Seventh Heaven For Cardiff Devils Thanks To The GOAT

Cardiff Devils 5, Nottingham Panthers 4

After overtime

The GOAT struck gold and left Nottingham Panthers stunned at the Viola Arena in Cardiff Bay.

Joey Martin – nicknamed the Greatest Of All Time among Devils fans – struck with an overtime winner to leave Panthers down and out.

Devils earned a seventh successive Elite League win and are five points clear at the top.

Their next two fixtures are at home against second-placed Belfast Giants, who have a game in hand, and those clashes will go a long way towards deciding which club are crowned champions.

Devils have won the title for two successive seasons and are going for a hat-trick, something which has never been achieved in the top flight of British hockey.

Great hockey game. Fast, physical and entertaining. Great 4 point weekend, @cardiffdevils Looking forward to the big showdown next weekend. Let’s GO!!

— Steve King (@Tacosteve10) January 13, 2019

After two periods, Devils were trailing 4-2 and looked in trouble. They hit Panthers with a Welsh storm which blew them off their feet.

Stephen Dixon (41-37) and Layne Ulmer (47-19) tied things up at 4-4 to force overtime before Martin struck 29 seconds into overtime.

Coach Andrew Lord sent out Gleason Fournier, Martin, Michael Hedden and Charles Linglet for the start of OT with Devils on a powerplay.

Cardiff Devils matchwinner Joey Martin. Pic: Richard Murray.

New signing James Livingston made his home debut for Devils and a sell-out attendance of 3,000-plus cheered their team on.

Devils again showed the character, team spirit and commitment they have in their group, hitting back with a venomous backlash against Panthers. 

Layne Ulmer scored twice and was named man of the match, but this was a massive team effort which sets up two massive clashes against Belfast Giants at the Viola Arena next weekend.

Cardiff Devils man of the match Layne Ulmer. Pic: Dave Williams.

Match stats:

Scorers, Devils: Layne Ulmer 2+0, Drew Scheistel 1+2, Mark Richardson 1+0, Joey Martin 1+1, Stephen Dixon 1+0, Evan Mosey 0+1, Jake Morissette 0+2, Bryce Reddick 0+2, Charles Linglet 0+1, Gleason Fournier 0+1.

Panthers: Dylan Olsen 1+0, Luke Pither 1+0, Chris Stewart 1+0, Alex Guptil 1+0, Timm Billingsley 0+2, Brett Perlini 0+1, Jaynen Rissling 0+2, Kevin Henderson 0+1, Mark Hurtubise 0+1. 

Period scores (Devils first): 2-2; 0-2 (2-4); 2-0 (4-4); 1-0 (5-4).

Shots on goal: Devils (on Garnett) 13+14+11+1=39; Panthers (on Bowns) 10+12+6+0=28.

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

Special teams: Devils PK 2/2, PP 0/1; Panthers PK 1/1, PP 0/2.

Stars of the game: Devils, Layne Ulmer; Panthers, Dylan Olsen.

Referees: Tom Darnell and Stefen Hogarth.

Attendance: 3,100.

Head coach Andrew Lord and Luke Piggott on the Devils bench.

Belfast Giants visit the Viola Arena on Saturday, January 19 (7pm) and Sunday, January 20 (4pm).

For Devils home tickets CLICK HERE TO BOOK ONLINE or CALL 0800 0842 666

CLICK HERE to be redirected to the full fixtures list.

Other Sunday EIHL results: Manchester Storm 7, Fife Flyers 4; Coventry Blaze 5, Guildford Flames 6 (after overtime and penalty shots); Dundee Stars 6, Sheffield Steelers 1; Glasgow Clan 8, MK Lightning 3.

ELITE ICE HOCKEY LEAGUE 2018/19

TEAM	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	PCT	GF	GA	PIM	STREAK
Cardiff Devils	36	27	5	4	58	.806	146	90	416	7-0
Belfast Giants	35	26	8	1	53	.757	134	81	474	2-0
Nottingham Panthers	41	20	12	9	49	.598	130	127	669	0-4
Fife Flyers	36	19	13	4	42	.583	126	124	497	0-1
Glasgow Clan	35	19	14	2	40	.571	127	118	421	1-0
Guildford Flames	36	18	16	2	38	.528	121	115	466	1-0
Coventry Blaze	35	15	13	7	37	.529	125	138	425	0-1
Dundee Stars	38	14	15	9	37	.487	105	131	387	2-0
Manchester Storm	37	16	18	3	35	.473	109	131	848	3-0
Sheffield Steelers	37	17	19	1	35	.473	114	132	518	0-5
Milton Keynes Lightning	38	11	23	4	26	.342	95	145	706	0-4