Devils to face Steelers in Play-Offs Final

Cardiff Devils will face Sheffield Steelers in the Elite League Play-Offs Final on Sunday.

Devils held off Glasgow Clan for a 3-1 win before Steelers eased past play-off debutants Manchester Storm 6-0 in Nottingham.

The Welsh club went into the Play-Off Finals weekend as top seeds after Clan's shock win over league winners Belfast Giants.

Devils went closest in a scoreless opening period with Clan goalie Sami Aittokallio doing well to hold onto a scorching puck launched by Tyson Helgesen.

Connor Caponi opened the scoring for Devils in the second, controlling Ben Davies' diagonal pass from the right to flick past Aittokallio to usher in a breathless couple of minutes that saw three goals scored.

Clan hit back through Jason Fram, assisted by Brett Neumann, but Devils were swiftly back in front as Brandon Estes drifted right before firing the puck into the roof of the net.

The third period remained scoreless until the final moments, when Clan gambled on an empty net to get an extra attacker on the ice, but Joey Martin stole possession before exchanging passes with Josh MacDonald to seal victory.

In the second semi-final, Steelers held a 2-0 lead after two periods thanks to goals from Ryan Tait and Mitchell Heard.

And they eased clear in the third period with four goals in the final 12 minutes as Manchester were punished for indiscipline.

Evan Jasper made it 3-0 before Tait, Heard and Stephen Harper added further efforts in power-play situations after Storm players Dennis Busby, Rais Francis and Bradley Jenion had been penalised for tripping, abuse of officials and kneeing respectively.

The showdown extends Devil's record with an 11th appearance in the final - more than any other team - and is a repeat of the 2017 and 2018 finals.

However, Devils have lost their previous two appearances in the final - in 2023 and 2025 - while Steelers won the showpiece event in 2024.

Sunday, 12 April