Challenge Cup: Cardiff Devils looking to 'bulldoze' Sheffield Steelers

Cardiff Devils head coach Brodie Dupont says they are looking to "bulldoze" through Sheffield Steelers in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals.

The two rivals meet in Sheffield for the first leg on Wednesday before the return match seven days later.

Dupont says there is "common respect" in ice hockey, but against Steelers the players are "no longer buddies".

"It is two top teams competing, but at the end of the day they're in the way of us winning a trophy," said Dupont.

"Anyone who gets in our way of a trophy we want to bulldoze, it is not easy to do that so we will need to come with our 'A game' and go from there."

Cardiff almost missed out on the Challenge Cup quarter-finals after losing their first four games in the competition's group stage against Coventry Blaze and Guildford Flames.

But the Devils fought back from the brink of elimination to win their last four matches and sneak through to the knockout stages.

"It looked dim but we still believed," admitted Dupont.

"That's been our motto, there is a difference between thinking you can do something and believing you can.

"It was a rocky start, but the character in this dressing room has a no-quit attitude and every season has ups and downs, we're hoping we went through our down.

"The big thing about the Challenge Cup was qualifying, we ended up in a situation but we responded with four wins.

"We're in a situation now where we feel we are contending for a trophy and we are true contenders."

Cardiff fans and players do not have to cast their minds back far to find encouragement.

The Devils beat Steelers 3-2 at the Utilita Arena in Sheffield on 3 December, Cole Sanford's goal late in the third period securing the victory in the Elite League.

"We know we can win there, however Sheffield have come down here and beat us, they are a very dangerous team," added Dupont.

"Last weekend we did a few things that went well, we were in control for a lot of that game even though the shots don't indicate that.

"We skated well and had good possession, but we want to encourage more shooting and then we have to figure out how to defend.

"Traditionally these two clubs hate each other, that still exists today, so there is that and then the added element of a quarter-final.

"These teams usually meet in the semi-final or final, so there is a lot at stake here."

'It's nothing personal but it does feel it'

Cardiff Devils and Sheffield Steelers have met three times this season, the away team winning each game

The Devils and Steelers rivalry goes back to September 1993 when the two sides first met, and in the almost 30 years that have followed they share an identical head-to-head record.

In the 235 games between the two sides, both have come out on top on 110 occasions, with the other 15 games ending in draws.

Dupont says this great rivalry is taught to the players on arrival at Cardiff.

"When you get to Cardiff the first thing you know is that you don't like Sheffield," said Dupont.

"As a newcomer you realise that you don't like Sheffield, in fact you hate Sheffield.

"There is a common respect among players in this business, but when you throw that jersey on it's no longer buddies, it's for your logo, your city and your community.

"The fans feed off that, the players get into it and the longer you are here you can't help but get engulfed in it.

"I think it's a fantastic culture, it builds over time, it's nothing personal but it does feel it. It's about what a jersey represents, you are expected to jump into that."

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