Nolan Yaremko scored a brace and Christian Stoever made 23 saves as the Cardiff Devils beat the Sheffield Steelers 5-2 to win the Elite League Playoffs for the fourth time.
Cardiff broke the deadlock less than three minutes after puck drop, with Kohen Olischefski a central figure in all aspects of the game’s opening goal.
Bloodied by Mitchell Heard’s high stick at the red line, the Canadian’s remonstrations led to a video review and a double-minor penalty for the Steelers to kill.
The Steelers felt Mikko Juusola was tripped moments later, but play was only brought to a halt when the puck was in Sheffield’s net; Matthew Greenfield beaten on his blocker side by Olischefski.
Aaron Fox’s side weathered the storm for the rest of the opening frame, with the Devils placing their stamp on the final, physically and offensively.
But Sheffield pushed back after the first intermission — and levelled through Kevin Tansey four minutes after the restart.
The Steelers had Cardiff penned in their zone for most of the period, but Christian Stoever stood tall and Nolan Yaremko scored a late, quick-fire brace to send the Devils into the break with a 3-1 advantage.
Ryan Tait scored through a screen to halve Sheffield’s arrears with six minutes remaining in the third period, before Josh MacDonald and Olischefski fired into empty cages to send the playoff title back to Cardiff.
Analysis: Cardiff Devils crowned 2026 Elite League Playoff champions
Brett Ferguson, Cardiff Devils (Image: Elite League)
Despite speed-wobbling in the second period, the Devils are worthy playoff champions.
Thompson’s squad handled the postseason perfectly, shutting down the Coventry Blaze and Glasgow Clan to punch their ticket to the final.
Cardiff dominated in the first period, converting on the powerplay and denying their opponents any extended zone time, but were forced to absorb wave-after-wave of pressure after the break.
Stoever stood tall after Tansey’s strike, producing a handful of smart stops, while keeping the score tied.
And then came the Devils’ counter-punch.
Yaremko stared down Greenfield twice in a minute-span — and beat the Canadian clean.
It’s no coincidence that Sheffield’s hopes faded as the final progressed: depth was the difference.
Thompson had the luxury of rolling four healthy forward lines. Fox, by contrast, had two fit centres.
Samuel Tremblay left it all on the ice, playing third line minutes after leaving yesterday’s semi-final with a knee injury, but he moved gingerly through the warm-up and was missing his usual jump.
Defeat in the final adds another “what if” to Fox’s tenure in Sheffield.
The Steelers haven’t lacked talent this year, but they couldn’t keep pace with the Belfast Giants in the regular-season and ran out steam in the playoff final.
But it’s all smiles for Cardiff: a trophy in their first season under Thompson, with the IIHF Continental Cup to look forward to in 2027.
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