Sunday 28th December: Stingrays fight for a point from Giants.

Excel Hull Stingrays 3-4 Belfast Giants After OT

The Stingrays gained their fifth point in 10 against a Belfast Giants side that currently sit in fourth place in the Elite League just six points behind leaders the Sheffield Steelers.

Goals from George Awada and Tyler Howells gave the Giants a deserved first period lead before a mini revival from the Stingrays against the flow of play saw Konstantin Kalmikov and Lee Mitchell score two goals in 42 seconds.

Much to the home fans surprise the Stingrays, who were under the cosh for much of the game, took the lead in the 45th minute as the Rays capitalised on a five on three powerplay with Steve Slonina slotting the puck home.

The Stingrays had further chances to take the lead, most notably from Konstantin Kalmikov and a Paul Moran deflected shot, before the expected attacking surge from the Giants commenced with numerous Mike Burgoyne coast to coast rushes.

The Giants domination of the game payed off with less than four minutes remaining as George Awada scored his second of the game before the Stingrays held on for overtime.

The Giants finally took a deserved two points after nearly three minutes of four on four overtime as Paul Deniset scored unassisted handing them a much needed two points ahead of crucial game against league leaders the Sheffield Steelers.

The Stingrays gained a much needed point to haul back one of the two points lost on Saturday against the Basingstoke Bison and will be hoping for a much improved 2009.

Best Moment- Two goals in 42 seconds for the Stingrays, levelling the scores. Konstantin Kalmikov going coast to coast, beating five Belfast players only to be denied by Lyle.

Worst Moment- Belfast's late game tying and overtime winning goals which turned the scores from 3-2 to 3-4 in the Giants favour with little more than four minutes remaining.

F Block MOM- Stingrays- Konstantin Kalmikov (1+2), Curtis Cruickshank (48 shots/4 goals allowed), Belfast- George Awada (2+0)

Stingrays Verdict- (6/10)- The Stingrays played a familiar away game tactic against the Giants and their hard work and dedication to the system saw them rewarded with a point. Without Konstantin Kalmikov, who set up two and scored a goal himself, and Curtis Cruickshank, who was as solid as he has been all year, the Stingrays would have probably been dead and buried in this game. James Cooke had one of his best games for the Rays whilst non stop work ethic from the whole team, but in particular Steve Slonina, Jeff Glowa and Lee Esders, gave the Stingrays a huge chance for a victory. Despite by not matching the Giants on skill, the work rate was there for a Stingrays side that still has just three defenceman, and Steve Slonina covering on defence. With more of these performances with a full strength side in 2009, the Stingrays might, just might, given a lot of hard work and dedication, improve on their Elite League best 9th place come the end of the season.

Strachan's Verdict- "We battled hard for the whole game and as a coach that is all I can ask. We got behind but we didn’t panic, we showed great composure to come back. I am happy with the point, make no mistake Belfast are a good hockey team."

Saturday 27th December: Stingrays lose to fellow playoff contenders

Basingstoke Bison 5-4 Excel Hull Stingrays

The Excel Hull Stingrays lost to fellow playoff contenders the Basingstoke Bison on Saturday night, their second loss in three games in Basingstoke this season.

Despite goals from Jamie Thompson and Lee Mitchell the Bison came out strong firing five goals past Curtis Cruickshank before the end of the second period.

The Rays came out fighting in the third as a second goal from Jamie Thompson and a fourth of the season from Steve Slonina saw a tight end to the game. The Bison eventually held on to the 5-4 victory, their fifth regular time win of the season.

The scoreline gave the Bison a clear two point lead ahead of the Stingrays who were sent to the bottom of the league in the loss.

SOG: 33-30
PIM: 24-12
MOM: Bison- Brent Hughes, Stingrays- Lee Mitchell

27th/28th Weekend Preview

V

Saturday 27th December: Basingstoke Bison v Excel Hull Stingrays @ Basingstoke Arena, F/O 6.30pm

Sunday 28th December: Excel Hull Stingrays v Belfast Giants @ Hull Arena, F/O 6pm

Form
Stingrays- L L L L L
Basingstoke- W L L L L
Belfast- W L W W W

Last 3 Meetings
v Basingstoke
19/10/08 4-2 W H
06/12/08 1-5 W A
07/12/08 6-8 L H

v Belfast
01/11/08 6-3 W A
30/11/08 5-4 W H
18/12/08 2-8 L A

Player Watch
Stingrays- Matt Reynolds (33GP 16+21)
Basingstoke- Brent Hughes (34GP 13+28)
Belfast- Colin Shields (32GP 17+23)

Absentees
Stingrays- Troy Neumeier (torn ligament), Slava Koulikov (leg), Stuart Kerr (knee), Richie Thornton (unavailable)
Basingstoke- Full Strength
Belfast- Andrew Martin (heel)

Other news
- Basingstoke's depleted numbers have recently been bolstered by the signings of Czech defenceman Robert Pospisil and Canadian centre Mike Olynyk.

