Myers And Murdy Shine In Cardiff Devils Victory

Matthew Myers and Thomas Murdy took centre stage for Cardiff Devils during their eight-goal Elite League win against Edinburgh Capitals.

A sell-out attendance of more than 3,000 spectators watched Devils take another step towards retaining their league title with their 8-0 win at Ice Arena Wales.

Man of the match Myers took his career points total in Elite League competitions to 500, finishing with a goal and two assists against Edinburgh, while Murdy faced 15 shots and kept his first Devils shutout.

Head coach Andrew Lord rested goalie Ben Bowns and called up Great Britain under-20 netminder Jordan Lawday, who has played for Cardiff Fire this season.

“Thomas was solid and earned his shutout,” said Lord. “It was good to have Jordan on the bench. He has fitted into the group really well. A good guy with a great attitude.

http://https://youtu.be/URkH3xO0MvE

“Matthew has been consistently excellent this season. It’s fun having that guy around.

“He’s a real net front presence, we know how effective he is on the face-off and his PK details are solid. A veteran guy who is an important part of our team.”

Devils still need a couple of wins to clinch the League title and they travel to play Sheffield Steelers this afternoon (5pm).

Lord’s men are still hurting after their Challenge Cup final defeat against Belfast and he says: “We’re mad right now, fired up about what happened in the final.

“The guys care. We know we were not at our best in the final and we have to rectify that over the rest of season. The guys are determined and excited about this next month.

“There is a lot of fire left in us.”

Today’s Steelers v Devils clash is the first of three fixtures between the rivals in seven days. Sheffield are at Ice Arena Wales this Wednesday (7.30pm) and again next Sunday (6pm).

http://https://youtu.be/_8VhcfBf7Dw

Devils dominated the opening period against Capitals, outshooting the visitors 14-3.

The first goal came after 11 minutes three seconds when Josh Batch wristed a shot at goal and Myers tipped it to put the Devils in front.

Asselin (12-12), Joey Haddad (16-19) and Jake Morissette (38-17, powerplay) made it 4-0 by the first period break.

Mark Richardson (23-38), Matt Pope (36-39) and Gleason Fournier (38-17) took Cardiff’s tally to seven, while Asselin completed the scoring late in the third period.

Thomas Murdy on his way to a first Devils shutout.

Other Saturday results: Belfast Giants 3, Braehead Clan 5; Dundee Stars 2, Coventry Blaze 4; Manchester Storm 3, Fife Flyers 2; Milton Keynes 6, Guildford Flames 5 (shootout); Nottingham Panthers 2, Sheffield Steelers 3.

Match stats: 

Scorers, Devils: Patrick Asselin 2+0, Matthew Myers 1+2, Joey Haddad 1+1, Jake Morissette 1+0, Mark Richardson 1+0, Matt Pope 1+2, Gleason Fournier 1+0, Tyson Strachan 0+2, Josh Batch 0+1, Layne Ulmer 0+1, Joey Martin 0+2, Paul Crowder 0+1, Bryce Reddick 0+1, Luke Piggott 0+1, Andrew Hotham 0+1.

Period scores (Devils first): 4-0; 3-0 (7-0); 1-0 (8-0).

Shots on goal: Devils 14+12+8=34; Capitals 3+5+7=15.

Penalties in minutes: Devils 2+4+2=8; Capitals 2+2+0=4.

Powerplays: Devils 1/2; Capitals 0/4.

Attendance: 3,095

Referee: Dean Smith and Matt Rose

Stars of the game: Devils, Matthew Myers; Capitals, Ferguson.

Sunday fixtures: Belfast Giants v Nottingham Panthers (4.30pm), Braehead Clan v Manchester Storm (6pm), Coventry Blaze v Guildford Flames (5.15pm), Dundee Stars v MK Lightning (5pm), Edinburgh Capitals v Fife Flyers (6pm), Sheffield Steelers v Cardiff Devils, 5pm).

ELITE LEAGUE STANDINGS

Regular 2017/18

Rk	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	WPCT	Pts
1	Cardiff Devils	49	37	9	1	2	.786	77
2	Manchester Storm	50	32	13	3	2	.690	69
3	Belfast Giants	49	30	17	2	0	.633	62
4	Fife Flyers	49	30	17	1	1	.633	62
5	Sheffield Steelers	49	29	17	2	1	.622	61
6	Guildford Flames	49	25	15	5	4	.602	59
7	Nottingham Panthers	48	27	17	2	2	.604	58
8	Braehead Clan	51	22	24	4	1	.480	49
9	Coventry Blaze	51	21	25	4	1	.461	47
10	Dundee Stars	50	21	25	3	1	.460	46
11	Milton Keynes Lightning	50	19	30	1	0	.390	39
12	Edinburgh Capitals	51	5	45	0	1	.108	11