Despite a hard-battling performance the Cardiff Devils once again fell to defeat against the Belfast Giants.

The first notable action of the game saw Brad Voth go toe-to-toe with Adam Keefe, with the Devils man coming out a clear winner.

The first period remained close and tense until a minute before the break, when Jeff Mason was first to Craig Peacock’s rebound and he tapped in to give the Giants the lead.

Belfast extended their lead just 90 seconds into the second period, Aaron Clarke stealing the puck behind the net before skating out unchallenged to tap the puck into the net.

2-0 quickly became 3-0 less than two minutes. Jeremy Rebek’s cross-ice looked harmless until it hit a Cardiff defenceman’s skate and deflected past Stevie Lyle and into the net.

The scoreline was harsh on the Devils but they upped their workrate and slowly got themselves back into the game. With Nick Kuiper in the bin for tripping, Scott Matzka picked out Phil Hill at the far post and he took one touch before firing the puck past Stephen Murphy.

The Devils were now dominating long spells of the game, and early in the third period they cut the deficit to just one. After collecting a pass from Max Birbraer, Jeff Pierce danced his way around the Belfast defence before flicking the puck into the roof of the net with a backhand shot.

It appeared just a matter of time before Cardiff would equalise, but despite being camped in the Belfast zone the Giants continued to keep the Devils out with a series of goal line clearances and last ditch defence.

With less than nine minutes to go though Belfast sealed the win on a delayed penalty, Nick Kuiper’s speculative shot missing everyone to sneak just inside the far post.