Devils stay alive in league title chase

Photo: James Assinder

Cardiff Devils kept their league title hopes alive with an important win over second-placed Guildford Flames.

A fast-paced and well-contested opening period saw the home side two up after 20 minutes at a sold-out Ice Arena Wales. Joey Martin dived into the crease to bat home a rebound from a Cole Saford shot at 15:32 to put the Devils ahead, with Justin Crandall doubling that lead off a Josh Waller pass after the Flames turned the puck over in their own zone exactly 30 seconds later. 

Ryan Tait halved the deficit with 3:19 left in period two when he came in back post to slot past Ben Bowns on the powerplay.

Period three was pretty end to end but the all-important next goal came with 16 seconds left as Sanford found the empty net. The closing stages saw a number of players involved in a brawl after the final buzzer.