Fortune favours the disciplined Cardiff Devils

And game two of the double header saw the short benched Devils continue their offensive displays with another convincing win.

The game began in the Cardiff Bay Arena with stakes high, the Devils began strong with a lot of shots aimed at Mike Zacharias in the Blaze net but he held firm and kept Coventry in the game for as long as he could, getting limited help from his teammates.

The Blaze didn't arrive in South Wales with their discipline it seemed, giving up three 5 on 3 penalties in the first period alone but Zacharias held strong for as long as he could, but you can't stop them all.

Zacharias did all he could in the first period that saw him face 18 shots but at 17.07 of the first he finally gave up a goal.
With the Devils on the powerplay, a scramble in front of the net set up Mark Smith to slot home his first of the year to give the Devils a 1 - 0 advantage late in the opening frame.

The Devils extended their lead with less than a minute remaining in the first as Chris Blight was on hand to fire home his third of the year, giving the a Devils a 2 - 0 lead after 20 minutes played.

The teams came back out for the second period which was more free flowing than the first, with few whistles stopping play and again Mike Zacharias did all he could to keep his Blaze squad in the game, but late in the second, Andrew Lord found himself uncontested to fire in the Devils third of the game, resulting in the only goal of the third period.

With 20 minutes to go, Cardiff were up 3 - 0.

If Coventry thought a quick third period goal could keep their comeback chances alive, the Ben Davies' smooth moves to tally the Devils fourths squashed those hopes, as with just 1.40 played in the third the Devils were up 4 - 0.

Coventry were still scoreless with less than two minutes left and a late penalty by Ross Venus made ending Dan LaCosta's shutout bid even harder with a man down.
The Devils fans were in full cheer to wind down the third period, and as the clock hit 0, the Devils celebrated a well earned 4 - 0 victory against their rivals.

To say a player was invisible in the game is usually an insult, but Dan LaCosta left smiling after earning the Devils 200th home win in the EIHL era with a shutout in a game that saw him have little to do, largely in part to the Blaze poor offence.

Blaze Man of the Match - # 1 Mike Zacharias

Devils Man of the Match - # 30 Dan LaCosta

Sundays results

Belfast Giants 1 - 2 Sheffield Steelers

Coventry Blaze 0 - 4 Cardiff Devils (Challenge Cup Group B)

Fife Flyers 4 - 3 Edinburgh Capitals

Braehead Clan 1 - 2 Dundee Stars (Challenge Cup Group A)

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