The last meeting between the two teams was merely a month ago, writes James Gabriel Castro.
On that occasion, Manchester Storm away from home escaped with a victory in overtime 5-4 through the goal provided by Brandon Cutler. The Storm’s win back on November 22 sets the table for a second fixture on Sunday, December 21, between the two teams.
With Cardiff Devils looking to be the ‘grinch that stole Christmas’ and return the favor as they look to spoil the start of the Christmas week of Storm hopefuls.
Coming into the match, the Manchester Storm dropped to 5th place, despite surviving another overtime thriller through a shootout against the Coventry Blaze, 3-2. This sees the Storm experience their third overtime game in the last five games, where they won two out of their three overtime games. While they also experienced a 3-0 shutout against the league leaders Nottingham Panthers the week prior.
On the other hand, coming into the Storm Shelter, Cardiff Devils climbed up to second place in the standings. This can be attributed to their amazing run of form winning six of the last seven games after they lost against Manchester Storm last November 22.
Comparing both teams statistically. So far in the young season, Cardiff Devils proved to be the faster team than their adversary from Manchester. In their 20 games, their total shots totaled 771, equivalent to 38.5 shots at goal per game. This indicates that they use their speed to their advantage as they like to push the tempo and enter the zones quickly, and try to overwhelm their opponent.
This style of play results in Cardiff Devils being one of the most prolific teams in scoring goals. So far in the 20 games that they had played, they scored a total of 78 goals, tying Nottingham Panthers for the top team in goals scored.
But what sets Cardiff Devils apart is their defence. When defending, the Devils are calm, structured, and positionally sound. Through the first 20 games, they have conceded just 38 goals. A whopping 1.90 goals against average, one of the league’s lowest.
If the Wales-based sub-zero squad is all about overwhelming offence through sheer speed and explosiveness, the side from Manchester is all about physicality.
Manchester Storm is one of the top teams in terms of penalty kill efficiency. Across 17 games, they average 80.46% or 46 penalty kills. This means that they take a fair number of penalties through body checks and board battles. However, what sets them apart is their efficiency. This means that they employ physicality with discipline.
The guys from Manchester also enjoy defending a lot. Through 17 games, they conceded 49 goals, which translates to 2.88 goals per game. On the surface, Manchester Storm can be seen by many as a team that allows a lot of shots. But Manchester Storm is one of the top teams in the league defensively. Most of the time, they wanted to play tighter in their own zone and pounce on the mistakes of their opponents. They also want to create a scrappy game and make it uncomfortable for their opponents. While being comfortable in close game encounters.
The Sunday, December 21 fixture between the two teams will see a polar opposite of game plan and form. Manchester Storm plays a reactive offense and a physical defense, while Cardiff Devils plays fast by design.
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