Cardiff Devils fans finally have some positive news near the end of a disappointing season after Tomas Kurka signed a new two-year contract on Sunday to stay in South Wales.
Kurka is the first signing of new head coach Dave Whistle, who saw his team end their six-game losing streak with a 5-1 victory over Coventry Blaze later that night.
The game was a scrappy affair which descended into physical violence more than once but the Devils kept their cool to come out on top.
The win keeps the Devils in the eighth and final play-off spot with three games left to play, although Fife Flyers are just two points behind them with two games in hand.
After a mid-table finish and a play-off semi-final last season hopes were high going into this campaign but a series of mixed results early on put the Devils in a tricky position.
Just three wins from eight games in December left them struggling to improve their position and January didn’t bring much positive change.
But the appointment of Whistle at the start of February saw an upturn in fortunes as they won three on the bounce.
And despite more poor form which was finally ended by the Blaze victory on Sunday the Devils are hopeful of claiming the play-off title, even though they will almost certainly face Belfast Giants in their quarter-final.
