Coventry Blaze 7 - 3 Cardiff Devils

Faceoff: 19:30 - 31/08/11

A Frantic start to the first period set the tone for the initial 20 minutes in Coventry tonight with the new import Jurynec for Blaze scoring inside 2 minutes on the powerplay  and several big hits being laid by Blaze’s Fussey and Dave Phillips (on Brad Voth), only to see Voth floor Dave Phillips several minutes later.

Blaze added a second though on 7:55 when Jerramie Domish received the puck from Farmer, split the Devils defence and slipped the puck past Stevie Lyle just before 8 minutes.

Domish was made to pay shortly after though when Devils power forward Max Birbraer stripped him of the puck on the Blaze blueline and fed Scott Matzka who managed to beat Hirsch to make the scoreline 2-1 on 9:08.

Voth got a soft call for roughing after he finished his check on Phillips and Jeff Pierce missed a shorthanded breakaway chance seconds later. Blaze battled the puck on much of the resulting powerplay and struggled to keep it in the Devils zone.

Ross Venus then received 2 minutes from the referee and Pierce threatened with another couple of chances, drawing a hooking call from Phillips in the process. Devils cycled the puck well 5 on 3 looking for the optimal shooting position but gave up a 2 on 1 breakaway chance and Domish slipped it cross ice to Jurynec who made it 3-1with his second to hurt the Devils with a 3 on 5 shorthanded marker.

Voth failed to convert a point blank chance seconds after the play resumed and Blaze went back to 4 skaters. Birbraer looked threatening in front of net and shortly after Blaze netminder Hirsch received a delay of game penalty for clearing the puck straight over the defensive plexiglass. Kenton Smith fired in several bombs from the point on the pp and Hirsch was forced to make a solid glove save from MacRae on 17 minutes.

On 17:46 it looked as though there would be a fight with Jurynec and Chris Frank looking to oblige each other however the officials stepped in very quickly to prevent any blows being traded. Voth Replied to a hit from Gordon on his teammate with a solid check and went to the box for cross checking to put Blaze on the powerplay.  Jurynec exchanged pleasantries with Voth too, setting himself up for a potentially busy evening. Gordon put in some solid slapshots from the blueline but Lyle was equal to them and the period played out Blaze 3 – 1 Devils.

Second Period

Blaze start on the powerplay in a lively fashion again and tally their fourth on 21:09 as Luke Fulgham finds the back of the net with a one-timer from Matic Krajl. The Hill-S Smith-MacRae line caused problems for a sustained period just after and Voth returned to the ice with Ben Davies and Scott Dobben, nearly scoring.

End to end stuff from both teams followed and Birbraer drew a tripping penalty on Gordon after a breakaway into the Blaze zone. Hirsch saved from Kenton Smith. Kenton Smith and Voth both had shots saved and in gameplay if not score the two teams remained evenly matched.

Devils made it 4-2 as Jeff Pierce forced a laze shot past Hirsch to pull them back to a 2 goal deficit.

Pressure from the MacRae line followed and young Josh Batch stripped the puck from Guthrie and skated the length to fire a shot just wide of the Coventry goal.

Blaze made it 5-2 however shortly after as Shea Guthrie squeezed the puck past Devils Goalie Stevie Lyle shortside to bring his team back to a 3 goal lead. The game continues to look nothing like a pre-season ‘friendly’ as Gordon tussled with several Devils and the Devils-Blaze rivalry lived up to its traditional billing.

Both teams battled for several minutes and then John Gordon received a hooking penalty on 32:53. Lyle was forced to make a save as Blaze pressed with the man down. More good pressure from the Captain’s line was followed by a solid save by Lyle from Cowley on the breakaway, followed by an excellent foiling of John Gordon on a 2 on 0 breakaway for the Blaze.

More battling from both teams then saw an interference penalty on Devils alternate Captain Kenton Smith as he was deemed to have impeded Ross Venus. Two seconds of 5 on 3 awaited the Blaze then as at the end of the Smith penalty Batch received a delay of game for putting the puck over the plexi.

Frantic action at the death of the second as Devils scrambled to defend. They faced the third period under the cosh 3 goals down and with the Blaze starting the final period with the man advantage.

Third Period

Lots of early pressure from both teams with Lyle called in to make a couple of saves. An ongoing battle for neutral zone supremacy took up the first few minutes of the final stanza and the devils struggled to impose supremacy on their powerplay from the penalty picked up by Phillips for hooking on 42:16.

Play became quite fractious for a few minutes and Lyle was called in to make a big save from Luke Fulgham after the Devils coughed the puck to the Blaze sniper.

Seconds later and after an altercation with Sam Smith and Farmer of the Blaze, Farmer quickly turned down the opportunity to battle Chris Frank without the gloves resulting in 4 on 4 hockey on 7:20.

John Gordon took out Max Birbraer for an interference penalty on 47:49 and the Devils go to a 4 on 3 advantage. Devils pressure failed to pay off in front of the blaze net and was followed by Voth receiving another 2 minutes in the box.

Blaze seemed to have plenty of space as they produced several quality shots on Lyle and the pace continued to stay high 11 minutes into the period. Devils Captain MacRae picked up a hooking penalty on 51:49 to give the Blaze pp another outing. Jonathan Weaver inexplicably sneaked one past Stevie Lyle for the Blaze’s sixth goal on the powerplay to give the Devils a mountain to climb.

At this point Devils fans could be forgiven for wondering how the score reflected the game, as their team enjoyed as much territory and puck possession as Coventry, with perhaps finishing the only dividing factor.

Voth missed a difficult breakaway only for Scott Dobben to fire a laser one-timer past Hirsch to console the travelling fans at 6-3. Ben Davies got the assist on the goal at 54:08.

The 55 minute mark saw Devils battling behind the Blaze goal but Matic Krajl tipped in a shot from Luke Fulgham to make it Blaze 7 – 3 Devils and effectively put the game out of reach of Gerad Adams’s men.

Lyle made a fabulous point blank save from Krajl but with 4 minutes left it was too little too late and tempers flared shortly after as Aaron Nell and Adam Harding tussled behind the Devils goal, with Chris Frank circling to ensure no Blaze players took advantage of a team-mate.

Lyle made another save on 57:37 and Blaze were keen to twist the knife and were handed a powerplay chance as Chris Frank palmed the puck over the plexi from deep in the devils zone.

Less than 2 minutes left and Dobben broke out but Gordon collected the puck from him. Hill was dispossessed by Fussey and Blaze looked to close out the result. A feisty pre-season game ended with disappointment for the Devils but with much encouragement from the interplay and aggression.

A big test awaits the Devils as the League and Cup season begins on Saturday in Nottingham versus the Panthers however an interesting campaign is on the cards once again.

Man of the match Blaze - Bryan Jurynec

Devils man of the match - Jeff Pierce

Devils face Nottingham Panthers in cup action on Sunday night in Cardiff. Tickets on sale NOW from the box office on - 029 20 382001 or click HERE