Stoever blanks makeshift Flames

Photo: John Uwins

Christian Stoever recorded his first professional shutout as Cardiff Devils edged Guildford Flames 1-0 at the Spectrum in their final Challenge Cup outing of the season. The 25-year-old stopped all 24 shots he faced to backstop the Devils to a hard-earned road win.

An unfamiliar-looking Flames lineup, featuring four players making their Elite League debuts: Simon Bailey, Evan Nauth, Liam Kennington, and Sol Stoodley. They battled bravely to keep the Devils at bay early on. Cardiff finally found a way through late in the first period when Josh McDonald intercepted a pass behind the Guildford net and set up Kohen Olischefski, whose feed found Riley Brandt in space to fire bar-down for the only goal of the game.

Bailey, who came through the Guildford junior system, described the experience as “very special.” He said: “I was nervous and excited before the game. Guildford was my childhood team and it’s always everyone’s dream to play for their hometown club. The guys were great and so welcoming. I just tried to savour every minute. Everything happens so quickly at this level, the guys go 100% all the time, and it was a big challenge, but I really enjoyed it.”

Guildford created some good chances on the powerplay midway through the second period. Cole Ully was denied by Stoever, who also reacted sharply to stop a Sean Comrie slapshot from the faceoff circle. Cardiff then nearly doubled their lead when Cole Sanford exited the box and led an odd-man rush, but Taz Burman came up big to keep it 1-0 heading into the third.

Adam Long replaced Burman for the final period and kept the Devils off the board, while at the other end Guildford came close to spoiling Stoever’s shutout — but the Cardiff goaltender held firm to preserve both the win and his clean sheet.

“We knew what the situation was for both teams in the Cup, but we treated this like any other game,” said Stoever. “We wanted to carry over the momentum from Saturday’s win. We rotated our lines well and made sure everyone got good ice time, which kept us fresh. I almost got a shutout here in pre-season, so I tried not to think about it this time, I was just happy to get the win for the guys.”