Belfast Giants 8-6 Excel Hull Stingrays
An astonishing five goal and seven point night from the Belfast Giants Paul Deniset was enough to condemn the Excel Hull Stingrays to a two goal defeat in a goal fest at the Odyssey Arena in Northern Ireland.
The Stingrays found themselves on the wrong side of a 5-2 scoreline going into the third period, thanks to four goals from Deniset, with the Rays lone markers coming in each of the previous two periods from Ukrainians Pavel Gomenyuk and Konstantin Kalmikov.
The three goal deficit came about despite the Stingrays firing 26 shots on Belfast backup Nathan Craze in the first two periods and the Rays, clearly benefiting from some lax Giants defending and a gung-ho approach in the third period, ended the game with an unprecedented 47 shots on goal.
Deniset netted his fifth, and thankfully final, goal early in the third period which looked to have finished the Stingrays off with the scoreline at 6-2.
Cue the sort of comeback which has become a familiar characteristic of this season's side.
Jeff Glowa and a double from Slava Koulikov helped the Rays fight back to within a goal before the Giants Andrew Martin yet again extended that lead back to three just 11 seconds later.
The Stingrays brought the scores back to within one again as Konstantin Kalmikov scored his second of the game, and twentieth of the season, however an empty net goal from George Awada, after the Rays had pulled Cruickshank in search of an equaliser, sealed an offensive showing from both sides and an 8-6 victory for Belfast.
SOG: 32-47
PIM: 17-15
Saturday 28 February 2009
Thursday 26 February 2009
Stingrays Weekend Preview (28/02, 01/03)
V
Saturday 28th February: Belfast Giants (3rd) v Excel Hull Stingrays (9th) @ Odessy Arena F/O 7pmSunday 1st March: Excel Hull Stingrays (9th) v Nottingham Panthers (4th) @ Hull Arena F/O 6pm
Form
Stingrays- W L L L L
Belfast- L OTL PSW W W
Nottingham-W PSL PSL L W
Last 3 Meetings
v Belfast
30/11/08 5-4 W H
18/12/08 8-2 L A
28/12/08 3-4 OTL H
v Nottingham
23/11/08 4-5 PSL A
18/01/09 2-3 W A
08/02/09 1-5 L H
Season Series
v Belfast: 2-3, 5 points, 17GF, 23GA
v Nottingham: 1-4, 1 draw, 4 points, 16GF, 27GA
Man of the Moment
Stingrays- Matt Reynolds (42GP 21+24)- Scored a goal against the Sheffield Steelers in his second game back from a broken finger in the Stingrays narrow 4-2 loss, and is second on the team in goals and points despite missing nine games due to the injury.
Belfast- Andrew Martin (28GP 20+23)- Had a part in seven of the Giants eight goals against Basingstoke on Wednesday in their 8-4 win where he recorded two goals and five assists. Has missed 28 games for the Giants this season and has managed to average over 1.5 points a game.
Nottingham- Jade Galbraith (47GP 20+35)- Has scored 13 points in the Panthers last seven games and has scored three goals in four games against the Stingrays this season.
Absentees
Stingrays- Paul Moran (shoulder), Antti Turunen (upper body), Stuart Kerr (knee)
Belfast- Full Strength
Nottingham- Dan Tessier (knee), David Clarke, Matt Myers (knee), Danny Meyers (shoulder)
Other news
-After being on the recieving end of one of Konstantin Kalmikov's "NHL calibre" shots, Antti Turunen spent the early part of this week both coughing up blood and in and out of hospital.
Finn Turunen, who joined as injury cover in the depths of the Rays injury crisis and been both solid and consistent for the team, has now been released from hospital but will not play this weekend after suffering a suspected bruised rib.
- The Stingrays losses in their embarrassing display on Saturday and somewhat better display on Sunday was the first time in 2009 that the Rays have gone a weekend without a point. Prior to the 2009 run the team went six games without a win but since the turn of the year the Stingrays push for a playoff place had really kicked in with 13 points in 13 games.
- Sunday's game against the Nottingham Panthers will face off at the later time of 6pm due to the teams expected late arrival from Belfast.