- There will be more attention than normal payed to the Stingrays fixture against Belfast this weekend, and not only because the Stingrays have recorded two wins out of three against the Northern Irish side. Following Curtis Cruickshank's concussion, after a collision with Belfast player/coach Steve Thornton, Rick Strachan branded Thornton the "most hated guy in the league". Belfast GM replied by saying Strachan's comments were "comical" and that the game should be "an interesting one".

- Jeff Glowa broke his Elite League goal scoring best with two goals to go with two assists in the Stingrays high scoring loss to Coventry. Glowa is currently sixth in the league in goals and has 35 points in 33 games for the Rays this season as well as 130 points in his Stingrays Elite League career.

Predictions
Basingstoke 3-4 Stingrays
Stingrays 2-3 Belfast

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from F Block Blog! After a brief day off we will be back with a preview of this weekends Stingrays fixtures against Basingstoke and Belfast and yet more news from a key period in the Stingrays season.

Sunday 21st December: Rays lose by five in Newcastle

Newcastle Vipers 6-1 Excel Hull Stingrays

The Excel Hull Stingrays conceeded more than six goals for the second game in a row as they continued their winless streak in Newcastle with a 6-1 loss.

Saturday 20th December: Stingrays hit seven in loss to Blaze

Excel Hull Stingrays 7-9 Coventry Blaze

The Excel Hull Stingrays scored seven goals against reigning Elite League Champions, the Coventry Blaze, but still managed to turn out on the losing side in a 9-7 loss at the Hull Arena.

Without defencemen Stuart Kerr, Troy Neumeier, Richie Thornton and forward Slava Koulikov the Stingrays took the lead through Jeff Glowa's 19th of the season, a career best in the Elite League, before Coventry quickly struck back just over a minute later through Adam Calder. Glowa scored a rare Stingrays shorthanded goal on 15 minutes before Coventry once again equalised before Adam Calder and the Stingrays Lee Mitchell dropped the gloves following a elbow from Calder during the following faceoff. The Blaze went on to take the lead for the first time through Sylvain Deschatelets, who would go on to record five Coventry goals.

After facing 19 shots in the first period Stingrays netminder Curtis Cruickshank, still suffering from a concussion suffered in Thursdays loss in Belfast, was replaced by 19 year old backup netminder Andrew Jazsczyk, who went on to face 30 shots.

Jazsczyk immediately faced a baptism of fire as the Blaze extended their lead to 6-2 with some slack defence allowing Deschatelets to score his second and third before Dan Carlson scored Coventry's sixth. With the game apparently slipping away from the Stingrays goals from Pavel Gomenyuk and Matt Reynolds seemed to have slow the tide, only for that man Deschatelets score his fourth and fifth of the game to all but end the game as a contest.

That was until the goal of the game from Lee Esders and a Konstantin Kalmikov marker gave the Stingrays hope of a surprise victory. Indeed, straight from the faceoff of scoring his third of the season, Lee Esders headed straight back towards Blaze netminder JF Perras and hit the pipework. The Stingrays pressure continued for the remainder of the game before a smart finish from Blaze defenceman Corey LeClair extended the Blaze lead to three goals once again. Jamie Thompson finally ended the goalscoring marathon with a backhanded effort which set a Stingrays record for highest number of goals scored in a loss at seven and sent fans home happy despite the loss.

Best Moment- Jamie Thompson scoring his sixth of the season to confirm that the Stingrays had indeed just scored seven against a full strength Coventry Blaze with a backup and just two/three regular defencemen. Andrew Jaszcyzk's third period save to deny Deschatelets and to set the foundations for a confident third period performance.

