Devils Home Play-off Push
Joey Martin’s hattrick paved the way for Cardiff Devils to beat bottom of the table Nottingham Panthers 6-2 in the Elite Ice Hockey League at Cardiff’s Vindico Arena.
The Devils, in retro jerseys, had to come from behind after conceding in the fourth minute but quickly responded while on the power-play through Cody Donaghey.
After a succession of penalties Josh Batch gave the home side the lead in the 11th minute before Joey Martin scored his first of the game assisted by top scorer Cole Sanford before the end of the first period.
After the intermission and while the Panthers were reduced by another penalty, Jamie Arniel scored for the Devils on the power-play before Martin added his second.
The league’s top assister Marcus Crawford was called for fighting along with Nottingham’s Jordan Kelsall at the end of the second period.
The Panther’s grabbed a goal back on the power-play at the start of the third quarter and briefly threatened a comeback only for Martin to seal the win with his third, assisted again by Sanford and Trevor Cox who also made it a hattrick of assists.
The Devils have already secured their place in the Elite Ice Hockey League play-offs for another season and are currently second, 11 points behind the Sheffield Steelers.
Now they will look to overhaul the Steelers before the end of the regular season, with 10 games remaining after the Steelers won one and lost the other in their double header with the Belfast Giants.
The Devils will have two opportunities to shorten the gap when they face the Steelers at home on the 20th of March and then away 10 days later.
The Devils also have the advantage of playing eight of their last 10 matches at home and will hope the Vindico Arena can prove to be a crucial advantage going into the playoffs.
Seven more wins will ensure a top two seeding and a home quarter final and after being knocked out in the quarter finals of Challenge Cup that may prove crucial in their pursuit of silverware.
Next up for the Devils are back to back home fixtures against ninth placed Fife Flyers and seventh placed Glasgow Clan respectively on the 16th and 17th of March.
