The Flyers made the long trek to South Wales for their final meeting of the season with the Cardiff Devils. The home side who were chasing the league leading Belfast Giants were without Kristoff Kontos, Steven MacLean, Nolan Yaremko and Josh MacDonald with Ben Bowns getting the start in net and Christian Stoever the back up. The Flyers welcomed back Garet Hunt from suspension and Ethan Somoza from injury but were still without the injured Johan Porsberger and Milan Lucic was a healthy scratch. Christian Purboo was the back up for Shane Owen starting in net.
The Devils made a bright start with a shot on the Flyers net within 30 seconds but Owen turned away the effort from Brandon Estes. The home side however kept up the pressure and spent almost the entire opening 3 minutes in the Flyers zone without getting any clear looks but did draw a penalty as Ryan Nicholson went to the bin for slashing the stick out of the hands of Brett Perlini. Estes had a couple of early shots on the Devils man advantage the second of which caught Joey Martin up high in front of the net. The Flyers completed the kill and shortly after returning to full strength Owen fought off a shot by Evan Mosey. In the 8th minute Tyson Helgesen with time and space in the right circle saw his shot swallowed by Owen. A turnover in the Flyers zone in the 11th minute allowed Riley Brandt to go in all alone on Owen who came up with a huge pad save. A minute later the Devils had an odd man rush and Martin set up Estes in the high slot and Owen had to flash the glove. Moments later Simon Despres registered the Flyers first shot as Bowns was called into action as the puck came through traffic. In the 13th minute a rising shot by Jonas Emmerdahl hit Bowns on the shoulder and the Devils goalie soon followed that up with a glove save on a shot by Mason Alderson. In the space of 30 seconds both goalies made save of the week bids as firstly Owen went post to post to deny Cole Sanford and the Flyers went the other way where Bowns stoned Josh Winquist as he sprawled across his goal. The deadlock was broken at 14:02 when Helgesen put the puck on net from the blueline and with a clutch of bodies in front of Owen Jimmy Oligny got the tip to give the Fife goalie no chance. In the 15th minute Emmerdahl took the puck off the boards and went to the net but just couldn’t stuff it past Bowns. The Flyers had a solid shift in the 16th minute as they hemmed the Devils in with shots from Winquist, Despres and Logan Neilson all being stopped. Inside the final minute Justin Ducharme with speed through the neutral zone went into the Devils end and he was hooked by Brandt to sent the Flyers to their first powerplay.
The Flyers had about 90 seconds of powerplay time to start the second but they were unable to create any clear cut openings and the Devils completed the kill. The visitors helped by the powerplay did spend most of the opening 3 minutes of the period around the Devils net but didn’t force Bowns into any notable saves. In the 24th minute the Flyers again pressured the Devils and Ben Davies was called for tripping Winquist to return the visitors to the powerplay. The Flyers had most of the zone time but couldn’t get a grade A chance set up and they were nearly undone as Estes went in on Owen for a short handed bid and his wrist shot pinged the crossbar. The Flyers eventually got a shot through on Bowns who defected the shot from Neilson out of play as the Devils completed the kill. The Devils doubled their advantage at 25:48 when a loose pass in the neutral zone saw the home side transition quickly and with a 2 on 0 Davis put the puck into the wheelhouse of Sanford who buried it past Owen from close range. In the 28th minute Bayley Harewood couldn’t get the puck to settle and Owen was happy to cover up. Brett Ferguson tried to go short side on Owen in the 30th minute but he shrugged off the shot and a minute later Martin found Brandt in the slot but again Owen was solid. Moments later a tip from Perlini at the edge of the crease saw Owen close the pads to trap the puck. The Devils pressure paid off however at 32:36 when Estes put the puck on net from the blueline and Ferguson doing a flyby in the slot was able to tip the puck past Owen. In the 34th minute a scrum around the Flyers net saw Despres binned for a roughing minor on Brandt to send the Devils back to the powerplay. Owen quickly made a double save to deny Estes from distance and then Martin from close quarters. A huge blast from Gleason Fournier was blockered away by Owen as the Flyers returned to full strength. In the 39th minute Harewood was called for a board on Ian Scheid as the Flyers went to the man advantage. Ducharme had a wrister gloved by Bowns and just on the buzzer Keaton Jameson set up a one timer for Winquist who was denied by a fabulous sprawling save by the Devils goalie.
Inside the opening minute Ducharme went down the right wing and passed inside to Jameson who saw Bowns snap the glove on his shot. In the 42nd minute Ferguson on two separate occasions was denied by Owen and moments later a weak Emmerdahl shot was turned away by the stick of Bowns. In the 45th minute Jameson went down the right wing but his shot was straight into the logo of Bowns as the Devils went the other way and Mark Richardson drifted the puck on goal from the point and saw it clip the top of the crossbar. Cedric Lacroix was stopped by Owen and a minute later before Jeremy Masella found Neilson in the slot with a pass but Bowns made a pad save. Brandt then went down the slot but Owen swallowed his shot. The Devils got another on the bopard at 47:39 and it came after a giveaway pass right in front of the Fife goal and although Owen made the initial save on Brandt he could do nothing to stop Sanford getting his second of the night. Owen was square to a shot from Kohen Olischefski in the 50th minute and in the 52nd minute Perlini was wide open after a bounce of the puck went his way but Owen was able to squeeze his arm tight to hold onto the puck. In the 53rd minute Sanford and Ryan Nicholson clashed with the Devils man being sent to the penalty box on a slashing minor. The Flyers had good puck control on the powerplay in the Devils zone but again didn’t create many opportunities with Bowns stopping a close in tip by Ethan Somoza and Neilson hitting the outside of the post as he went short side as the Devils completed the kill. In the 55th minute Emmerdahl deflected a shot in the slot that Bowns pounced on before the Devils completed the scoring with yet another redirected shot from the slot with Lacroix getting a stick on a shot from Mosey at 57:12. Bowns made the final save of the night in the 59th minute as he got a pad down to stop Somoza.
Pic Credits – Cardiff Devils
Fife Flyers are next at home on Sunday 1st March when they entertain the Belfast Giants – tickets can be bought online here: Tickets – Fife Flyers or look out on social media channels for box office opening times.
