By Georgia Thomas
Join us for our home league opener against Swindon Wildcats 2 on Sunday 28th September at 6:45pm. Tickets are available on the door or click HERE to book online.
2 – 4 
Deeside DragonsCardiff Fire vs Deeside Dragons
Saturday 20th September | Vindico Arena, Cardiff
For the second year running, Cardiff Fire have hosted the Deeside Dragons for the return of the Welsh Cup. The first leg was played this weekend at home for Fire, who are celebrating their tenth year as a team; new logo, new players but the same fiery spirit.
With a blazing start, in the first few minutes of the game we saw a great shot from #27 Carter Lloyd that was denied by the Dragons #42 Tyler De La Bertouchè. Play was continuous for the first ten minutes until the first bit of upset for the night which saw three Fire players serving 2-minute penalties, #67 Tom Stevens (roughing), #43 Captain Lewis Stevens (interference) and #97 Player Coach Elis Sheppard (roughing) all served at 11:32. Less than 30 seconds later the Dragon’s returned the fire with Netminder #41 Ben Scanlan conceding the first Dragon goal. Fire continued to play resiliently in the intense minutes of the first period, however unable to convert a power-play into a point on the scoreboard. With the Dragons managing to score a second goal right on the buzzer, ending the first period with Fire trailing slightly behind 0 – 2.
Fired up and ready for the second period, Fire came out with an intensity prepared to burn the Dragons. #27 Lloyd sent the puck to the back of the net, with an assist from #34 Bailey Hind-Pitcher timed at 22:16. For the rest of the period, play was relentless and with some brilliant penalty kills, Fire managed to douse the Dragon’s to keep them from scoring. At the end of the second the score was Fire 1 – 2 Dragons.
By the third period, Fire had momentum behind them, lots of great opportunities were made and only one penalty against them. However, even during a power-play the Dragons managed to make a short-handed goal lengthening their lead again. During a power-play #97 Sheppard found some great space within the Dragons defence to score Fire’s second goal of the night, assisted by #43 Stevens, timed at 49:03. Disappointingly, a few mistakes led to a fourth and final goal for the Dragons for the evening.
Final Score: Fire 2 – 4 Dragons
Player of the Match went to Captain Lewis Stevens #43.
As we look ahead to the second leg of the Welsh Cup, Fire must be proud of their performance, with some new line combinations, also still a few more players to add to the roster and it only being the first game of the season, things are only just beginning to heat up.
Click HERE to view the team stats.
| Time | Goal | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| 22:16 | 27 Carter Lloyd | 34 Bailey Hind-Pitcher |
| 49:03 | 97 Elis Sheppard (PP) | 43 Lewis Stevens |
Photos by James Assinder