Worst Moment- Three goals in four shots for Coventry at the beggining of the second period

F Block MOM- Stingrays- Steve Slonina (0+2), Coventry- Sylvain Deschatelets (5+0)

Stingrays verdict- (7/10)- With just two regular defencemen and a backup netminder the Stingrays somehow managed to score seven goals, a season high, and put in one of the better offensive displays against the Elite Leagues second best defence. On the flip side with a backup netminder in goal they gave the Blaze far too much respect at the back and allowed a fair number of backdoor tap ins. That said it was a good performance from near enough the whole squad and certainly one of the most entertaining games the fans will see all season. Slonina once again stood out on defence, Kalmikov's skill shone through as did Lee Esders and Jeff Glowa's pure determination.

Strachan's verdict: "I am sure the fans enjoyed the game but it was a coach’s nightmare. It was like old fashioned hockey in this country. I can’t criticise the guys. Offensively we were great but when you have only two defenceman and a back-up goalie, it is always going to be difficult"

20th/21st December Preview

v

Saturday 20th December- Excel Hull Stingrays v Coventry Blaze @ Hull Arena, F/O 5.30pm
Sunday 21st December- Newcastle Vipers v Excel Hull Stingrays @ Metro Radio Arena, F/O 6pm

Form
Stingrays- L W L L L
Coventry- L W W W W
Newcastle- L W L W L

Last 3 Meetings
v Coventry
20/09/08 0-2 L H
12/10/08 3-7 L H
12/11/08 1-6 L A

v Newcastle
29/12/07 2-4 L A
09/03/08 1-3 L A
25/10/08 4-3 PSW H

Players to watch
Stingrays- Aaron Wilson (21GP 1+6)- Has recorded five points in six games from defence including his first goal for the club against Edinburgh.

Coventry- Dan Carlson (28GP 13+30)- Currently has 158 assists in three seasons with the Blaze and has scored three goals and seven assists in his last four games.

Newcastle- Jeff Hutchins (9GP 9+5)- Has recorded a goal a game and over a point a game since moving from Edinburgh where he scored three goals and five assists in six games.

Absentees
Stingrays- Troy Neumeier (torn knee ligament), Stuart Kerr (knee), Slava Koulikov (doubtful; leg), Curtis Cruickshank (doubtful; concussion), Richie Thornton (doubtful; illness)

Newcastle- Burt Henderson (broken wrist)

Coventry- Mattias Soderstrom (groin)

Other stuff
- The Stingrays have yet to win at the Metro Radio Arena in their three year Elite League stay. The only other rink the Rays have failed to win in is the Sheffield Arena.

- Curtis Cruickshank will ice during warm up against Coventry to assess whether he will ice or not after a collision with Belfast player/coach Steve Thornton left him with a concussion.

- Jeff Glowa will officially ice as the Stingrays captain for the second time this season. Glowa was previously the Stingrays captain in 05/06 in the EPL as well as last season in the Elite League, Lee Mitchell took the alternate captaincy in place of Glowa.

- The Stingrays loss against Edinburgh last weekend left them three points short of an eigth placed playoff spot.

- The Stingrays lost to the Belfast Giants for the first time this season. Curtis Cruickshank and Slava Koulikov went off with injuries during the first period with the scores at 0-0 before Belfast took the game 8-2 with Stingrays back up Andrew Jazsczyk facing 37 shots.

Predicitions
Stingrays 2-5 Coventry
Newcastle 4-3 Stingrays

Glowa announced as new captain.

The Excel Hull Stingrays top point and goalscorer, Jeff Glowa, has been promoted to permanent captain of the team, replacing injured defenceman Troy Neumeier.

Glowa, who has 17 goals and 13 assists in 30 games for the club, re-assumes his captaining duties after holding the post last season and will move into his new role ahead of tonight's match up against the Belfast Giants, a team the Stingrays have beaten twice in two games this season.

The move signals the very end of Troy Neumeiers season after speculation had suggested that the torn knee ligament injury was not season ending, despite all the signals indicating that it was. He was due to receive results from an MRI scan on his abductor knee ligament this week and the promotion of Glowa suggests that Neumeier will be out for the remainder of the season.

The move sees Glowa move from assistant captain to his old role of team captain, with 21 year old Scottish forward Lee Mitchell named as Glowa's replacement as alternate captain.

Meanwhile 38 year old Neumeier will travel home for a month to visit family over the Christmas period before returning to help Rick Strachan with his coaching duties in January.

