Sanford wins it in OT again!
Photo: James Assinder
Cardiff Devils kept their outside hops of a league title alive with a 1-0 win over Nottingham Panthers, decided in overtime by Cole Sanford. The Devils' forward also scored the OT winner in Coventry less than 24 hours earlier.
We did a good job keeping them to the outside, and the guys let me see pucks that were coming at me,” said Mac Carruth, who logged a 26-shot shutout. “It was physical game which kept everyone involved. It also got the fans involved, they were great tonight!"
A feisty first period at a sold-out Vindico Arena started with a quick penalty for Cardiff after Kohen Olischefski received a high sticking call within the first minute of play. Matt Spencer found himself in the penalty box after an interference on the Panthers, but both teams came up short with the extra man. The Devils hit a crossbar in the opening period, but that was as close as anyone came to going ahead and the 20 minutes ended scoreless.
As the teams entered the ice for the second time of the night, the game remained just as intense as the first. The Panthers’ Reid Stefanson found himself in the penalty box after an interference call 5:16 into the period. However, The Devils were unable to convert this into a chance to take the lead despite ringing the iron again.
As the game entered the final 3 minutes of the period, Tyler Busch picked up a roughing minor after an altercation in front of the Panthers’ net. The Panthers had good pressure, but again couldn’t make anything count with the extra man and the game remained goalless through 40 minutes.
Grande made the biggest save of the final period to deny the Devils a late winner, but with neither side able to find a goal the game went to overtime without having seen a goal in regulation.
In the extra period, a battle between Cooper Zech and Cody Donaghey saw the former lose his balance, and the latter feed Sanford to race through and beat Grande for the winner.
The Devils' next game will be the 2025 Challenge Cup Final. "We’ve been working towards this game for about a week and a half now. We’re going in on the back of some wins and to be honest I wish it was tomorrow!” concluded Carruth.
