Devils dominant despite Clan comeback
Another Friday night in front of the television.
It’s the story of my life as a nomad hockey fan this season. I’d give one of my lesser digits to be at a rink somewhere soaking up the atmosphere and willing my team to glorious victory, but instead I’m rinkless, teamless and more often than not hockeyless, with only Paddy McGuinness on Take Me Out and a bottle of averagely priced white wine for company.
Okay I’ll quit the dramatics. I was in front of the TV Friday gone, but it was a TV in Newcastle’s Shark Club, and the company was even better than Bolton’s finest son as the Viper crew once again gathered to enjoy a spot of Elite League ice hockey courtesy of Sky Sports. The last time we’d come together for such an occasion it had been just before Christmas; Belfast had played Sheffield at the Motorpoint Arena, and the title was still winnable by one of three teams. Ironically enough, a repeat of that very fixture was occurring 130-odd miles to the south, the stakes very much higher this time, and so it was of slight disappointment we found ourselves with an altogether different prospect for our viewing pleasure that evening.
Braehead Clan v Cardiff Devils, a battle for fourth spot in the league by what on paper looked like two well-matched teams, and in reality had proved to be true, Cardiff losing in a shootout the last time the two sides met, in an exciting 5-4 game at the Big Blue Tent which saw an impressive 75 shots on goal overall. Perhaps we would be in for a treat after all. But there was no denying at least half an eye would be kept on the happenings in Sheffield.
I know I’m late to the party with my match report as the fine Richard Flynn of this parish has already provided an excellent summation of proceedings, but I’ll share my views anyway, to keep me busy on a boring Monday morning as much as anything else. And you’ll just have to listen. Because, well, er… I need to be heard!
Anyway, on with the fun and games. It was a somewhat depleted Cardiff side that took to the ice in Glasgow, down to just seven imports following the departure of Brad Voth and the suspension of repeat offender Chris Frank, so they travelled with slimmed down numbers and a couple of extra young Brits. Could Braehead turn this to their advantage?
Not at first, it seemed. In under a minute Cardiff struck the first blow, Phil Hill making a sweetly timed pass to line up Jeff Pierce, who slotted past Jaakko Suomalainen, the Clan netminder caught napping. The opening minutes of the game were fast and furious, and end to end, with Braehead having plenty of the play and both teams attacking then counter-attacking. It was a really juicy contest and I found myself desiring of popcorn. But with just 6:41 on the clock Cardiff doubled their lead to put a dent in Braehead’s hopes of winning the game, Jeff Pierce once again involved, the key playmaker this time, Stuart MacRae turning in the rebound from Suomalainen’s save.
Cardiff were at their fast, fluid, attacking best in the first period, and continued to pile the pressure on the home side, Suomalainen finally waking up to make a couple of decent saves, and Braehead’s defence coping admirably, soaking up the pressure. Jeff Pierce was having a storming game for Cardiff, and his line was on fire, providing the lion’s share of the attacking options and overwhelming Braehead as the period wore on. The game wasn’t short of physical play either, the most notable incident occurring in front of the Clan’s net, little terrier Sammy Zajac taking exception to a check by Devils’ defenceman Josh Batch. Zajac tore after him and a fight ensued in which he didn’t fare badly considering the height differential, which amounted to nearly a foot. He really knows how to pick ‘em. Good lad.
The third goal was always coming, and this time it was from the powerplay, the short-handed Clan unable to pick off defenceman Jamie Vanderveeken who was left alone to shoot from distance and accurately so, and hot on its heels came a fourth for Cardiff, a poor pass from Braehead quickly pounced upon and turned over by Scott Matzka who made no mistake with his shot. Shoulders slumped as we feared a rout instead of the close game we had been hoping for. But the remainder of the period was far from a damp squib, the two player-coaches clashing after a questionable check from behind, and the resultant Clan powerplay producing a couple of good attempts from Jim Jorgensen and Mike Bayrack, Stevie Lyle standing up to both in the Devils’ net.
Optimism remained that despite trailing by four, Braehead would find their way back into the game in the second period, and our hope was rewarded after just 48 seconds, a lovely move from the Clan starting with Jorgensen making a perfect wraparound pass to Jordan Krestanovich, who coolly slotted the puck home to bring the deficit back to three goals. The Clan had a renewed vigour, and the second period was much more evenly matched, Cardiff dropping slightly off the pace in order to defend their lead, and Braehead having more of the puck.
The second period was to be a tale of two refereeing decisions. Both arose over a Braehead Clan goal, and both related to the relative legality of said goals. The first was cut and dried, from a neutral perspective. There was a melee in front of net and Kevin Phillips scored a goal. He totally scored, it was definitely a goal. You could tell it was a goal because it like, went in the net and everything. The puck bouncing back out from the crossbar was a dead giveaway.
The men in stripes had obviously not had the vantage point that we on the TV had (questions remain as to why) but they took advantage of the available technology to review the footage, and funnily enough, came to the same conclusion as us. The goal stood.
In the second incident, Brock McPherson scored what looked like a perfectly reasonable goal. However there was dispute from the Devils, who claimed a penalty should have been called prior to the goal being scored. The refs hadn’t signalled the penalty, but once again using the video footage, they reviewed the incident and deemed that there had indeed been a penalty. Goal disallowed.
It was a strange turn of events that called into question the use of video technology in the sport. Arguably the outcome would have been the reverse if the Sky cameras hadn’t made the footage so readily available – the first goal would have been disallowed, the second allowed. In this situation, it seems to not have affected the outcome of the game. However in other games, the same could possibly not be said. All questions for another blog post on another day.
The final period began with the scored delicately poised at 4-2. With a period like the last, the Clan could well have come back to take both points – but they needed to turn it up to 11. And they did, seemingly determined to make up for missed opportunities, their third goal finally coming around four minutes in, Ryan Campbell with a well-executed solo effort that Lyle should have done better with.
The game continued at full speed, the Devils trying to fight their way back into the driving seat. Meanwhile, back in the pub, the Vipers fans were engaged in an invigorating and vocal debate about the use of video technology.
Following my confession of love for Tom Dignard in my last post, this week’s swooning over a player of awesome proportions is brought to you by Jim Jorgenson. He worked non-stop in the final period to keep the momentum in Braehead’s favour; he may be a defenceman but he is amazing on the puck, incredibly creative and an excellent skater, and he was single-handedly responsible for a clutch of Clan chances, seemingly in place of Jade Galbraith, who’s 30th birthday was not going down as one of his better performances, as he seemed to go missing for long periods at a time. He almost had a fight in late in the third, giving Devils’ coach Gerad Adams a bit of a shove but then thinking it may not have been such a good idea after all. Good decision from the birthday boy there.
The end of the game was a bit of an anti-climax as the Clan failed to make their sustained pressure pay; they were unable to get back into the game or force overtime, and we were left to reflect on one of the most exciting games we’d seen all season, whilst catching up with the drama in South Yorkshire, as the Belfast Giants won in a penalty shoot-out over the Sheffield Steelers, hammering one more nail into the coffin which houses their title hopes. The overly rotund lady has not sung just yet. But she’s doing her warm-up exercises.
