'Weak' call costs Fife Flyers in defeat at Cardiff Devils

Fife Flyers were left to rue a late double penalty as they succumbed to a 3-0 defeat at Cardiff Devils last night.

The match remained goalless until midway through the third period when Devils struck twice on a five-on-three powerplay, awarded after netminder Adam Morrison was called for tripping shortly after Mike Cazzola was sin-binned for high sticks.

Devils added a third powerplay goal before the end but Fife head coach Todd Dutiaume felt his team had defended well up until that point.

"Up until that weak five-on-three call, I thought we were killing superbly," he said. "It took a five-on-three to break us down.

"We knew we were going to come under pressure in this building after a long road trip, but I thought we weathered the storm well, took our opportunities, and looked dangerous on the powerplay.

"Obviously it just wasn't our night."

Morrison was named Fife's man of the match after the netminder faced a barrage of 51 shots in front of a 2843 crowd at the Viola Arena.

"I thought Mo played outstanding," Dutiaume added. "Both goaltenders stood up well tonight but, unfortunately, they got to us in the end."

Flyers went into the match high in confidence following a 6-4 win over Glasgow Clan on home ice the previous night.

After shaking off the bus legs the visitors were unfortunate not to take the lead in the opening period when a vicious shot from Danick Gauthier struck both posts, forcing the referees into a video review, but somehow the puck had stayed out.

The game was scoreless for almost 50 minutes until Joey Martin converted on the five-on-three at 49:04 to break the deadlock.

Just under two minutes later Stephen Dixon scored from close range to double the Devils' advantage, with Matt Pope hitting the third goal from the point at 54:41.

Fife could feel hard done by to not leave with something but were unable to beat Ben Bowns with any of their 19 shots.