Cardiff Devils moved to the top of Challenge Cup Group A with a 4-2 win over Nottingham Panthers at the Motorpoint Arena on Sunday. The victory followed a 1-0 result against Sheffield Steelers on Saturday and strengthened Cardiff’s position in the race for direct Semi-Final qualification. Nottingham finished its group campaign on 12 points, with progression now dependent on other results.
Nick Welsh opened the scoring at 8:48, and Evan Mosey doubled Cardiff’s lead in the second period. Nottingham hit back on a five-on-three powerplay, as Chase Pearson deflected in Aiden Hansen-Bukata’s shot before Spencer Naas levelled 46 seconds later. Nolan Yaremko restored the Devils’ lead on a powerplay before the second intermission.
Nottingham pushed for an equaliser in the third, but Cardiff held on after Mat Robson was pulled for an extra attacker with 2:16 remaining. Mosey, who scored on his return from injury, called it a must-win game. Naas said Nottingham had wanted to take care of its own business, but its qualification hopes were now out of its hands.