The Devils arrived in town with former Belfast Giants’ coach Dave Whistle in charge, but sentiment wasn't in the minds of his former charges as the Giants climbed to third in the league with a 3-1 victory.
The first period may have been goal-less but not without incident. Curt Bowen was gave the visitors a powerplay in the third minute, while Paxton Schulte made it 5 on 3 when he was called less than a minute later for interference.
Schulte took up permanent residence in the penalty box for the remainder of the period when he was awarded 2 minutes apiece for roughing and cross-checking and not content with that, he added a further 10 minute misconduct for abuse and broke his stick in frustration.
The deadlock was broken at 23.34 by Jason Bowen, assisted by Kenny and Jamieson. Schulte and Romaniuk went to the bin for kneeing and roughing respectively, and man who can do no wrong in some people’s eyes was back in there 15 seconds after leaving to log his 18th penalty minute of the game.
Jason Ruff provided leadership when it was called for, weaving his way through the Cardiff defence and firing home to make it 2-0 at 36.55. Giants’ only powerplay of the game came at the end of the period, but was fruitless, as the period ended with Giants outshooting the visitors by 22 to 15.
Pressure from both sides left the pipework ringing at either end of the ice, but Colin Ward scored for the Giants to make it 3-0 on his second attempt after Brabon saved the initial shot. Matt Myers grabbed a late consolation goal for the visitors at 58.11, but the scoreline remained at 3-1 as the hooter went.
| P | TEAM | GP | W(OT) | L(OT) | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Giants | 54 | 46(0) | 5(3) | 95 |
| 2 | Steelers | 54 | 41(0) | 11(2) | 84 |
| 3 | Panthers | 54 | 38(0) | 12(4) | 80 |
| 4 | Devils | 54 | 32(0) | 12(10) | 74 |
| 5 | Blaze | 54 | 32(0) | 20(2) | 66 |
| 6 | Clan | 54 | 31(0) | 19(4) | 66 |
| 7 | Stingrays | 54 | 16(0) | 34(4) | 36 |
| 8 | Stars | 54 | 13(0) | 35(6) | 32 |
| 9 | Capitals | 54 | 13(0) | 37(4) | 30 |
| 10 | Flyers | 54 | 8(0) | 40(6) | 22 |
| Points | Robert Dowd | 78 |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | Robert Dowd | 40 |
| Assists | Craig Peacock | 49 |
| PIM | Adam Keefe | 247 |