- During Sunday's game Jason Kostadine may be a marked man by Panthers tough guy Rumun Ndur. After dropping the gloves with Panthers captain Danny Meyers in the Rays 5-1 loss at home three weeks ago, Meyers suffered a dislocated shoulder. It is expected that Ndur, who is in the lineup after an injury to import Dan Tessier, will look to rough up Kostadine in the same way he attempted to rough up Rick Kozak after an early season incident that left Ndur's teammate, Marc Levers, requiring stitches to a head injury.
Predictions
Belfast 3-1 Stingrays
Stingrays 2-1 Nottingham
Sunday 22 February 2009
Much Better; Rays lose by two but remain one adrift
Sheffield Steelers 4-2 Excel Hull Stingrays
In an improved display the Excel Hull Stingrays lost out by four goals to two against league leading, and probable league champions, the Sheffield Steelers, who extended their winning streak to 12 games in the process.
The Rays got off to the start they wish they had gotten off to the previous night as Steve Slonina set up Matt Reynolds on the powerplay for his first goal since a five week injury layoff.
Mark Thomas then responded with a rare goal for the Steelers during the second period before Jamie Thompson capitalised on a Brad Cruikshank penalty to score his first goal in ten games just under two minutes into the final period.
The league leading Steelers than showed their true grit and determination to end a four year spell without an Elite League title, as consecutive goals from Brad Cruikshank, Joey Talbot and an empty net goal from Doug Sheppard ended any Stingrays resistance.
Despite the defeat, the manner of the loss will bring a little encouragement to a Stingrays camp that was shot to pieces just 24 hours earlier at home to the Cardiff Devils.
The Rays remain one point behind the eight placed Edinburgh Capitals after the Caps lost their second game of the weekend to the Coventry Blaze and all attentions now turn to next weekends games against Belfast and Nottingham, with hope of providing two more surprises against sides they have beaten this season.
Strachan said: "We started the weekend one point behind Edinburgh, who are in the last play-off spot, and we've finished it a point behind. It's a case of who can pick up points over the next four weekends will make the play-offs.
PIM: 10-14
Playoff Race:
8th- Edinburgh GP45, W 12, OTL6, L27, GF140, GA213, GDIFF -73, PTS 30
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9th- Stingrays GP45, W 12, OTL5, L28, GF115, GA198, GDIFF -83, PTS 29
In an improved display the Excel Hull Stingrays lost out by four goals to two against league leading, and probable league champions, the Sheffield Steelers, who extended their winning streak to 12 games in the process.
The Rays got off to the start they wish they had gotten off to the previous night as Steve Slonina set up Matt Reynolds on the powerplay for his first goal since a five week injury layoff.
Mark Thomas then responded with a rare goal for the Steelers during the second period before Jamie Thompson capitalised on a Brad Cruikshank penalty to score his first goal in ten games just under two minutes into the final period.
The league leading Steelers than showed their true grit and determination to end a four year spell without an Elite League title, as consecutive goals from Brad Cruikshank, Joey Talbot and an empty net goal from Doug Sheppard ended any Stingrays resistance.
Despite the defeat, the manner of the loss will bring a little encouragement to a Stingrays camp that was shot to pieces just 24 hours earlier at home to the Cardiff Devils.
The Rays remain one point behind the eight placed Edinburgh Capitals after the Caps lost their second game of the weekend to the Coventry Blaze and all attentions now turn to next weekends games against Belfast and Nottingham, with hope of providing two more surprises against sides they have beaten this season.
Strachan said: "We started the weekend one point behind Edinburgh, who are in the last play-off spot, and we've finished it a point behind. It's a case of who can pick up points over the next four weekends will make the play-offs.
"If we'd played last night like we played on Saturday I would have thought 'oh my God', but last night we played probably our most solid hockey game of the year, so I have no qualms with the way we played.
"Why the change from Saturday to Sunday? If I knew that I wouldn't be talking to you. For whatever reason we just didn't play on Saturday. I've looked at the game tape from Saturday and we made mistakes we have not made since day one of the season."
SOG: 33-27PIM: 10-14
Playoff Race:
8th- Edinburgh GP45, W 12, OTL6, L27, GF140, GA213, GDIFF -73, PTS 30
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9th- Stingrays GP45, W 12, OTL5, L28, GF115, GA198, GDIFF -83, PTS 29
Saturday 21 February 2009
Full Strength Rays in Devils Horrorshow
Excel Hull Stingrays 1-7 Cardiff Devils
The Excel Hull Stingrays produced a horrifying performance at the Hull Arena tonight as they went down by seven goals to one to a Jay Latulippe and Ben Davies inspired Cardiff Devils.
