Devils deny Steelers league win with shutout win
Photo: James Assinder
Ben Bowns logged a 33-shot shutout, his second in consecutive starts, as Cardiff Devils got the win they needed to deny Sheffield Steelers the league title, and extend the race into the weekend. It was also the first time the Steelers have been shut out this reason.
An enthralling opening period ended scoreless but not without chances or drama. The Devils thought they'd opened the scoring on the powerplay on a pretty passing play at 1:49. Aaron Fox challenged the play for Goaltender Interference at the top of the crease, and the officials agreed with him resulting in the goal being washed out. While the Devils controlled the first ten minutes of the period, the Steelers gradually came into the game and should have taken the lead only for Sam Jones to hit the post on a gaping net off a rebound. A later River Rymsha penalty for shooting the puck out of bounds saw the Steelers pressure Bowns' net, but to no avail in part thanks to some excellent blocks by Mark Richardson and Josh Batch. Ryan Barrow broke through on Matt Greenfield as the seconds ticked down on the period, but couldn't get the puck through.
Things didn't let up in what was a feisty second period. The Devils, again, started the better and were rewarded when a Trevor Cox shot form the wing beat Greenfield from a bad angle with 27:30 played. 95 seconds later, the Devils thought they'd doubled their lead when the puck was bundled over Greenfield's line, but Fox again challenged for goalie interference on Cox taking down his goalie moment before the scramble ensued - again, the game officials agreed and washed out the goal. Robert Dowd had the Steelers best chance to level with an open net in front of him, but a well-timed Justin Crandall intervention took the chance away - a minor penalty worth taking. Having failed to score on that man advantage, the Steelers were punished 38 seconds after the game returned to 5-on-5. A wonderful passing play from Marcus Crawford and Crandall set up Brandon Alderson for the far-post finish to make it 2-0 at 38:40.
Sheffield were the better side in the early parts of period three as they pushed for a way back into things. They thought they may have got one back at 45:44 but the puck hit the post and bounced clear of danger. The visitors' failure to convert on the powerplay in the third eventually cost them, as Jamie Arniel put the Devils three up with 11:14 to go off a wrap-around pass from Barrow. Joey Martin added the final goal of the night with 4:55 to play, getting his stick down to a Cox pass ahead of Colton Saucerman to seal the game for the home side.
The league trophy can now only be won on Sunday at the earliest.
