13 Apr 2025, 17:30 | Play-off | Ice Arena Wales |
Cardiff Devils | 6-3 | Coventry Blaze |
Periods: Shots: | 1-2 ( - ) | 1-1 ( - ) | 4-0 ( - ) |
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Referees: #14 Chris Wells, #23 Andrew Miller  |  Spectators: 3110 |
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Goals and assists
An exciting start to the second leg of the Coventry vs Cardiff
quarterfinals saw Coventry’s Jackson Cressey pull off a slick goal after
intercepting a puck and getting the puck past Ben Bowns only 1:42 into
the period.
Soon after, at the 14:25 mark, Morten Jurgens got
Blaze fans on their feet after he managed to find the back of the net,
finding Coventry their second goal of the night, ultimately equalising
the goal aggregate.
However, in only 24 seconds, Cardiff
responded with their first goal of the night at 14:49 thanks to Brad
Schoonbaert pulling off a snipe on net.
As the first period closed
out, Coventry were gifted a shootout opportunity due to interference in
a 1-on-1 breakaway. Fortunately, Ben Bowns was able to keep his
composure and deny an aggregate equalising goal.
Another early
goal going the way of Coventry as the teams entered the second period
after Alessio Luciani tied the aggregate once more at 21:22. Tension was
clearly seen on the ice as the teams went back and forth with many
agressive exchanges through the period with both teams giving clearly
giving their all. Fortunately for the home team, Ryan Barrow was able to
convert a goalscoring opportunity after an assisting pass from Brad
Schoonbaert at 32:26. This placed Cardiff back in the lead in terms of
goal aggregate as the period closed out.
The final period at the
Vindico saw Cardiff take complete control of the game, unleashing a
barrage of attacking opportunities on to Mat Robson. The third goal in
Cardiff’s night came in the form of Cole Sanford who fired a puck into
the back of Coventry’s net at 44:31. This set the tone for the rest of
the period which saw the Devils run away with the aggregate after Sam
Duggan (47:15), Zach O’Brien (47:45) and Joey Martin (57:21) all found
themselves on the scoreboard. As the buzzer counted the final seconds on
the clock, the home crowd erupted with cheers, knowing that the Devils
had taken the quarter-final games with an 8-3 aggregate.
The
Devils will now go up against the Belfast Giants in a semi-final matchup
during the Playoffs Final Weekend in Nottingham’s National Ice Centre.