Cardiff Devils 4-2 Manchester Storm: Devils bounce back in Challenge Cup

Cardiff Devils got themselves back to winning ways in the Challenge Cup after beating Manchester Storm 4-2 in a chaotic game on Friday night at the Vindico Arena.

Devils went behind after just seven seconds when Brandon Cutler scored on the breakaway after Kyle Maksimovich turned the puck over off the face-off.

The home side were not behind for long though, after Josh MacDonald scored their first powerplay goal of the season. His slapshot from distance beat Evan Weninger clean and the game was level.

Just a minute later Devils took the lead when Gleason Fournier fired a fantastic wrist shot into the top corner of the net. Much of the opening minutes were dominated by Devils possession and the scoreline reflected it.

Manchester got themselves into penalty trouble throughout the first period, but Devils could not find a way through until Riley Brandt sniped a stunning first goal of the campaign moments after the teams returned to even strength.

A chaotic and very unstructured second period was kicked off when Josh MacDonald notched his second of the evening. Joey Martin’s driven pass was inadvertently redirected into the net by MacDonald via his skate, and Devils had breathing room in the game.

The standard of the game then dropped as both teams got into penalty trouble, and Devils ended the second on the penalty kill after a high sticking call against Jake Sacratini.

Despite Storm scoring a second halfway through the third period on the powerplay, Devils kept themselves beyond arm’s reach and saw the game out to the final buzzer to gain a welcome win after their defeat to Coventry Blaze last time out.

Next up for Devils is a Saturday evening trip to Guildford to take on Flames as the Challenge Cup continues.