Devils get Cup result they needed

Photo: James Assinder

Cardiff Devils got the result they needed to stay in the hunt for a place directly into the Challenge Cup Semi-Finals with a 4-1 home win over Guildford Flames at a sold-out Vindico Arena.

Former Devils Josh Waller put the Flames ahead at 5:32 when he finished a breakaway past the returning Mac Carruth after Josh Batch lost the puck on the Flames blue line.

Reid Duke levelled the game just over six minutes later, batting a bouncing puck past Jake Kupsky.

After penalties on each team, it was the Devils who moved into the lead. Kupsky had made the initial save off Ryan Barrow’s shot but didn’t have the puck covered, and Kohen Olischefski got on the rebound at 29:35 to put the hosts 2-1 in front.

Six minutes after going ahead, Barrow put the Devils 3-1 up with a rebound off a Duke shot to finish on the powerplay.

Guildford had possession in the final period to force their way back into things, but lacked a cutting edge in front of Carruth. Kupsky left the net with 89 seconds to play for the extra skater, but Batch settled the game with a lofted shot form his own blue line that nestled neatly into the empty net.

The win listed the Devils into fourth in Group A, while Guildford finished their Cup campaign in last with only two wins from ten games.