Cardiff Devils
| Cardiff Devils | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| City | Cardiff, Wales |
| League | Elite Ice Hockey League |
| Founded | 1986 |
| Home arena | Ice Arena Wales |
| Colours | White, Red, and Green |
| Owner(s) |
 Steve King |
| Captain |
Jake Morrisette |
| Affiliates | Cardiff Devils NIHL |
| Championships | |
| Regular season titles | 1989–90, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1996–97 |
| Autumn Cups | 1993–94 |
| Challenge Cups | 2005–06, 2014–15 |
| Playoff championships | 1989–90, 1992–93 1993–94, 1998–99 |
The Cardiff Devils are a Welsh ice hockey team who play in the British Elite Ice Hockey League. The team currently plays out of the Ice Arena Wales in Cardiff Bay. The team moved from the Cardiff Arena (also known as the Big Blue Tent) in March 2016 after playing their last game in the arena on 27 February against the Coventry Blaze. The Cardiff Devils opened the Ice Arena Wales with a double home header fixture on 12 and 13 March against the Belfast Giants.
Founded in 1986, the club became the dominant force in the sport in the late 1980s and early 1990s, winning a total of 7 league titles.
The Cardiff Devils were formed during the summer of 1986 when Sports Nationwide built the Wales National Ice Rink in the centre of Cardiff. John Lawless, a 25-year-old Canadian, was given the responsibility of setting up a brand new team, having been a trainee assistant manager at Peterborough who were owned by the same company.
The club entered the British Ice Hockey League Structure at the bottom in Division 2 (Midland Section) at a time when each team was only allowed a maximum of three import players. With Lawless deciding to play himself, he brought over fellow Canadians Perry Olivier and Bill Taylor to join him on the roster, with the remaining places going to British players, one of whom, Paul Morganti, a student at Cardiff University, had been raised in Canada and had significant high school hockey experience. With the WNIR not ready for the start of the season, the team played several games away from home to begin with. The Cardiff Devils' first ever game was a Challenge match away to the Oxford City Stars on 12 October 1986. Despite Oxford playing in the division above, the Devils won the game 9–8.
Cardiff finally got to play their first ever game at the WNIR on 30 November 1986 where a crowd of 2500 saw their new heroes humiliate Ashfield Islanders 32–0.
Devils finished the league season unbeaten with 13 wins and 1 draw from 14 games to finish top of Division 2 (Midlands), 2 points clear of Welsh rivals Deeside Dragons. Promotion to Division 1 though was dependent on them winning the Division 1 Play-off Champions, which the club hosted at the WNIR. Their semi-final against Northern winners Grimsby Buffaloes was surrounded in controversy when the game was abandoned after a 34-player bench clearance with Cardiff leading 10–4. The BIHA officials though ruled that it had been provoked by the English side and hence the score should stand as a final result. In the other semi-final Scottish League Champions Aviemore Blackhawks beat Southern Winners Streatham Bruins(13–4) to set up an all Celtic final the following day. Unfortunately for the Devils, despite a final period comeback after being 4 goals behind, Aviemore were able to hang on for a 10–9 win and promotion to Division 1 at the expense of Cardiff. But in a strange twist of fate the result proved to be irrelevant. The BIHA decided the league structure needed re-organising, and as a result the Cardiff Devils were moved into Division 1 (South) for the following season.
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