Cardiff Devils brought Nottingham Panthers' four-game winning run to an abrupt halt with a dominant 7-2 home victory at the Vindico Arena on Sunday afternoon, producing one of their most complete performances of the season across all three periods. Seven different scorers, a shorthanded goal, a video-reviewed power play goal that survived a kicking motion check, and Nottingham failing to score in the second or third period — this was Cardiff's best result in some time.
For Nottingham, coming into the match having won four in a row and with considerable confidence following Friday's 6-2 win over Fife, this is a sharp check. The Panthers scored twice to make it 3-2 heading into the first intermission but never seriously threatened a comeback, with Cardiff adding four unanswered goals across the second and third periods to turn a competitive scoreline into a rout.
A breathless first period
Cardiff set the tone inside eight minutes. Martin opened at 7:51 — Perlini and Oligny assisting — before Fournier was penalised for slashing at 9:03. The visitors pressed on the power play but Cardiff had other ideas: Davies scored shorthanded at 10:31 from Caponi and Stoever to make it 2-0, converting against the run of play in spectacular fashion.
Martin then scored a power play goal at 13:30 — Sanford and Kontos assisting — but the goal was immediately subject to a video review initiated by the officials, checking for use of a foot or skate in a distinct kicking motion. The review confirmed the goal should stand, and Cardiff led 3-0. Garat was penalised for roughing at 12:50 on the same sequence.
Nottingham then hit back with two goals in the final four minutes of the period. Harris scored at 15:56 from Doherty and Tetlow, and Armour made it 3-2 at 19:27 from Lemos and Harris to send the teams to the break with the match still, nominally at least, in the balance. In reality, Cardiff had been the better side and had generated more clear chances even at 3-2.
Any hope Nottingham had evaporated in the second period. MacDonald scored at 25:37 — Martin and Richardson assisting — to restore Cardiff's two-goal advantage, and Brandt was penalised for a delay-of-game violation at 25:43 just seconds later. Brandt then scored at 30:17 from Perlini and Ferguson to make it 5-2, before Sanford added a sixth at 34:57 from Barrow and Kontos. Three goals without reply, all within nine minutes, made the third period formality.
Kontos completed an excellent evening at 49:46 — Davies and Sanford assisting — to make it 7-2. A cluster of penalties then followed in the final minutes: Fournier for delay of game at 47:26, Oligny for unsportsmanlike conduct at 56:15 alongside Fossier for the same offence from Nottingham, Brandt for roughing, and Helgesen for cross-checking. None changed the outcome.
Kontos finished with a goal and two assists across the evening, while Martin's two goals took his tally to four across Cardiff's last two home matches. Stoever, who started in goal for Cardiff, was rarely seriously tested in the second or third period. Kevin Carr had a difficult afternoon for Nottingham.
Context for both sides
Cardiff's form coming into this match — L, L, W, L, W across five — had looked inconsistent, but this is a performance that shows what they are capable of at home when the opening period goes their way. The shorthanded goal at 10:31 was the decisive momentum moment: scoring while killing a penalty against a side in Nottingham's form put an immediate psychological advantage on Cardiff's side, and they never relinquished it.
For Nottingham, their run of five wins from six now shows a defeat, and they will need to regroup before a busy week ahead. The two late first-period goals suggested they could compete — but the second period erased any such hope.