Cutler gives Storm OT win

Photo: Mark Ferris

Manchester Storm came back from 3-1 down, tied the game late, and took the extra point in overtime against the Cardiff Devils at the Storm Shelter.

Cardiff made the perfect start, scoring just 2:20 into the game. A shot from the blue line produced a rebound that fell to Kristoff Kontos, who tapped it in to silence the home crowd. With the Devils firmly on the front foot, they doubled their lead at 5:48 when Gleason Fournier’s shot from the high slot came through traffic and beat Evan Weninger.

Cardiff entered the night with Mark Richardson tying the EIHL all-time games played record, and the Devils captain reflected on the milestone, saying: “I’m very proud to have played so many games, and obviously to tie Jonathan Phillips, someone who I’ve always really looked up to and was there my first game in Cardiff, is very special. It’s a great honour, just a shame about the result tonight.”

Manchester hit back immediately. Just 21 seconds after Cardiff’s second, Chase Jenion forced home a no-look backhand from in tight to cut the lead to one before the first break.

The second period swung the game. Cardiff’s discipline faltered, and Manchester took full advantage. Nick Welsh struck twice on the powerplay, first with a composed wrist shot from the top of the circle, then four minutes later with a one-timer that beat Ben Bowns cleanly. Welsh said afterward: “That felt great. I think our whole unit’s been doing well. We found a lot of chemistry lately. I was able to get a couple pucks on target and I found the back of the net.”

Richardson admitted the penalties proved costly for the Devils, adding: “I think taking too many penalties in the second period really hurts. It’s a tough rink to play in and you have to stay switched on. Ultimately that second period we let it slip.”

Cardiff regrouped and retook the lead just 1:19 into the third when Kohen Olischefski finished off a move in front. But Storm refused to go away, and stand-in captain Kyle Locke tied the game with 7:06 remaining to force overtime.

It took just 29 seconds for the extra point to be decided. Brandon Cutler skated into the zone and fired high past Bowns to complete the comeback and hand Storm a memorable win. Welsh praised his team’s resilience, saying: “We had a bit of a slow start, but there was a lot of fight in this group. We battled back and never thought we were out of the game. We know we can play with this team. We just have that never-say-die attitude.”

Richardson summed up Cardiff’s mixed performance: “We’ve been up and down. We’ve had good stretches and bad stretches this year. It’s about sticking with the process and tightening up.”