The Devils came out of the blocks quickly and did not allow the refreshed and full strength Stingrays the chance to settle, especially given that the Devils were starting with British netminder Joseph Myers, who was in to replace concussed Peter Aubry. Jay Latulippe's first goal in the first period came from a big mistake from Stingrays netminder Curtis Cruickshank after just over 30 seconds gone and the Devils never looked back, nor did the Stingrays look forward, from that moment on.
A first period hat trick from Laulippe and another goal from leading scorer Mike Prpich all but sealed the tie for the Devils. A late slapshot from Pavel Gomenyuk allowed Konstantin Kalmikov to push home the rebound giving the Stingrays, and 800 odd fans, a false sense of hope for the next two periods.
That hope was extinguished five minutes into the second period by a Ben Davies goal, the second of his career. The Devils continued to restrict the Stingrays in their zone but scored further goals from Phil Hill and a second of the game for Davies.
In the midst of the second period a trademark Jamie Thompson hit left the Devils Jason Stone down injured for several minutes. Hill eventually returned to his feet but did not ice again, whilst Thompson would later be faced with 6'7 Brad Voth and 6'5 Doug MacIver as retribution.
The final period, attacks on Thompson from the aforementioned aside, was exhibition stuff with Cardiff in exhibition mode, most notably a Brad Voth move which wouldn't have looked out of place in the recent All Star game, whilst the Stingrays continued to go through the motions. Stingrays backup Andrew Jazscyzk came in to replace Cruickshank and stopped all 12 shots on goal as the game thankfully petered out to a close.
Luckily for the Stingrays, the gap between the them and the Edinburgh Capitals remains one point after the Scottish side lost 6-3 at home to the Coventry Blaze. The Stingrays now move on to face league leaders the Sheffield Steelers in South Yorkshire in a test of what they are really made of following this embarrassing defeat.
Best Moment: Lee Esders showing at least some passion in a passionless performance and receiving a two minute cool down for his efforts, Jamie Thompson's perfectly legal check on Jason Stone (although the outcome was anything but the best moment).
Worst Moment: Curtis Cruickshank's howler within the first 30 seconds set the team up for one of its worst performances in five years, perhaps if he had made a fairly routine save from that first shot the Stingrays would have had a chance.
F Block Blog MOM
Stingrays- Andrew Jazscyzk (12 shots, 0 GA)- Although the game was gone by the time he appeared at the beginning of the third, Cardiff did fire 12 shots on the Stingrays net and he dealt with them all more than adequately.
Cardiff- Ben Davies (2+0)- One for the future, Davies bagged his second and third career goals against the Stingrays and did not look out of place throughout the whole game, even showing coolness when met with a thoroughly annoyed Lee Esders. In fact he deserved, and one slip aside, could have scored his first career hat trick.
Stingrays verdict (1/10): It was that bad! Clueless, gutless, effortless are just a few of the terms which just about do this performance justice. There were no good performances, even Steve Slonina, who has generally been the Stingrays most consistent player this season, made mistakes. Kalmikov's skill again shone through but with no one with him it was ultimately a wasted effort. The defence was often further forward than the forwards, the forwards couldn't carry the puck forward for more than 2 meters without losing it and although Cruickshank had no chance with most of the goals, he was far from confident in the Rays net, case in point the crucial first goal. Backup netminder Jazscyzk did a good job shutting out the Devils in the third, although the game was well gone by then and Lee Esders showed effort and passion that the rest of the team showed none of, even if he too made mistakes. Expect a double digit loss in Sheffield if they play half as bad as last night.
Strachan's verdict: "The goalie didn't stop the puck, our forwards didn't score and didn't check and our defence, who knows what our defence was doing? I don't think we won any 50:50 pucks, in fact we didn't do one thing right. That was the worst game we have played in three months. That's all I want to say."
SOG: 32-42
PIM: 10-55
Playoff Race:
8th- Edinburgh GP44, W 12, OTL6, L26, GF134, GA211, GDIFF -77, PTS 30
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9th- Stingrays GP44, W 12, OTL5, L27, GF113, GA194, GDIFF -81, PTS 29
The Excel Hull Stingrays produced a horrifying performance at the Hull Arena tonight as they went down by seven goals to one to a Jay Latulippe and Ben Davies inspired Cardiff Devils.
