Against the devils from Cardiff: Ritten has no chance

At the start of the third round of the IIHF Continental Cup, the Rittner Buam SkyAlps had to admit defeat on Friday afternoon. Simon Kostner & Co. lost 1:5 to the Cardiff Devils from Wales, who were full of imports, after a one-sided but entertaining match.

15 November 2024

From: pm/det

The Rittner Buam started off well against the current leaders of the British first division EIHL and Kevin Fink missed the 1:0 after a slot tussle (1st). The Buam then had a man advantage on the ice, but didn't make anything of it. Cardiff became more and more active and took the lead with a double strike: first, ex-HC Bozen player Gleason Fournier completed a beautiful move with a shot into the far corner (8.02), 33 seconds later MacDonald hammered the puck into the top corner after a counterattack (8.35).

However, Ritten did not bury its head in the sand and repeatedly had good chances against the Welsh team, who were on paper better, especially after winning the puck in the offensive third. Nevertheless, the score remained 0:2 at the end of the third.

Ethan Szypula briefly shortened the lead for Ritten. © Max Pattis

The second period began somewhat sluggishly. The Rittner Buam were now able to hold up better against the Cardiff Devils, but there were only a few good scoring opportunities on either side. The best one came from Furlong in the 26th minute, when he used his shoulder to parry a shot from Duke from a tight angle. And out of nowhere, Ritten struck: after a counterattack, Lobis and Szypula started alone towards the Devils' goal. Lobis hit the post with the puck, but Szypula put the rebound in the net (29.40). Cardiff goalie Bowns was also injured in this action, and he was then replaced by Carruth.

Short upwind is not enough

The goal gave the boys a brief boost, but it was abruptly stopped when Duke made it 3-1 from the deep slot (33.18). And a one-timer from the blue line by Cardiff defender Donaghey even meant a 4-1 halftime lead for the Welsh (37.40).

Then the boys had to survive two consecutive two-minute deficits, but managed to do so successfully both times, with Furlong in particular going above and beyond on several occasions. First he parried the unmarked Barrow with his pads (43'), then he defused an O'Brien shot from a tight angle with a great reflex (44'). But he was powerless at 1:5 when MacDonald brilliantly set up Martin, who slotted in from close range (45.22). This goal was also the preliminary decision, as Ritten could no longer find an answer to the deficit and did not convert its chances into two power plays. But Cardiff also failed to score another goal, so 1:5 was the final score.

For the Rittner Buam SkyAlps, the third round of the IIHF Continental Cup continues on Saturday with the second game against the Kazakh team Arlan Koskhetau. The game starts at 13:XNUMX,