Devils seek first domestic trophy in three years

Cardiff Devils overturned deficits against Nottingham Panthers and Sheffield Steelers on their way to the Challenge Cup final

After winning their first ever European trophy in January, Cardiff Devils this week look to take their first domestic title in three years.

The Devils have struggled for form in the Elite League (EIHL) since lifting the IIHF Continental Cup but have reached the final of the Challenge Cup.

They travel to league leaders Belfast Giants for Wednesday's showpeice (19:00 GMT) which will decide EIHL's first available title of the season.

"It's a trophy and it's something you set a goal for at the start of the season, which we did explicitly outline as one for us," said Cardiff defenceman Josh Batch who is now in his 13th season with the club.

There was a time when the Devils might have felt that they tended to do quite well in the Challenge Cup.

But these days, not so much.

In 2015, when EIHL replaced two-legged finals with a one-off match to decide the tournament for the first time, it all started so well for the Welsh club.

Cardiff were in the early days of the current ownership group that had saved the club during the previous summer.

Managing director Todd Kelman and player-coach Andrew Lord had assembled a squad that was competitive throughout the season and reached the Challenge Cup final to face Sheffield Steelers on their opponent's home ice.

The Devils' unexpected 2-1 win and memories of the Red Army's mass migration to Sheffield is a day still cherished by the club's players and staff.

In the next eight Challenge Cup finals, Cardiff played in five - but were victorious in just one.

The Challenge Cup has become for the Devils, well, something of a challenge.

In 2016 they lost in overtime to Nottingham Panthers and a goal from current Devils player Evan Mosey.

Two years later Cardiff led Belfast well into the second period but saw the Giants power back to win 6-3 at Ice Arena Wales.

Then, in 2020, more disappointment.

Cardiff hosted Sheffield Steelers for a double-header weekend in March.

First up was a league game on a Friday night, which the Devils won 7-3 to cement an almost unassailable position at the top of Elite League.

But, two days later, they lost the Challenge Cup Final 4-3 to the Steelers in south Wales - a match that ended up being the last game of hockey played in the UK that season with the coronavirus pandemic causing the Elite League to be cancelled four days later.

Giant rivalry

The 2022 Challenge Cup final was the third between Cardiff and Belfast who both make their 10th final appearance this week

In the first full season after the Covid-19 lockdowns Cardiff managed to reach the Challenge Cup final again in 2022.

And, like this year, it was an away trip to Belfast to take on the Giants.

Cardiff had been bedevilled with inconsistency and injuries all season and travelled to Northen Ireland without defencemen Brendan Mikkelson and Marc McNulty.

Before the match no-one gave the Devils a prayer.

"[Like this season] it was another up and down year and going into it with only four D-men the odds were stacked against us," said 34-year-old Batch.

"It's always a hard building to go to in Belfast.

"We were underdogs on the day, sometimes that can be a benefit because you're playing without the pressure of being the favourites."

At the end of the second period the Devils led 2-0 through goals from Jake Coughler and Cole Sanford.

But in the third period Giants hit back with two goals in three minutes and in the last minute of over-time Ben Lake scored for the Giants to take the trophy.

"It was unfortunate to be so close and to lose it in overtime," recalls Batch. "It was a big shame."

However, the Devils soon had the chance for revenge.

Less than a month later coach Jarrod Skalde was replaced and under Brodie Dupont they reached the final of the play-offs to face the newly crowned Elite League champions Belfast. Cardiff triumphed 6-3 to deny the Giants a domestic treble.

This team does not go away quietly

Great Britain international Josh Batch has collected six assists and six penalty minutes this season

This year's Challenge Cup showdown has some similarities to the 2022 final - and not just the same teams facing each other in the same venue.

This season, just like in 2022, the Devils have struggled with injuries and their form has been erratic.

Since Cardiff won the Continental Cup in January, they have struggled in the league posting seven wins and eight losses.

In the same period the Giants have won ten and lost five and just like three years ago are league leaders.

So again, Cardiff go to Belfast very much as underdogs.

This Devils squad, now coached by Pete Russell, does seem though to have a knack of being able to pull out a result from nowhere.

In the middle of the recent dismal run of results Russell's side overturned a two-goal deficit in the second leg of the Challenge Cup semi-final to beat Sheffield Steelers.

This team does not go away quietly.

"Yeah, definitely and there was the last group game of the Challenge Cup group when we were 4-0 down to Nottingham and we came back to win that," said Batch.

"When we're on our game, there's a belief amongst us that we can beat anyone on any given day.

"The struggle for us has been finding that top performance consistently week to week, period to period."

The Giants will take confidence from knowing that they have won all five meetings between them and Cardiff this season including two comprehensive wins in February.

Despite losing 4-1 then 6-0 in a Belfast-weekend double-header, Batch is quick to point out that the gap between the two last month was not as big as people might think.

"The game on the Friday in Belfast was a one-goal game before we pulled the goalie, we hit the crossbar so that could have gone either way really," he said.

"They got a couple of empty net goals which made it a bit more flattering, but on the Saturday, we got shellacked, there's no arguing that one."

Batch, who recently passed the 800-mark for league appearances, is confident of a different outcome on Wednesday.

"Hopefully we've learnt a few things after our two games there a couple of weeks ago and we're able to make a few adjustments to put us in a better position to win.

"And we also have a few more bodies back which is going to be useful because those games are very intense, very physical and you need all the energy you can get on the ice."

"This game coming up, there's a lot on the line. It's a game everyone's going to be up for on both sides."