Cardiff Devils beat Sheffield Steelers to clinch Elite League treble
Last Updated: 08/04/18 8:35pm
Cardiff Devils clinched the Elite League treble after beating defending champions Sheffield Steelers 3-1 in the play-off final at the National Ice Centre.
Devils, who had already won the Elite League title and the Erhardt Conference, claimed their first play-off success since 1999 - having endured five final defeats since then - to round off a dominant season.
It was also perfect revenge for their double overtime loss to Steelers in the showpiece 12 months ago.
Matt Pope continued his stunning goalscoring form by netting for the ninth game in a row to put Devils ahead on the powerplay at 24:53.
Captain Jake Morissette had a great chance to double Devils' lead but Steelers netminder Ervins Mustukovs pulled off a fine save to deny him.
But Devils did add a second before the end of the period when Andrew Hotham, named Elite League Defenceman of the Year earlier in the day, fired home at 38:41.
Eric Neiley gave Steelers a lifeline with an excellent individual effort at 45:55 and they pushed hard to tie the game up.
Steelers were handed a late penalty and also pulled Mustukovs in a last-ditch attempt to force overtime but Morissette clinched the championship with an empty-net marker with just 17 seconds left.
