Panthers v Devils - 13/11 - 7:00pm - League & CC

[kettdevil1]

This post probably won't make a lot of sense as I am just back and still on a high...

Put simply that game was why I watch hockey and it must rank as one of the best games I have ever seen. The Devils were absolutely awesome today, fast, physical and for the first time in living memory we bullied the Panthers from start to finish in their own barn.

The place was packed with Devils fans and boy did we make a noise. It was travelling support at its absolute best. Personal highlights were the chants of "sit down, behave" at Penner and repeated rounds of "Tylor is a legend" whenever he threw himself at the puck.

Weller looks a very, very good player indeed. He was clearly rusty and was caught out of position a few times but I wacthed his warm up and it was an incredible spectacle. I don't think he looked at the puck once, he was just constantly looking for the pass or shot. He just knew the puck would be at the end of his stick. Oh and boy can he check, like a train! He also had a one-on-one with the NM which would have been sweet if he had scored. Absolute and utter class.

Stevie was magnificant as well today. After all the stick he has got he was a deserved MOM and the team (and us as fans) were delighted.

Elsewhere, Maxi was in unplayable mode which is always fun and special mention to Brad Voth for pulling one of the great sucker moves on Lepine. Close to the end we were called for a penalty at 2-2. Brad then manages to hook Lepine round the neck nehind the refs back and was then happy to be punched when Smith turned round. The result? A Panther heads for the box as well as a DEevil.

Penner provided us with enteratinment throughout the game. He producded the worst miss I have seen for years and took a string of daft penalties, what he brings to the team is still debatable.

This was our night however, a performance which if repeated each game would see us win the league.

Totallly memorable.

 

[Wannabe2]

Off to bed now, but before i go thank you Devils i will sleep very well tonight, knowing my team are the very best in the league.
HAPPY HOCKEY DAYS AND GOODNIGHT.

 

[Gaz G]

Great result tonight and lets keep the run going tomorrow night. We are not to be underestimated and who'd of thought our rough schedule could have helped things??

 

[BBW]

Loved the game tonight - first one where I was sat at the plexi, which was great. First for the panthers fan in the next block too by the look of it, as he ended up with his pint in his lap after leaving it on the ledge.

Really good game to watch and we were in magnificant voice, stirred on by a couple of old timers who really know how to get everyone going - don't think we'll have much left to cheer with tomorrow.

Highlight of the night was Meyers, who was a pain all night, skating right at Weller. Weller stood his ground and didn't move, and Meyers hit himself so hard he went straight off to the dressing room. This guy gets out of the way for no-one!

Players looked delighted to see so many of us at the end too

 

[drainage]

finally home ...... and what a day !! Loved the game , loved the fans, loved the team and well loved the result !!!! What a great display by a great team my hands are sore from hammering the plexi and my face is aching from smiling at the panties losing!!!! Oooops that should read from smiling at the Devils winning !!! Great game lads you did us proud

 

[michelle3girlsgym]

Well all I can say is FANTASTIC!!!!!! What a great game I am so glad we went. Thanks bob for a great day on your coach, my 3 girls first away game and what a game it was!!! Thanks to everyone on the coach making us feel welcome!

 

[Anonymous]

They are hilarious on the Cage , Dirty dirty Devils, biased ref etc etc .

God, I mean who in their right mind would blame the ref after a defeat ..... .........

The place was packed with Devils fans and boy did we make a noise.

Good to hear. Lets hope the atmos is the same in the tent tonight !!!

 

[TheStub]

Re: Panthers v Devils - 13/11 - 7:00pm - League & CC

What a great game. Devils played exceptionally well. I was loving the long cross and down ice passes that just opened up the Panthers defence. We didn't just look like we coped with the big ice, we owned it.

The Panthers just couldn't defend against us.

If it wasn't for Kowalski we could have been 4 or 5 up at one point. He was pulling show reel save after show reel save out of his bag of tricks. How he get a glove to Weller's breakaway I don't know. He was their man of the match in my opinion, and certainly the only reason they were still in it at the halfway point.

Great to see Stevie returning to old ways.

Oh, and Weller...dear lord what a player. He is like an immovable object. He can skate through anything, hit like a train and if they manage to land a hit on him looks like he didn't even notice. You could see him improve as the game went on, and he is going to be scary when he has his game legs on AND knows the team.

My father made an interesting observation. With a guy of that skill and talent our players need to be pulling everything he knows, how he plays and ethic out of him. Then it wont matter when he leaves, he will have improved the team for years to come.

