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- Lyle And Son Play Starring Roles In Richardson Testimonial
Stevie Lyle, the Cardiff-born netminder who first played for Cardiff Devils at the age of 14, has been beaten by his seven-year-old son.
Zack was starting goalie for captain Tyson Marsh and his Black team, keeping a clean sheet in the first 10 minutes.
He even faced a fierce shot from Max Birbraer, but wasn’t at all fazed and stood his ground before skating off to allow dad Steve, Ben Bowns and Mike Will some ice time.
Zack returned later and played alongside Steve in a unique netminder pairing during a testimonial match for longest serving Devil Mark Richardson at Ice Arena Wales.
More than 1,200 people turned out to support Richie, now in his 11th season with the club.
Richardson made a heartfelt speech, paying tribute to the Devils fans, thanking them for “spending their hard-earned money to support me and this team for 11 seasons.”
His wife Sarah and daughter Grace joined Mark on the ice after the game. Sarah headed up the Testimonial planning along with Andy Corcoran, whilst Grace had taken six weeks of skating lessons so she could be her dad’s team mascot.
The Black team conceded only six goals in a 14-6 victory against Mac Faulkner’s Whites during an evening of fun, laughter and emotional moments.
Scott Matzka, the former Devils centre who is suffering from Motor Neuron Disease, sent a positive, upbeat video message to Richardson for his big occasion.
That was played during the testimonial dinner on Monday when there were tears around every table at the Cornerstone venue in Cardiff.
Richardson’s testimonial committee organised competitions during a period break with penalties, shooting accuracy, speed skating and hardest shot taking players out of their comfort zones.
Andrew Hotham, Gleason Fournier and Drew Paris emerged winners in the accuracy, speed skating and shooting respectively, while Welsh forward Chris Jones netted four goals during the main match.
Mark Richardson was joined by his brothers Lee and Grant playing for the winning Black team, who used the ‘Flying V’ tactic from the Mighty Ducks ice hockey film to score one of their goals.
They swept the length of the ice with Mark adding the finishing touch to mark his testimonial with a goal even though he is currently out of the Devils team injured.
Head coach Andrew Lord and his Cardiff players now turn to their big match Challenge Cup against Coventry Blaze at Ice Arena Wales this Saturday (7pm).
Ticket information is available for the Blaze match. CLICK HERE or CALL 0800 0842 666
Mark Richardson testimonial match stats:
Scorers: Black: Chris Jones 4, Matt Pope 2, Josh Batch, Drew Paris, Joey Martin, Paul Sample, Mark Richardson, Tyson Strachan, Guillaume Doucet, Bryce Reddick.
White: Luke Piggott, Mac Faulkner, Mark Smith, Sam Smith, Craig Moore, Ben Davies.
Penalty shootout, scorers: Black: Jake Morissette, Paul Crowder, Paul Sample.
White: None.
Shooting accuracy (aiming at targets): Andrew Hotham (White team, 3 goals, 10.29 seconds), Guillaume Doucet (Black, 3 goals, 10.54), Sean Bentivoglio (White, 3 goals, 16.41), Joey Martin (3 goals, 17.14), Layne Ulmer (Black, 3 goals, 17.57).
Speed skating (1 lap of ice): Gleason Fournier (White) 13.86; Ben Davies (White) 13.9.
Hardest shot: Drew Paris (Black) 84.90 mph; Matt Pope (Black) 77.21; Andrew Lord (White) 75.36; Mac Faulkner (White) 73.88; Tyson Marsh (Black) 73.70; Mark Louis (White) 70.71.