The Devils came out of the blocks quickly and did not allow the refreshed and full strength Stingrays the chance to settle, especially given that the Devils were starting with British netminder Joseph Myers, who was in to replace concussed Peter Aubry. Jay Latulippe's first goal in the first period came from a big mistake from Stingrays netminder Curtis Cruickshank after just over 30 seconds gone and the Devils never looked back, nor did the Stingrays look forward, from that moment on.
A first period hat trick from Laulippe and another goal from leading scorer Mike Prpich all but sealed the tie for the Devils. A late slapshot from Pavel Gomenyuk allowed Konstantin Kalmikov to push home the rebound giving the Stingrays, and 800 odd fans, a false sense of hope for the next two periods.
That hope was extinguished five minutes into the second period by a Ben Davies goal, the second of his career. The Devils continued to restrict the Stingrays in their zone but scored further goals from Phil Hill and a second of the game for Davies.
In the midst of the second period a trademark Jamie Thompson hit left the Devils Jason Stone down injured for several minutes. Hill eventually returned to his feet but did not ice again, whilst Thompson would later be faced with 6'7 Brad Voth and 6'5 Doug MacIver as retribution.
The final period, attacks on Thompson from the aforementioned aside, was exhibition stuff with Cardiff in exhibition mode, most notably a Brad Voth move which wouldn't have looked out of place in the recent All Star game, whilst the Stingrays continued to go through the motions. Stingrays backup Andrew Jazscyzk came in to replace Cruickshank and stopped all 12 shots on goal as the game thankfully petered out to a close.
Luckily for the Stingrays, the gap between the them and the Edinburgh Capitals remains one point after the Scottish side lost 6-3 at home to the Coventry Blaze. The Stingrays now move on to face league leaders the Sheffield Steelers in South Yorkshire in a test of what they are really made of following this embarrassing defeat.
Best Moment: Lee Esders showing at least some passion in a passionless performance and receiving a two minute cool down for his efforts, Jamie Thompson's perfectly legal check on Jason Stone (although the outcome was anything but the best moment).
Worst Moment: Curtis Cruickshank's howler within the first 30 seconds set the team up for one of its worst performances in five years, perhaps if he had made a fairly routine save from that first shot the Stingrays would have had a chance.
F Block Blog MOM
Stingrays- Andrew Jazscyzk (12 shots, 0 GA)- Although the game was gone by the time he appeared at the beginning of the third, Cardiff did fire 12 shots on the Stingrays net and he dealt with them all more than adequately.
Cardiff- Ben Davies (2+0)- One for the future, Davies bagged his second and third career goals against the Stingrays and did not look out of place throughout the whole game, even showing coolness when met with a thoroughly annoyed Lee Esders. In fact he deserved, and one slip aside, could have scored his first career hat trick.
Stingrays verdict (1/10): It was that bad! Clueless, gutless, effortless are just a few of the terms which just about do this performance justice. There were no good performances, even Steve Slonina, who has generally been the Stingrays most consistent player this season, made mistakes. Kalmikov's skill again shone through but with no one with him it was ultimately a wasted effort. The defence was often further forward than the forwards, the forwards couldn't carry the puck forward for more than 2 meters without losing it and although Cruickshank had no chance with most of the goals, he was far from confident in the Rays net, case in point the crucial first goal. Backup netminder Jazscyzk did a good job shutting out the Devils in the third, although the game was well gone by then and Lee Esders showed effort and passion that the rest of the team showed none of, even if he too made mistakes. Expect a double digit loss in Sheffield if they play half as bad as last night.
Strachan's verdict: "The goalie didn't stop the puck, our forwards didn't score and didn't check and our defence, who knows what our defence was doing? I don't think we won any 50:50 pucks, in fact we didn't do one thing right. That was the worst game we have played in three months. That's all I want to say."