 

[Anonymous]

My father made an interesting observation. With a guy of that skill and talent our players need to be pulling everything he knows, how he plays and ethic out of him. Then it wont matter when he leaves, he will have improved the team for years to come.

That is one of the things that most excites me about Weller's arrival. Straight away you will see every player up their game by 20%. The impact he will have on our younger players too, Ben, Sam etc. They can and hopefully will learn a vast amount. While he's here he will prove invaluable, and to a substantial degree, after he's gone. Can't wait to see him play tonight.
Exciting times ahead ...

 

[devson]

well we traveled up from basingstoke for the game and i think it was the best game of hockey i have seen for at least 4 years.
lyle played a blinder but there NM was awsome aswell devils took a lot of stupid pens but killed most of them off very well and even scoring SH
penna was a joke trying so hard for a fight but just ended up winding himself up more and more
wella what a player he is going to be the way he can dodge a big hit at the last min is wicked to see the panties crash into the boards at full speed and he can take a hit and not move an inch
dont think we will be up for the game later as to much driving for one weekend good luck to the boys

 

[DevilDom]

What a great game and a fantastic result.

The team was immense, the fans were amazing and very noisey. We definitely gave the team a lift.

Its hard to single any particular players out as they all looked great and gave 100% effort but Stevie is definitely back to his best and deserved his MOM. In fact if it wasn't for both netminders the score could have been more like 7-5 to the Devils.

Very hoarse this morning - just hope I can recover in time for tonight!

 

[Scott]

Amazing match! One of the best away performances I've seen in a while...

The only negative is that we didn't get the job done in regulation, which we should have. This leaves more work to be done to get through to the CC semis. But you've got to give credit to their goalie, he was superb, the double save on Max was one of the best I've seen in ages. How he wasn't MOM, I do not know!

Lyle was very impressive too! Just a few weeks ago he was letting all sorts of goals in, but the last 3 or 4 games have been a vast improvment. Let's hope he can keep it up.

Weller was a different class... guys were just bouncing off him, his balance was fantastic. It took him a few minutes to settle in, but after that everytime he got the puck he looked so calm. Was denyed by on a breakaway from a very good save.

Penner was an absolute waste of space!

Voth will get called a chicken for not fighting, but he drew a penalty which potentially could have won us the game! Maybe having the bad finger was a blessing in disguise?

Very excited for tonight

 

[Kovalchuk#17]

What a game! As a panthers fan i can only say well done Devils. Agreed Penner IS a waste of space i would pay for his flight home. I was pleased we took a point out of last night, we did not turn up for 45 minutes, hit the pipes countless times, it just wasnt our night. K-wall was utter class though, he is starting to shine now, think we have the best nettie in the league right now. Only conceeding 2 last night was quite frankly unbelievable. Lyle must have been kissing his posts!

 

[michelle3girlsgym]

What a fantastic game, just a shame as a family it cost us £20 more than watching a home game, but that was soon forgotten when we beat them!!!!!!!!!!

 

[wildthing74]

What a game! As a panthers fan i can only say well done Devils. Agreed Penner IS a waste of space i would pay for his flight home. I was pleased we took a point out of last night, we did not turn up for 45 minutes, hit the pipes countless times, it just wasnt our night. K-wall was utter class though, he is starting to shine now, think we have the best nettie in the league right now. Only conceeding 2 last night was quite frankly unbelievable. Lyle must have been kissing his posts!

Think slightly blinkered opinion about hitting the pipes countless times,I counted one that hit the cross bar and another off the post?
Your netminder was superb to be fair and at times kept your guys in the game.Excellent to see 2 teams go at it 100% and it was end to end that could easily have gone either way but were both back stopped by brilliant goaltending and aggressive defense.
Neither team left an ounce of energy in the tank and left nothing out there on the ice.
Massive home and away support which was great to see.Devils fans got right behind their team but surprised Panthers fans were so quiet until the 3rd.
Standout players for us were Max,Pelle and Tylor who grafted all night long and hustled and forechecked as if their life depended on it.Weller looks the real deal.Very aggressive,strong and superb skater.shame about the 1 on 1.
For Panthers I was impressed with Macdonald,Ryan and Lepine.Clarke was kept quiet which was nice as he is usually our nemesis.
You could see what the result meant to the fans and team at the end and the players were clearly delighted with the amount that travelled.The smile on G's face was brilliant.
Oh and Mr Weller you clearly are already a Cardiff boy if your ayatollah at the end is anything to go by.