Sunday 14th December: Stingrays unlucky to go down in Scotland

Edinburgh Capitals 3-2 Excel Hull Stingrays

The Excel Hull Stingrays lost their third game in a row against the Edinburgh Capitals at Murrayfield tonight. Powerplay goals from Jamie Thompson and Aaron Wilson left the scores level before Martin Cingel scored the game winning goal with less than four minutes left on the clock.

Despite the loss, which left the Stingrays three points behind the Caps in ninth place, the Stingrays were with just three regular defenceman and could count themselves very unlucky after hitting the post twice and being the better side for the majority of the game.

SOG: 27-35
PIM: 16-10

Thornton makes it three regular defencemen for Sunday.

The Excel Hull Stingrays have bolstered their defensive corps with the signing of former player Richie Thornton, who lasted played for the side in their one and only season in the EPL in 05/06.

Thornton, 26, has signed a short term deal with the club whilst injuries to defencemen Troy Neumeier, Stuart Kerr and Paul Moran subside. However with the frequency of injuries the Stingrays suffer, as well as the quality of Thornton, it may be that he signs on for the rest of the season.

Since he left the Stingrays in summer 2006, after an EPL season where he recorded 12 points in 39 games, Thornton has mainly iced for his hometown Newcastle Vipers in the Elite League and with limited ice time has recorded seven points in 92 games in the North East. This season Thornton has provided similar injury cover to the Basingstoke Bison playing in just two games for the side but the Stingrays will be hoping he signs on for the rest of the season considering how mny injuries the team has suffered this season, particularly on defence.

Coach Rick Strachan was naturally happy to sign someone of Thornton's quality at such short notice, ahead of a game against fellow playoff contenders Edinburgh Capitals:

"He has played here before, he is steady, he moves the puck well and he reads the game well. He knows what to expect and never gets himself into trouble. Richie will do a great job for us."

14th December Preview

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Sunday 14th December: Edinburgh Capitals v Excel Hull Stingrays @ Murrayfield Ice Rink, 6pm

Form
Stingrays- L W L W L
Edinburgh- L L L L L

Last 3 Meetings
24/09/08 4-2 W H
08/11/08 1-6 L H
16/11/08 3-7 L A

Players to Watch
Stingrays- Lee Mitchell (29GP 5+14 31PIM)- Scored two goals and four assists in two games against the Basingstoke Bison last weekend, recording a goal and two assists in each game, whilst he sits just one point from a season high in Elite League points.

Edinburgh- Mark Hurtubise (32GP 15+31 38PIM)- Has recorded five goals in his last three games for the Capitals as well as a least a point in his last 11 games. Leads the Capitals in goals, assists and points.

Absentees
Stingrays- Troy Neumeier (torn ligament), Slava Koulikov (doubtful; lower body), Paul Moran (shoulder), Stuart Kerr (knee)
Edinburgh- Full Strength

Other stuff
-The season series between the Capitals and the Stingrays currently sits at 2-2. The Stingrays won the opening two games 3-2 and 4-2 respectively before the Capitals romped home in the last two games with 6-1 and 7-3 wins.

- Slava Koulikov will return to action on Sunday after sitting out part of Sunday's game against the Bison in the Challenge Cup after suffering a minor low body injury.

- The Stingrays will be down to two defencemen this weekend with Troy Neumeier, Paul Moran and Stuart Kerr all out. The Stingrays management could have a replacement British defenceman in before Sunday's game and are continuing to search for an import replacement for Neumeier however in the mean time Steve Slonina will most likely continue on the blueline with Konstantin Kalmikov, who is expected to step back into defence.

- The Capitals have extended the trial of Czech forward Roman Nesrsta by a further two weeks after he impressed head coach Doug Christiansen during his initial two week trial.

-Edinburgh are currently last in the league in Overtime/Shootout decisions with no wins in their five attempts.

Prediction
Edinburgh 4-3 Stingrays

Just two defencemen for Rays trip to Scotland?

The injured trio: Troy Neumier, Paul Moran and Stuart Kerr

The Excel Hull Stingrays are down to just two regular defencemen for their 8th place crunch clash against the Edinburgh Capitals at Murrayfield this Sunday.

With Troy Neumeier already ruled out for the season with a torn ligament, both Stuart Kerr and Paul Moran are unlikely to play the lone game this weekend. Kerr, who has not iced for a full game since November 16, will seek further medical advice on a knee injury with an MRI scan planned for next week to pinpoint the injury.

