Coming into the Champions Hockey League this year, the Cardiff Devils had a tough task ahead of them considering they hadn’t played any warmup games and had only been able to train as a full team just days before their opening match against Adler Mannheim.
Things got even tougher for the Welsh side when on the morning of their opening game, it was announced that they would be without head coach Jarrod Skalde, assistant coach Neil Francis and two players in Josh Batch and Ben Davies due to COVID-19 protocols.
Later that night, the lack of preparation and missing key personnel looked to be causing issues. They were blown out at home by Adler Mannheim in a 5-0 loss, never really looking like they got going in the game as Mannheim controlled the tempo from start to finish.
A bounce back was needed, and a bounce back came on Saturday night when they hosted Lausanne HC.
“We didn’t play well enough Thursday night,” forward Cole Sanford said following the win over Lausanne.
“We came out tonight and we knew we were playing against a really good team."
"We knew we had to be better and just a give huge team effort tonight."Cole Sanford reflecting on what the Cardiff Devils needed following a big loss on Game Day 1
Better is exactly what they were, even without their coaches. Cardiff managing director Todd Kelman and former assistant coach Jamie Elson stepped into the coaching roles for both games, but they were still able to get head coach Skalde involved.
“We ran it like a normal game day,” Kelman explained.
“Skalde did video with the guys in the morning and joined us for the game by video call, and talked to the guys before the game, and he just talked about playing our game, respecting them (Lausanne) enough but also remembering that we can skate with these guys.
“We talked about getting the body on them and getting a good start, because that’s what got us on our heels on Thursday and I thought we did that, and we got a couple of goals and we just rolled from there.”
The first of those goals came from Sanford, who finished on the powerplay after a great feed from Brodie Reid, and as Cardiff carried a one-goal lead into the third period, it was Sanford again who struck to give the hosts a two-goal cushion.
“It always feels nice to contribute” Sanford said of his two-goal performance.
“A couple of really nice passes from Reid and Trevor Cox, anytime you can contribute offensively, you want to, so it feels really nice.”
Sanford’s two goals, with Reid adding another and Sam Duggan sealing the win by adding the fourth were exactly what the Devils needed to bounce back from their disappointing opening game, something that Todd Kelman was jubilant about following the game.
“I don’t really know what to say, I wouldn’t say we’re shocked, I thought we played great.
“We obviously had a better start, but the difference between Thursday night and tonight, just the feel in the locker room and everything."
"You could feel the guys were a team finally."Cardiff Devils managing director Todd Kelman on the atmosphere in the room ahead of their Game Day 2 meeting with Lausanne HC
“Thursday night it kind of felt like, even before the game started, we were back on our heels as we were worried that our coaches were out, two of our guys were out, we just got thrown a bunch of adversity that whole week, and today there was a bit of swagger, they were more prepared, they were ready, and I thought we played as a team right from the start.”
Goalie Mac Carruth stopped 32 of the 33 shots he faced on Saturday, a quieter night than the 46 he faced against Mannheim, earning high praise from his temporary coach and teams Managing Director.
“Mac was fantastic tonight. He ate so many shots, he controlled rebounds so well and that slowed the game down a bit for us.”
With two players missing, and another defenceman out injured following their opening game, Cardiff had to call in a loan player from fellow EIHL side Manchester Storm, bringing in British defenceman Zach Sullivan for the night, and the following two Group Stage games, and he fit right into the depleted defensive unit.
“Zach Sullivan, we called him in from the Manchester Storm and he ate about 10 minutes of ice for us and then the other four pretty much rolled the whole game.
“Our captain Mark Richardson, what a game by him, Brendan Mikkelson, all four of the defence with Matt Register and Ben O’Connor they played incredible, even the forwards. You can’t really look up and down the line-up and find a guy whodidn’t have a great night.”
It’s no secret that CHL wins for Cardiff are a proud moment for the club and its fans, a message Kelman was keen to share with the team following the win.
“It was a special night, I said to the guys after the game that everyone’s going to remember this for years to come,"
"This is one of those games that people are going to talk about where they were sitting when we beat Lausanne."Todd Kelman on a huge win over Lausanne for the Cardiff Devils
“That’s a great club over there, it’s one of the best organisations in Europe, we were just proud to compete against them and play against them in the Champions League, so to come away with a win we we’re really happy.”
The win is even more special for Cardiff fans.
With no hockey for over 17 months, and Ice Arena Wales only re-opening for the first time since the pandemic earlier this month, for them to witness another CHL victory was a great moment for both the fans and the team.
“It’s great for us and it’s great for them” Cole Sanford said.
“It’s been a long time coming with the virus. We’re very fortunate to have the support we do here in Cardiff, and it was a lot of fun tonight.”
Todd Kelman commented on the atmosphere in Ice Arena Wales by saying “Saturday night hockey in any city in the UK is fantastic, it’s awesome, the fans were great, and the guys were pumped and they fed off the energy in the crowd.
“I don’t know what it is about Saturdays, you can just feel the crowd, they’re really into it, it was something special.”