Cardiff Devils qualified for the Challenge Cup semi-finals thanks to a 4-4 draw in an enthralling match against the Sheffield Steelers.

With Cardiff fans dressed in red and packing out the rink to create a fantastic atmosphere from start to finish, the Devils dominated the first period. Shot after shot rained in on the Sheffield net but a combination of near misses and great netminding from John DeCaro kept the score at 0-0.

After a goalless first twenty minutes, the goals started to fly in at the start of the second period. Cardiff looked like they had successfully broken up a Sheffield attack only for Jeff Legue to collect the puck and fire it into the top corner.

The goal was harsh on Cardiff but within two minutes they were back on level terms. A quick Devils counter-attack saw the puck eventually work its way to Kenton Smith on the blueline, and after skating down the left he fired in an inch perfect shot that beat DeCaro from a seemingly impossible angle.

The belief within the Cardiff team had been re-ignited and minutes later they deservedly took the lead. When Jeff Pierce picked up the puck in the neutral zone there looked to be no danger, until he danced past the Sheffield defence at blistering speed before firing the puck over DeCaro and into the roof of the net.

Cardiff looked to be in a strong position but their lead too was to be a brief one. Within a minute a speculative Sheffield shot went wide of the net, but when the puck wasn’t cleared it allowed Legue to bounce the puck in off Lyle for his second goal of the night.

The scoring didn’t end there, and with the momentum now swung in favour of the Steelers it was they who took the lead two minutes later. A boarding call on Phil Hill gave Sheffield a powerplay and after cycling the puck around Colt King was left alone to slide the puck past Lyle.

Sheffield took the one goal lead into the final period as the game became more physical and feisty. Having brilliantly killed off a Sheffield powerplay the Devils were then given a powerplay of their own after Jonathan Phillips was sent to the bin for slashing.

Cardiff fired in shot after shot without success before Captain Stuart MacRae picked up the loose puck, skated out in front of the net and fired the puck just inside the post.

The Devils had already seen Brad Voth sent to the bin on a 2+10 call for checking from behind when Max Birbraer sent Jeff Legue flying to the ice with a seemingly clean but clinical check. Referee Mike Hicks allowed play to continue only for Colt King to jump in and hold down Birbraer whilst Mark Thomas threw punch after punch at him.

When the players were finally pulled apart, Thomas was given 5+Game for Roughing but the Devils bench were furious when Birbraer was also thrown out for checking from behind.

The Devils used their anger to step up their performance on the ice. Within a minute of the incident, Scott Dobben sent a long clearance from his defensive zone up into the air and down the ice. MacRae won the race to the puck and his first-time shot flew past DeCaro to send the Devils back into the lead.

Yet again though the lead was to last barely a minute. A turnover on the Cardiff blueline allowed Sheffield to counter attack and eventually pick out Mike Ramsey to tie the game once again.

Colt King then had a great chance to win the game with five minutes remaining, but when he seemed destined to score he was denied by a fantastic sliding pad save by Lyle.

With two minutes remaining and Sheffield needing the win they pulled their netminder for the extra skater and nearly found the goal they desired only for the puck to slide just wide of the net.

Cardiff regained control of the puck and thought they had scored a winner when Scott Matzka fired into the empty net only for it to be disallowed for offside.

With 17 seconds left, the Devils won the face off and although they were unable to force the puck into the net there wasn’t enough time for Sheffield to counter-attack and the Devils got the draw they required to qualify for the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup.