helpless when Riley was left in front of an empty Devils cage.
Somehow, though, Riley failed to finish as Bowns grabbed the puck, almost off his stick.
Devils earned their win when Martin netted two minutes 16 seconds into overtime and sent more than 500 Cardiff fans who had made the trip into a wild frenzy of celebrations.
Match stats
Scorers, Giants: Spiro Goulakos 1+0, Blair Riley 1+1, Ryan Martinelli 0+1, Steve Saviano 0+1, Darcy Murphy 0+1.
Devils: Layne Ulmer 2+0, Joey Martin 1+0, Sean Bentivoglio 0+1, Gleason Fournier 0+2, Jake Morissette 0+1.
Period scores: Giants 0-0; 1-2 (1-2); 1-0 (2-2); 0-1 (2-3).
Shots on goal: Giants (on Bowns) 7+13+13+3=36; Devils (on Whistle) 11+7+17+3=38.
Penalties in minutes: Giants 2+4+0=6; Devils 2+4+4=10.
Powerplays: Giants 1/5; Devils 1/3.
Referees: Tom Darnell and Dean Smith.
Attendance: 4,461.
Stars of the game: Giants, Spiro Goulakos; Devils, Layne Ulmer.
The next home match for Devils is against Steelers in the second leg of the Challenge Cup semi-final at the IAW next Wednesday (7.30pm).
To book tickets for Devils matches CLICK HERE or CALL 0800 0842 666 to book, while CLICK HERE for the full fixtures list.
Nottingham Panthers have signed Finnish-born forward Mike Vaskivuo from French club Brest.
Vaskivuo, 31, won the Central League championship with Fort Wayne Comets, scoring 10 goals and 24 points in 18 play-off games for the Indiana side.
He started this season in the East Coast League with Orlando Solar Bears before moving to Florida Everblades. He joined Brest in late December, but is already moving on to Nottingham.
Panthers are hoping to have Vaskivuo in the line-up for Wednesday night’s trip to Belfast for the second leg of their Challenge Cup Semi-Final clash with the Giants.
Other Saturday Elite League results: Braehead Clan 3, Fife Flyers 2; Dundee Stars 5, Edinburgh Capitals 4; Manchester Storm 9, Coventry Blaze 1; Milton Keynes Lightning 2, Guildford Flames 5; Sheffield Steelers 5, Nottingham Panthers 4.
ELITE LEAGUE STANDINGS INCLUDING SATURDAY RESULTS
All teams play 56 matches
| Rk | Team | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | WPCT | Pts |
| 1 | Cardiff Devils | 40 | 30 | 7 | 1 | 2 | .788 | 63 |
| 2 | Belfast Giants | 41 | 27 | 12 | 2 | 0 | .683 | 56 |
| 3 | Manchester Storm | 40 | 23 | 12 | 3 | 2 | .638 | 51 |
| 4 | Sheffield Steelers | 38 | 23 | 12 | 2 | 1 | .645 | 49 |
| 5 | Fife Flyers | 35 | 23 | 10 | 1 | 1 | .686 | 48 |
| 6 | Guildford Flames | 38 | 20 | 12 | 4 | 2 | .605 | 46 |
| 7 | Nottingham Panthers | 37 | 21 | 13 | 2 | 1 | .608 | 45 |
| 8 | Braehead Clan | 41 | 17 | 20 | 3 | 1 | .463 | 38 |
| 9 | Dundee Stars | 38 | 17 | 18 | 2 | 1 | .487 | 37 |
| 10 | Coventry Blaze | 40 | 14 | 22 | 3 | 1 | .400 | 32 |
| 11 | Milton Keynes Lightning | 39 | 14 | 24 | 1 | 0 | .372 | 29 |
| 12 | Edinburgh Capitals | 39 | 4 | 34 | 0 | 1 | .115 | 9 |
