The final game of gameday one got underway in Wales as the Cardiff Devils played host to Mountfield HK of the Czech Republic, with both sides looking to start their Champions Hockey League season strong after each side has finished bottom of their respective groups in their previous two attempts.

It was a first period for the visitors, Radovan Pavlík with a great one time blast from the right side was midway through the first period was the only thing separating the sides with 40 minutes of regulation still to play with Mountifeld out shooting the Devils 10 shots to five through the opening period. Then on a five on three powerplay midway through the second period, the Devils found their opening. Some nice passing movement set up a shot from Matt Pope and despite Marek Mazenec’s best efforts in the Mountfield net, the puck sprawled loose to Blair Riley who levelled the scoring with just under half the game remaining. The pressure remained though, with another player still in the box, the Devils stayed on the powerplay and they made it count. This time a strike from Gleason Fournier from the point, tipped in by Mike McNamee, put the hosts ahead with a 2-1 lead.

The strong play from the hosts continued in the third period, with Charles Linglet ripping a third goal for Cardiff on the left hand side just five minutes into the period, leaving Mountfield a gap of two goals to overcome to try and salvage at least a point from their opening game. The visitors were given an opportunity of their own with a five on three power play midway through the third period, but with some crucial blocked shots from the Devils they survived the penalty kill heading into the final 10 minutes, Mountfield grabbed a second goal with just two seconds remaining but it was too little and too late as Cardiff got the exact start they wanted, securing all three points on home ice in their opening game of the season.