Cardiff split doubleheader with difficult road trip and spirited home display

The Cardiff Canucks faced a challenging doubleheader this weekend, travelling to league leaders Guildford on Saturday before hosting the Haringey Huskies at a packed Vindico Arena on Sunday evening.

Saturday: Guildford

The trip to Guildford proved a difficult evening for the Canucks. Facing the table toppers and still missing several players through injury, Cardiff found themselves 3-0 down at the end of the first period before the game got away from them in the second, with Guildford extending their lead to 7-1. The third period closed out a 9-1 defeat. Joe Tearall provided the lone bright spot on the night, scoring Cardiff's only goal. Goaltender Mackenzie McNamara earned Man of the Match honors despite the scoreline, facing a remarkable 48 shots over the course of the evening.

Sunday: Haringey Huskies

Sunday's home fixture had all the ingredients for a memorable occasion. Over 2,000 fans packed into the Vindico Arena for the final home game of the regular season, bringing with them an electric atmosphere complete with some brilliant banners and displays from the Cardiff faithful.

Both sides came into the game looking to respond. Haringey had suffered an 8-1 defeat to Peterborough the night before — who along with Guildford are in the title race — and Cardiff were eager to put Saturday's result behind them.

The Canucks dominated large stretches of the game, particularly in the opening two periods, but found themselves repeatedly denied by Haringey's netminder, former Premier League and Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech. The Czech shot-stopper turned in an outstanding display, making a string of saves to deny Cardiff's high-scoring chances and arguably keeping Haringey in the contest for long periods. Cech was awarded Man of the Match for his efforts between the pipes.

Haringey led 2-0 at the end of the first period. The Huskies had capitalised on three power play opportunities to build their advantage, before Shanahan pulled one back for Cardiff early in the second, assisted by Henry Callaghan, to make it 3-1 heading into the final frame.

Those going long in the memory will recall that Cardiff found themselves in a strikingly similar position against these same opponents in last year's playoffs — 3-1 down after two periods — before staging a remarkable comeback, drawing level and ultimately winning 4-3 in overtime to knock Haringey out. On this occasion, however, there was to be no repeat heroics. The Canucks could not find a way past Cech in the third, and Haringey pulled clear to run out 6-1 winners despite Cardiff's dominant territorial play throughout much of the evening.

Callaghan was named Cardiff's own Man of the Match for his contribution throughout the evening.

The night was rounded off in fitting fashion as Cardiff fans had the opportunity to take home game-worn warm-up jerseys from across the squad, with all players' jerseys auctioned off at the end of the game — a memorable send-off for the final home game of the regular season.

Looking Ahead

The Canucks now face three away games to close out the regular season before the playoffs get underway on March 28th. Cardiff will be eager to head into the post-season in good form, and with a playoff spot the target, there is plenty still to play for over the coming weeks.