Whilst British defenceman Moran has suffered a reoccurance of the shoulder injury that has troubled his career to date, with many suggesting that as a reason for his lack of progression in the British game. Coach Rick Strachan has suggested to the Hull Daily Mail that he out for more than just one game:

"Moran will probably be out for a couple of weeks so we are hoping to find a British defenceman to help us out this weekend.

Strachan's search for a British defenceman just comes days after Stingrays co-owner Sue Pack admitted that, in the light of injuries to Kerr and Neumeier, the team will have to end negotiations with replacement forwards. With Steve Slonina slotting in nicely on defence it was suggested that he would remain as a defenceman for the rest of the season and instead the Stingrays would replace Neumeier, a defenceman, with a forward in search of some much needed scoring.

With yet more injuries to an already frail defence the team are now looking to sign a British defenceman for this weekend, and possibly beyondm, as well as an import defenceman or two, which the Packs have already admitted is highly unlikely to arrive this side of New Year.

The lack of defensive coverage comes after the Stingrays were unable, or chose not to, renew the contracts of three Great Britain defencemen this summer. Luke Boothroyd was let go, whilst Stevie Lee and Dave Phillips chose to leave for more ice time and career opportunities respectively and the lack of depth that has previously been a luxury to the Rays is now non-exsistant.

Now, with just Aaron Wilson and, only recently fit, Pavel Gomenyuk as recognised defencemen, Strachan has begun the search for reinforcements ahead of Sundays game against the Capitals.

The Stingrays can perhaps count themselves lucky that they only have one game this weekend and that that is 'only' against fellow strugglers Edinburgh Capitals, who sit on equal points with the Stingrays.

Basingstoke 1-5 Stingrays highlights

Courtesy Winchester News Online

Sunday 7th December: Jaszczyk starts first game as Stingrays bow out of Challenge Cup with goalfest.

Excel Hull Stingrays 6-8 Basingstoke Bison

The Excel Hull Stingrays lost out by two goals in the final challenge cup game of group B against the Basingstoke Bison tonight. Whilst the game was rendered almost completely meaningless by the Stingrays loss to Cardiff on Wednesday night, if the Bison had lost by more than three goals they would have been knocked out and replaced by the Cardiff Devils.

The Stingrays started with back up netminder Andrew Jaszczyk to give starter Curtis Cruickshank much needed rest, whilst they were also without three of their defensive corps in Stuart Kerr, Troy Neumeier and Paul Moran with Slava Koulikov also leaving the game early due to a leg injury.

Four early Bison goals, as well as a solitary Stingrays goal through Jason Kostadine, saw Rick Strachan call a timeout near the beginning of the first period as the Stingrays defence, lacking three players, left rookie Jaszcyzk out to dry. The Stingrays replied to the timeout with two goals from Lee Mitchell and Jeff Glowa at the end of the first before Jason Kostadine scored his second of the game to tie the scores early in the second.

The Bison went on their second scoring spree of the game just six minutes after Kostadine's game tying goal, scoring three in eight minutes to take their lead to 7-4.

The Bison replaced number one netminder Kevin Reiter with Grahame Bird halfway through the third period after a Danny Stewart goal had extended their lead to four goals. The Stingrays responded to the change by firing ten shots on the backup in just nine minutes of play with Konstantin Kalmikov and Matt Reynolds scoring two goals leaving the Stingrays two short of the Bison at the final buzzer.

Despite the defeat, Stingrays coach Rick Strachan took heart from a game, he told the Hull Daily Mail:

"It was like the good old days. We came out a little flat and I called a time-out. We picked it up and got it back to 4-4 before we fell asleep again. It was a nothing game for us, we rested a couple of guys and the intensity was not as high as it was in Basingstoke the night before - but we did it then when it mattered."

Next weekend the Stingrays face playoff rivals the Edinburgh Capitals at Murrayfield in their only game of the weekend. They will be continuing their search for a replacement for Troy Neumeier whilst it will be hoped that Paul Moran, Stuart Kerr and Slava Koulikov will make a full recovery from injury.

SOG- 27-50
PIM- 4-14

Saturday 6th December: Stingrays sink Bison to move level on points.

