Elite League play-offs: Belfast Giants beat Cardiff Devils to complete Grand Slam

Belfast Giants completed the Elite League Grand Slam by beating Cardiff Devils 4-1 to win the play-off title.

Mark Richardson gave Devils the lead before Jeff Baum levelled from range late in the second period.

Steven Owre put Giants ahead midway through the final period, before Donovan Neuls added a third and Mark Cooper scored into an empty net.

Having already won the regular season and Challenge Cup titles, the Giants secured just the third ever Grand Slam.

As they did in 2019 and 2022, the Giants went into the play-off final match having won the regular season and Challenge Cup titles.

On all three occasions it has been the Devils that have stood in their way of securing a clean sweep.

The Devils also went into Sunday's final with a bit of history up for grabs, as no team in Elite League history has won four-straight play-off titles.

• Devils beat Steelers and Giants overcome Panthers to set up final

But it was the Giants who came out on top of a closely-fought final, and in the process emulated Coventry's 2005 and Nottingham's 2013 all-conquering seasons.

The game's first real chance fell to the Devils after just two minutes, when Jake Coughler was left alone in the slot and found by Brodie Reid but Tyler Beskorowany made the save.

Ben Bowns was almost left red-faced when a routine save from distance bounced up and over his shoulder, and nearly deflected off his back into the net.

The puck continued to bounce around the Cardiff net, and after a save from Mark Cooper, Ben Lake's follow-up shot landed on top of Bowns' goal.

Tensions rose as both sets of players clashed after a scramble in front of the Devils goal, Belfast's Sam Ruopp and Scott Conway and Cardiff's Josh Batch the main protagonists.

And after a similarly chaotic scramble at the other end of the ice where players were once again separated by the referees, the ferocity of each collision noticeably increased.

As they did against Sheffield in the semi-final, Devils finished the first period on top and Beskorowany had to be at his best to stop Trevor Cox scoring from close range.

But he could do nothing to stop Devils captain Richardson opening the scoring with less than two seconds remaining in the first period.

Trevor Cox led a two-on-two breakaway and found Cole Sanford, who rounded the Belfast net before pulling the puck back to the arriving Richardson in the slot who provided the finish.

Cardiff Devils captain and defenceman Mark Richardson's goal was his third of the 2022-23 season

At the start of the middle period, Bowns pulled off a remarkable save to keep the Devils ahead, as Mark Cooper's shot was saved at point-blank range while Belfast were on the powerplay.

As the powerplay finished the Giants came even closer to scoring, Ciaran Long's effort beating Bowns but not the post before Cardiff's semi-final match-winner Coughler also hit the frame of the goal at the other end.

Giants finally made pressure pay as Baum levelled the score with less than three minutes to play in the middle period, his long-range effort finding the top corner with Bowns' line of sight blocked by Conway.

Conway almost added a second for the Giants in the last seconds of the period but Bowns made yet another top-class save to keep to score 1-1 going into the final 20 minutes.

After a cagey 10 minutes, Giants took the lead for the first time when David Goodwin assisted Owre, who controlled the puck with his chest before firing in.

And less than 60 seconds later the game looked out of reach for the Devils, as Neuls added Giants' third.

Needing a dramatic late turnaround the Devils pulled Bowns in place of an extra forward, and after winning back possession Cooper skated up the rink to score into an empty net and seal the win.

Victory caps a brilliant season for the Giants, who have now won seven of the Elite League's past 10 available titles.

Final period dominance sees Steelers finish third

Sheffield Steelers finished the Elite League regular season in third place, behind winners Belfast Giants and Guildford Flames

There was a fitting end to Jonathan Phillips' career as he scored Sheffield Steelers' seventh and final goal in their 7-4 win over Nottingham Panthers in the third-place match.

Phillips, Great Britain's most-capped player with 111 games to his name, announced his decision to retire in February at the age of 40.

It was a closely-fought contest for the majority of the match, with the scores tied at 4-4 with 18 minutes left to play, before the Steelers scored three unanswered goals.

Niklas Nevalainen, Scott Allen and Robert Dowd scored first-period goals for Sheffield, but a brace from Matthew Myers saw the first 20 minutes end with Steelers 3-2 up.

Brett Neumann and Stephen Anderson added to their respective sides' scores in the middle period before Jack Hopkins tied the game up for the hosts early in the final period.

However, goals from Calle Ackered, Nevalainen and Phillips in the closing stages ensured the Steelers' captain finished his career with a victory.