Third period comeback earns Devils home win

Photo: James Assinder

Cardiff Devils came from two goals down to beat Fife Flyers 7-4 on an eventful Wednesday night at Ice Arena Wales.

The two-goal opening period was a tame affair to what could happen in the following 40 minutes. The scoring was started by Brayden Sherbinin just 2:41 in, with Cole Sanford drawing the Devils level with a close-range finish off Ryan Penny's pass on a delayed penalty. 

Sanford then put the Devils ahead 3:25 into period two, a lead that last just shy of ten minutes until the Flyers started to take over. Dillon Lawrence put home his own rebound to tie the game at 33:07, with namesake Chris squeezing one through Ben Bowns at 35:13 - both powerplay goals. Zack Phillips was given too much time to walk toward Bowns' net and feed Janne Kivilahti for the visitors' fourth with 2:18 left in the period.

Ryan Penny beat Shane Owen shorthanded with 57 seconds left in the middle period to bring the hosts back to within one.

That goal was the turning point in the game, as the Devils came out for the third period a much different team. Jake Coughler tied the game 92 seconds into period three before Josh Batch put the Devils back into the lead when he moved into the slot and connected with Ben Davies' pass at 46:52. Sanford completed his hat trick just over seven minutes later, before Coughler hit the empty net at 57:29 to make it a 7-4 win for the home side.