Basingstoke Bison 1-5 Excel Hull Stingrays

The Excel Hull Stingrays leapt off the foot of the table for the first time since November 13th with a 5-1 victory over fellow playoff contenders the Basingstoke Bison. The victory took the Stingrays to an equal 16 points with Basingstoke and Edinburgh, who sit in 10th and 8th place respectively, with a game in hand on both sides.

A double from Jamie Thompson as well as markers from Matt Reynolds, Lee Mitchell and Pavel Gomenyuk handed the Stingrays a relatively simple victory by four goals, their highest winning margin since the last day of last season and their biggest ever away win.

Curtis Cruickshank saved 33 shots whilst Jason Kostadine, who recorded two assists, took home the Stingrays man of the match. Lee Mitchell (1+2) recorded his first multi point game since 25th October, whilst Thompson recorded first multi point game for the Rays with his third and fourth goals for the Stingrays.

The Stingrays now face the Bison at the Hull Arena tomorrow (Sunday) night knowing that if they beat them by 3 or more goals, they will knock the Bison out of the Cup and hand Cardiff a spot in the semis.

SOG-33-33
PIM-6-6
MOM- Stingrays- Jason Kostadine, Basingstoke- Shaun Thompson

6th Decemeber Preview

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Saturday 6th December: Basingstoke Bison (9th) v Excel Hull Stingrays (10th) @ Basingstoke Arena, 6.30pm

Sunday 7th December: Excel Hull Stingrays v Basingstoke Bison @ Hull Arena, 5.30pm, Challenge Cup

Form
Stingrays- L L L W L
Basingstoke- W W L W L

Last 3 Meetings
v Basingstoke
05/03/08 4-3 W H
18/10/08 1-4 L A
19/10/08 4-2 W H

Players to watch
Stingrays- Konstantin Kalimkov- Recorded 2+2 in the 5-4 victory over the Belfast Giants last Sunday and has 17 points in just 15 games, including eight goals, with the Stingrays after replacing Jake Riddle in mid October.
Bison- Greg Chambers- Leads the league in assists (31) and sits second in the league in points (46), he has come away pointless from just 4 of his 28 games so far this season.

Absentees
Stingrays- Troy Neumeier (torn ligament), Stuart Kerr (knee ligament strain)
Bison-

Other stuff
- The Stingrays have beaten the Bison in twice (4-3, 4-2) in their last two visits to the Hull Arena.

- The Stingrays were knocked out of the Challenge Cup after a 1-0 loss in Cardiff on Wednesday night. Needing a victory to keep their hopes of qualification alive, Stingrays coach Rick Strachan pulled netminder Curtis Cruickshank after a goalless 59 minutes before Cardiff defenceman Mike Hartwick fired into the empty net.

- Slava Koulikov returned to full action last weekend and scored in Saturday's 7-1 loss to Manchester. On Sunday, in the 5-4 win over Belfast, he recorded two assists taking his season tally to five points in eight games.

-Defenceman Stuart Kerr has been officially ruled out of games this weekend with a knee injury. The 24 year old defenceman attempted to ice in last Saturdays game against Manchester, however limped out during the first period. This comes after Troy Neumeier was ruled out for the rest of the season with a torn ligament, leaving the Stingrays with just Pavel Gomenyuk, Aaron Wilson and Paul Moran as recognised defencemen. It is expected that Steve Slonina, who has put in some very creditable performances as of late, will continue as defenceman.

-Basingstoke were expected to announce two new signings this weekend to replace the departed Curtiss Patrick and Matt Miller however it is thought that the new VISA processes delayed the announcement and arrive of the two players.

- The Stingrays are also looking to sign at least one replacement for Troy Neumeier, with speculation he may not be the only one the management is going to replace. Whilst this is the case, Sue Pack has stated in the Hull Daily Mail that is very unlikely they will arrive before Christmas.

- One player rumoured to be on his way to Hull is former Coventry and Manchester utility player KC Timmons. Timmons had been icing in Holland before a fallout with his coach left him without a team, it is thought that Basingstoke and other teams in Holland have also been in talks with the Canadian.

Prediction
Bison 2-4 Stingrays
Stingrays 3-4 Bison

Wednesday 3rd December: Stingrays exit Challenge Cup

Cardiff Devils 1-0 Excel Hull Stingrays

The Stingrays played out what was very nearly a bore draw in their penultimate Challenge Cup fixture in Cardiff. Needing a victory to progress to the Challenge Cup semi finals, the Stingrays pulled netminder Curtis Cruickshank with less than a minute remaining before Devils defenceman Mike Hartwick slotted in to the empty net with 30 seconds remaining in the game, knocking the Stingrays out in the process.

