Cardiff ENL Devils netminder Mike Brabon kept the Invicta Dynamos at bay on Saturday evening as the Gillingham based team lost out 3-0 in the Welsh capital in the highly anticipated ENIHL South Division 1 rematch.
Faceoff in Wales was delayed for half an hour on game night as the much publicised events of the previous encounter saw a crowd of over 600 drawn to the big blue tent. When play then got underway, despite a lively opening five minutes from the visitors, it was the hosts who then made the better start.
In the seventeenth minute Cardiff opened their account on the powerplay as Chris Jones and Jason Stone combined to tee up Jamie Hayes for the finish and he rifled beyond Andy Moffat whilst Callum Fowler sat a tripping minor.
The Devils then had the better of the second frame and added two more to their tally to effectively seal the two league points. Netminder Andy Moffat denied fourteen of sixteen attempts on his frame but was unable to prevent Stephen Deacon tallying following work from James Preece and Adam Harding.
The second of the period, and third of the night, then came when Chris Jones sent possession through to Jason Stone and the Cardiff veteran presented the play to Adam Harding who sent the puck over the line to make it 3-0.
In the final frame neither team were then able to alter the scoreboard and the buzzer sounded after sixty minutes with the hosts having recorded a clean sheet and an important victory.
So it was a second defeat in Cardiff for the Dynamos this season who began their double header road weekend in difficult circumstances given the absence of Michael Timms, Adam Copland, Alastair Band, Ryan Giles, Grant Baxter and Corey Watkins.
Despite the pre-game build up, the game was a timid affair with both sides sharing a combined 22 minutes of penalties as they each exhibited their best behaviour. Man of the match awards on the night went to shut-out hero Mike Brabon of the ENL Devils whilst fellow shot stopper Andy Moffat took it for the Dynamos. From here the team then prepared for a trip to nearby Bristol for game two of the weekend at Frogmore Street against the Pitbulls.