Layne Ulmer Stars For Devils In Comprehensive Away Win

Coventry Blaze 3, Cardiff Devils 6

Cardiff Devils regained number one slot in Elite League with a win which was far more comprehensive that the scoreline suggests.

Devils were without suspended players Andrew Hotham and Patrick Bordeleau plus injured captain Jake Morissette, but were still able to dominate.

Belfast Giants went top of the table after winning on Friday night, having played two more games than Devils, but they occupied that position for less  than 24 hours.

Cardiff led 5-0 four minutes into the final period and Blaze looked down and out.

Coventry managed to lift themselves and scored three goals to give themselves some hope, but two of those came with less than three minutes left and Devils clinched victory with their sixth into an empty net.

Man of the match Layne Ulmer scored a goal and added two assists, while Gleason Fournier, Andrew Lord, Joey Haddad, Sean Bentivoglio and Martin were the other scorers.

Bizarrely, Blaze selected back-up netminder Rene Marr as their man of the match even though he played less than a full period. To be fair starting goalie Brian Stewart was beaten five times and Marr had been pulled with just over a minute left when Martin scored into an empty net.

But it still seemed strange for Coventry to name Marr as their leading player. Perhaps it was a message to their other players after a below par performance.

Devils, too, changed their goalie with back-up Thomas Murdy taking over from Ben Bowns when the score was 5-0.

The good news for Devils is that having won in Coventry they can go into the clash with Nottingham Panthers at Ice Arena Wales on Sunday (6pm) with a full complement of import players.

Andrew Hotham and Bordeleau return to the team and will be refreshed after their break. The match against Panthers is a eighth fixture in 16 days for Devils and it has been a hugely tiring schedule.

Match stats:

Scorers, Blaze: B Almeida 1+1. J Pietrus 1+0, M Marquardt 1+0, J Jorgensen 0+1, R Bergman 0+1, T Syner 0+1.

Devils: G Fournier 1+1, L Ulmer 1+2, A Lord 1+1, J Haddad 1+0, S Bentivoglio 1+0, J Martin 1+2, S Hotham 0+1, P Asselin 0+2, T Murdy 0+1.

Period scores (Blaze first): 0-2; 0+1 (0-3); 3-3 (3-6).

Powerplays: Blaze 0/2; Devils 2/4.

Shots on goal: Blaze (on Bowns/Murdy) 11+11+17=39; Devils 14+12+13=39.

Referee: Jan Schmejkal.

Attendance: 2,376.