MOM- Stingrays- Curtis Cruickshank , Cardiff- Peter Aubry

Where happened to...Stingrays EIHL players

Where are they now? December update

Name (Stingrays career)- Where are they now?
06/07

James Demone (16GP 0+3 16PIM)- Retired after 06/07

Kevin Phillips (164GP 9+22 140PIM)- EPL- Slough Jets- 16GP 4+10 22PIM

Simon Rizk (7GP 1+0 23PIM)- LHSEQ- Trois Pistoles Ciel FM- 7GP 0+0 54PIM

Justyn Scholar (22GP 1+9 15PIM)- Retired after 06/07

Kevin Young (30GP 6+8 55PIM)- German Bundesliga 2.- Lausitzer Foxes- 19GP 3+9 28PIM

Dru Burgess (152GP 41+57 66PIM)- Retired after 06/07

Anton Butochnov (38GP 11+8 42PIM)- Serbian Championship- HK Partizan- 3GP 3+6

Sergei Kharchenko (54GP 10+20 70PIM)- Vysshava Liga- Sokol Kiev- 6GP 1+0 2PIM

Miroslav Bielik (83GP 92 sv.%)- Slovakian Extraliga- HMK Zvolen- 2GP 87.5 sv.%

07/08

Rob Rankin (61GP 24+33 98PIM)- EIHL- Newcastle Vipers- 22GP 8+7 68PIM

Bryce Thoma (61GP 4+23 63PIM)- Retired after 07/08

Brad Patterson (48 7+18 84PIM)- SPHL- Columbus Cottonmouths- 14GP 2+10 29PIM

Paul Cabana (28GP 12+6 84PIM)- Finnish Mestis- Sport Vaasa- 23GP 7+6 16PIM

James Knight (109GP 13+10 129) EPL- Telford Tigers- 11GP 2+5 16PIM

Dave Phillips (194GP 17+35 280PIM)- EIHL- Belfast Giants- 24GP 2+4 16PIM

Nikolai Ladygin (115GP 13+32 112PIM)- Vysshava Liga- Avtomobilist Ekaterinburg-25GP 0+4 16PIM

Segiy Rublivsky (89GP 31+24 82PIM)- Lyscha Liga- Bars Brovary-10 GP 5+5 ?PIM

Cole Byers (47GP 7+15 116PIM)- Eredivisie- Heerenveen Flyers-15GP 3+9 73PIM

Jani Virtanen (27GP 2+3 18PIM)- Unknown


Gerhard Gottfried (11GP 1+2 16PIM)- Austrian Nationalliga- EV Zeltweg- 12GP 7+6 12PIM

Stevie Lee (146GP 2+7 40PIM)- EPL- Guildford Flames- 16GP 3+4 6PIM

Marlon Joseph (6GP 1+0 6PIM)- SPHL- Twin City Cyclones- 0GP 0+0

Ladislav Kudrna (111GP 90.9 sv. %)- EPL- Swindon Wildcats- 13GP 92.5 sv.%

Tom Chamberlain (14GP 84.9 sv.%)- EPL- Romford Raiders- 13GP 87.2 sv. %

Luke Boothroyd (151GP 6+9 100PIM)- EIHL- Manchester Phoenix- 25GP 0+3 0PIM

08/09

Jonathan Bernier (4GP 0+0 9PIM)- CHL- Wichita Thunder- 7GP 0+1 16PIM

Rick Kozak (5GP 3+1 31PIM)- CHL- Laredo Bucks- 12GP 7+5 45PIM

Jake Riddle (65GP 24+26 299PIM)- CHL- 12GP 6+2 25PIM

All league stats according to hockeydb or eurohockey as of 30/11/08

EIHL Announce 08/09 All Star game.

It has been revealed by the official Edinburgh Capitals newsletter that the Elite League will stage it's first ever All Star game February 19 at Coventry Skydome.

The teams, which will be split into North (Edinburgh, Newcastle, Belfast, Manchester, Sheffield) and South (Hull, Basingstoke, Cardiff, Nottingham, Coventry), will be chosen and coached by Dave Matsos (Sheffield/North) and Paul Thompson (Coventry/South) respectively after successful campaign's last term.

Each team will have two import and two British representatives in the game, which will be a first for the EIHL.