REPORT: Glasgow Clan 3 Cardiff Devils 4
by Sam Scouller; photos by Al Goold
Aspray Glasgow West sponsored Glasgow Clan will have to travel to Wales to recover a one-goal deficit after falling to the Cardiff Devils in the first leg of the Challenge Cup quarter finals.
The Devils wasted no time getting on the boards as Brandon Alderson sent a rebound past Karjalainen from in close just 44 seconds in.
Evan Mosey then struck the pipe from the dot for the visitors as they continued to press the Clan defence.
The Clan battled hard to respond quickly, with captain, Dyson Stevenson coming close with a wrist shot from a tight angle, but Tyler Wall was quick to it.
Darien Craighead put the Clan level later in the period with a laser of a shot from the top of the circle on the powerplay.
Glasgow continued to demonstrate their efficiency on the powerplay as Mike Pelech deflected Nate Kallen’s shot with help from Josh Batch’s glove to send it over Wall.
The Clan then made it three from three on the powerplay as Jake Bolton fired a cannon past Wall into the top corner to put his side ahead by two.
Chad Pietroniro then received a five plus game penalty for boarding before the end of the period after delivering a heavy hit on Nate Kallen at the corner.
Kallen thankfully made it back to his feet and skated off the ice but was out for the rest of the game.
The Devils made the most of the second period as they recovered their two-goal deficit with a powerplay goal from Cox and a slick equaliser from Alderson.
Cox came close to giving Cardiff the lead before the end of the second as he fired a shot from the high slot that was only stopped by the post.
The Devils took the lead in the third period through Cox as he swatted the puck out the air at the backdoor to send it past Karjalainen.
Mosey almost doubled the visitors’ lead when he rebounded Alderson’s shot and dragged it across the line but couldn’t push it over.
Reid Petryk and Darien Craighead came close to putting the Clan back level later in the period, but neither could find the back of the net as the Devils closed out the first leg 4-3.
