Layne, Patrick Cool, Composed And Winners For Devils

Layne Ulmer and Patrick Asselin proved again they are a winning combination on ice.

While Cardiff Devils were tense and on edge with the match score at 1-1 with less than 70 seconds left, the battle-hardened veterans opened up a Coventry Blaze team who fought with heart and passion.

Ulmer waited patiently until the perfect moment to slide his pass across goal to Asselin and the silky slick Canadian took a touch and flicked the puck high into the net.

It was a goal of the highest quality and left Blaze down and out.

Devils won 2-1 and Blaze were left desperately frustrated after a match in which they tested their hosts to the full and then lost.

Matt Pope scores the opening goal for Cardiff Devils against Coventry Blaze. Pic: Dave Williams.

There was even better news when Devils heard that their closest rivals, Belfast Giants and Fife Flyers, had both lost and Sheffield Steelers crashed 5-2 against Milton Keynes Lightning.

Fife earned a point after losing against Dundee Stars in overtime, while Giants went down 4-2 against Nottingham Panthers.

The first powerplay chance of the night saw the Devils open the scoring when Andrew Hotham fired in a shot from the blueline that was tipped by Layne Ulmer and then Matt Pope past goalie Kevin Nastiuk at five minutes two seconds.

Blaze tied things up when former Devils player Luke Ferrara scored. The goal came at 37-40 with a shorthanded goal.

A missed pass in the defensive zone led to Brett Robinson finding Ferrara all alone in front of the net to score past Ben Bowns and tie the game at 1-1.

The third period was end to end action, with chance after chance being thwarted by both netminders.

Overtime looked certain, but Devils have a winning mentality and with just over a minute to play Sean Bentivoglio intercepted the puck just inside the Blaze blueline and found Ulmer at the side of the net.

Goalie Ben Bowns makes a big save against Coventry Blaze. Pic: Helen Brabon.

Ulmer controlled the puck and fed Asselin on the other side of the goal, who took enough time to pull it to his back hand and shelf the puck into the net to give the Devils the 2-1 lead with 69 seconds left to play.

The go-ahead goal sent the sold out crowd at Ice Arena Wales into hysterics and they stood for the final minute and cheered their team as they held on for the win.

Cool and composed defenceman Tyson Strachan picked up the man of the match for his steady play on the blueline and Ulmer finished with 2 assists in the win.

Match stats:

Scorers, Devils: Matt Pope 1+0, Patrick Asselin 1+0, Layne Ulmer 0+2, Andrew Hotham 0+1, Sean Bentivoglio 0+1.

Blaze: Luke Ferrara 1+0 (shorthanded), Brett Robinson 0+1.

Period scores (Devils first): 1-0; 0-1 (1-1); 1-0 (2-1).

Shots on goal: Devils (on Nastiuk) 9+7+12=28; Blaze (on Bowns) 7+9+6=22.

Powerplays: Devils 1/7; Blaze 0/3.

Penalties in minutes: Devils 0+6+4-10; Blaze 4+10+4=18.

Referees: Dean Smith and Matt Rose.

Stars of the game: Devils, Tyson Strachan; Blaze, Kevin Nastiuk.

ELITE LEAGUE STANDINGS

Rk	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	WPCT	Pts
1	Cardiff Devils	37	28	7	1	1	.784	58
2	Belfast Giants	38	26	11	1	0	.697	53
3	Fife Flyers	33	22	9	1	1	.697	46
4	Sheffield Steelers	36	21	12	2	1	.625	45
5	Manchester Storm	37	20	12	3	2	.608	45
6	Nottingham Panthers	35	21	11	2	1	.643	45
7	Guildford Flames	37	19	12	4	2	.595	44
8	Braehead Clan	39	16	19	3	1	.462	36
9	Dundee Stars	36	15	18	2	1	.458	33
10	Coventry Blaze	38	14	20	3	1	.421	32
11	Milton Keynes Lightning	37	14	22	1	0	.392	29
12	Edinburgh Capitals	37	4	32	0	1	.122	9