American forward Sean Scarbrough netted a hat-trick for the Cardiff NIHL Devils on Sunday evening to give his side victory.

Goals from Peter Vaisanen, Andy Smith and namesake Tim proved insufficient for the Dynamos who lost out 6-3 on their own ice.

Having been accused of being outmuscled in previous encounters, the Dynamos began the tie looking to make their presence felt early on in the first. Nathaniel Rose’s thumping hit forced Cardiff’s Gareth Dixon to take a seat and, when Devils’ hard man Ross Wilkinson sought words with Rose, he soon found himself on the end of an offer to dance from Bradley Watchorn.

It was an invitation he declined and it was a refusal typical of the visitors’ approach to the Dynamos’ hard hitting game as they neglected to get drawn in and instead secured a succession of powerplays. However, despite enjoying a number of spells with the extra man, the Devils actually secured the breakthrough when even handed as, midway through, Jamie Newton’s shot to the crease from close right looked to deflect beyond goalie David Wride off of the skate of the unfortunate Tom Avery.

Five minutes from time, tempers then flared as Steve Fisher’s elbow connected with the head of Peter Vaisanen along the left boards and, though the wayward arm went unnoticed by the match officials, blue liner Arran Strawson jumped in to seek retribution with a number of punches to the Cardiff forward who dived to the ice to cover up. When play restarted it seemed Strawson’s vengeance had inspired the home side who struck back shorthanded to tie it up at 1-1.

Andy Smith robbed his man just inside the final third to go through on goal and his pass from wide right found the on-rushing Peter Vaisanen in the middle who fired high inside the near upright beyond the scrambling Mike Brabon. Their time on a level footing was shortlived however as, with both sides trading penalties, the Devils grabbed their second when on the right side of a 4-on-3. Steve Osman’s long diagonal from the right boards was poked beyond netminder David Wride by the outstretched stick of Sean Scrabrough to make it 2-1. Just seconds from time that edge then became two when the Dynamos’ goalie beat away another attempt by Scarbrough from wide left only for Steve Fisher to convert the rebound from close in.

With a two goal deficit coming from a frame in which they had concentrated on taking the body, the home side needed to switch their focus in the second if they were to avoid falling out of sight. Unfortunately, six minutes in, they shipped another as Jamie Newton played the puck out from behind the frame to Steve Fisher just left of the net and his pinpoint wrist shot found the top far corner of the goal to make it 4-1. But for a fine sprawling save from David Wride they could then have had five, as Stephen Deacon and Jordan Powell escaped on a 2-on-1, but Powell was thwarted in the middle as the netminder efficiently covered the ground to make an unlikely stop.

However Wride had only delayed the inevitable as, just moments later, the Devils grabbed their fifth to secure a four goal cushion. Gareth Dixon’s drive from the right channel was only cleared as far as Sean Scarbrough and the American wasted little time in putting the puck over the line from close left for his second of the night. A miserable frame was then compounded close to time for the Dynamos as Bradley Watchorn took offence to an unspectacular check by Robert Sedlak on Jack Tarczcyki and opted to jump the Cardiff man from behind in a bid to land a number of punches. Slovak Sedlak sought the safety of the ice condemning Watchorn to an early shower and a seat in the stands for the team’s next tie as he picked up a match penalty.

Now 5-1 down heading into the last the Dynamos had it all to do but, having killed the five minute major carried over from the Watchorn’s antics in the second, they made the ideal start to the third with a powerplay strike inside four minutes. Jack Tarczycki’s blue line shot found the blocker of Mike Brabon but the puck then dropped to a waiting Andy Smith who flicked the rebound over the netminder to cut the deficit to 5-2. Just moments later and it was 5-3 as Callum Best’s faceoff win in the final third gave Tim Smith possession on the edge of the offensive zone and his rocket shot from deep fizzed into the top left corner of the net over the shoulder of the forlorn goalie.

The defenceman’s strike threatened to swing the momentum of the clash but Cardiff coach Mark Cuddihy called a well timed timeout to allow his players to regroup. His 30 second breather appeared to do the trick as, though the Dynamos came knocking, they failed to secure another as Mike Brabon denied everything thrown at his frame. In fact, five minutes from time, the visitors claimed the last of the night when Sean Scarbrough used his blistering pace to beat Tom Avery in the race to claim a loose puck heading towards the Invicta net before seizing control, shifting right to fool goalie David Wride and sending a low shot under the netminder to complete the 6-3 victory.

It was a home NIHL defeat for the Dynamos then who are left reflecting on a night when their hard hitting game seemed a substitute for their hockey and ultimately played a role as they lost out to the visiting Devils. The absence of forwards Callum Fowler and Joe Bliss will have played its part but the home side were largely frustrated by their opponents with the Cardiff outfit playing a well disciplined and effective game. Man of the match awards on the night went to Andy Smith of the home side whilst Steve Osman took the beers for the visitors.