 

[Kovalchuk#17]

What a game! As a panthers fan i can only say well done Devils. Agreed Penner IS a waste of space i would pay for his flight home. I was pleased we took a point out of last night, we did not turn up for 45 minutes, hit the pipes countless times, it just wasnt our night. K-wall was utter class though, he is starting to shine now, think we have the best nettie in the league right now. Only conceeding 2 last night was quite frankly unbelievable. Lyle must have been kissing his posts!

Think slightly blinkered opinion about hitting the pipes countless times,I counted one that hit the cross bar and another off the post?
Your netminder was superb to be fair and at times kept your guys in the game.Excellent to see 2 teams go at it 100% and it was end to end that could easily have gone either way but were both back stopped by brilliant goaltending and aggressive defense.
Neither team left an ounce of energy in the tank and left nothing out there on the ice.
Massive home and away support which was great to see.Devils fans got right behind their team but surprised Panthers fans were so quiet until the 3rd.
Standout players for us were Max,Pelle and Tylor who grafted all night long and hustled and forechecked as if their life depended on it.Weller looks the real deal.Very aggressive,strong and superb skater.shame about the 1 on 1.
For Panthers I was impressed with Macdonald,Ryan and Lepine.Clarke was kept quiet which was nice as he is usually our nemesis.
You could see what the result meant to the fans and team at the end and the players were clearly delighted with the amount that travelled.The smile on G's face was brilliant.
Oh and Mr Weller you clearly are already a Cardiff boy if your ayatollah at the end is anything to go by.

I counted at least 5.. clarke was useless..

 

[wildthing74]

Five!!Well one of us can't count then.

 

[cardiffdevil]

I am shattered this morning and would you believe I have a couple of bruised fingers, that'll teach me to bang so hard on the plexi glass!!!

It was a brilliant game and it was great to see so many Devils fans there, as has been said, I'm sure the players were happy and grateful to see so many of us there. I too was surprised how quiet the Panthers fans were in comparison to us. Glad that the fights some of their fans were obsessing about didn't materialise.

Atmosphere when we got back on the coach was brilliant, thanks again Bob for organising another good tour, even the trouble in the pub between Notts County and QPR fans couldnt spoil it. (We stayed outside and kept away from it)

Weller looked good, can't wait for the game tonight

 

[James]

Panthers v Devils - 13/11 - 7:00pm - League & CC

I counted 3 for the record there was a long shot that judging by the deflection hit the outside of the pipes too. Either way, not much to add that others haven't already. A fantastic game, Lyle was solid, Kowalsky was pure class. So nice to run into a hot goalie like that and still take the points. Max was immense, and appeared to be everywhere making a difference. After 2 less than impressive years it's great to have him back playing the way we know he can. Weller was immense and appears impossible to remove from the puck in corners, no matter how many of the opposition you throw at him. Dean Smith made some confusing calls (and looking at the number of penalties given too the Devils how can any Panther fan say he favoured us?) but allowed the big hits which was nice to see as there were plenty from both sides. Great to see Voth pull a penalty when needed too to prevent the Panthers getting a powerplay in the closing minutes, smart play there. All in all a cracking game. Panthers shouldn't be unhappy with the result, and as possibly the biggest game of the year so far for us (points wise) I'm very happy with the win.

 

[Kovalchuk#17]

I counted 3 for the record there was a long shot that judging by the deflection hit the outside of the pipes too. Either way, not much to add that others haven't already. A fantastic game, Lyle was solid, Kowalsky was pure class. So nice to run into a hot goalie like that and still take the points. Max was immense, and appeared to be everywhere making a difference. After 2 less than impressive years it's great to have him back playing the way we know he can. Weller was immense and appears impossible to remove from the puck in corners, no matter how many of the opposition you throw at him. Dean Smith made some confusing calls (and looking at the number of penalties given too the Devils how can any Panther fan say he favoured us?) but allowed the big hits which was nice to see as there were plenty from both sides. Great to see Voth pull a penalty when needed too to prevent the Panthers getting a powerplay in the closing minutes, smart play there. All in all a cracking game. Panthers shouldn't be unhappy with the result, and as possibly the biggest game of the year so far for us (points wise) I'm very happy with the win.

I dont blame Dean Smith at all, we werent good enough, taking the positive though, we played a terrible game and we still took you right down to the wire, which is promising. Only a gammy penatly shot made the difference. As i have sad previously Congratulations, im not sore and can accept we lost.