SOG: 32-42
PIM: 10-55
Playoff Race:
8th- Edinburgh GP44, W 12, OTL6, L26, GF134, GA211, GDIFF -77, PTS 30
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9th- Stingrays GP44, W 12, OTL5, L27, GF113, GA194, GDIFF -81, PTS 29
Friday 20 February 2009
Stingrays Weekend Preview (21/02, 22/02)
V
Saturday 21st February: Excel Hull Stingrays (9th) v Cardiff Devils (6th) @ Hull Arena, F/O 5.30pmSunday 22nd February: Sheffield Steelers (1st) v Excel Hull Stingrays (9th) @ Sheffield Arena, F/O 6pm
Form
Stingrays- L W W L L
Cardiff- L PSL W L OTW
Sheffield- W W W PSW W
Last 3 Meetings
v Cardiff
13/09/08 1-6 L H
03/12/08 1-0 L A
01/02/09 1-2 W A
v Sheffield
02/11/08 1-2 L H
03/01/08 3-4 OTL A
17/01/09 0-4 L H
Season Series
v Cardiff: 1-2, 3GF, 8GA
v Sheffield: 0-5, 1 point, 9GF, 22GA
Man of the Moment
Stingrays- Matt Reynolds- Will return to the Stingrays lineup after five weeks on the sidelines with a broken finger that was sustained against Sunday's opponents the Sheffield Steelers. Prior to his injury he was the Stingrays leader in points and powerplay goals.
Cardiff- Matt Elich- A Rangy but speedy forward, he has scored three goals and seven assists in ten games since joining the Devils in early January after splitting the beginning of the year between Port Huron and Flint of the IHL.
Sheffield- Joey Talbot- Talbot has gone about his business quite quietly this season on what will surely become an Elite League winning side. His 31 goals ranks 3rd in the EIHL whilst his 57 points puts him in 14th, in his last eight games he has six goals and in his four games against the Stingrays this season he has four goals.
Absentees
Stingrays- Stuart Kerr (knee), Paul Moran (shoulder)
Cardiff- Marc Fulton (knee), Lee Cowmeadow (elbow), Peter Aubry (doubtful; concussion), Jason Silverthorn (doubtful; thumb), Derek Campbell (knee)
Sheffield- Full Strength
Other News
- This is the Stingrays final meeting of the season against current league leaders the Sheffield Steelers, and one thing is for sure, Stingrays coach Rick Strachan will be happy that it is the last meeting. Unfortunatly for him should the Stingrays make the playoffs they will almost certainly face the Steelers in the two legged playoff quarter final and although a local derby will be a great spectacle for the Stingrays, not to mention their bank account, with a record of five games and five losses it could be a quick exit for the Rays.
- Following on from that note, should the Stingrays have never won a game in Sheffield against the Steelers, the only rink in the country that the Rays have failed to win in since their first victory in Newcastle early this month.
- It has now been made clear that defenceman Stuart Kerr is unlikely to return to the Stingrays this term. Kerr, who has been out with a knee injury since November, will remain on the sidelines and unless an injury strikes the team yet again, he may have to wait until next season for more action, should he even return.
Predictions
Stingrays 4-3 Cardiff
Sheffield 4-1 Stingrays
Thursday 19 February 2009
Elite League All Star Game 2009
The Elite League's inaugural All Star game was completed earlier this evening with the final score 12-10 in favour of the Southern All Stars.
The Stingrays participants in the game had good nights as Jeff Glowa and Slava Koulikov notched goals for the Southern All Stars whilst Steve Slonina added an assist. Curtis Cruickshank iced between the pipes for half of the game for the victorious South whilst Lee Mitchell played but failed to record a point.
The games most notable performances came from the Belfast Giant and Northern All Star Paul Deniset, who scored two goals and three assists, whilst Nottingham player/coach Corey Neilson scored two goals and two assists for the South.
The Stingrays participants in the game had good nights as Jeff Glowa and Slava Koulikov notched goals for the Southern All Stars whilst Steve Slonina added an assist. Curtis Cruickshank iced between the pipes for half of the game for the victorious South whilst Lee Mitchell played but failed to record a point.
The games most notable performances came from the Belfast Giant and Northern All Star Paul Deniset, who scored two goals and three assists, whilst Nottingham player/coach Corey Neilson scored two goals and two assists for the South.
Wednesday 18 February 2009
PLAYOFF RACE 09: Caps move point clear
The Edinburgh Capitals moved one point clear of the Excel Hull Stingrays in eighth place after a 5-4 overtime loss in Cardiff.
The Devils took a three zip lead in the second period with a double from Tyson Teplitsky before the Scottish side defied the odds once again to level it up.
The Welsh side very nearly did the Stingrays a big favour by denying Edinburgh even a point as a Wes Jarvis goal handed the Devils a 4-3 lead with less than eight minutes remaining. Capitals talisman, and one of the players of this Elite League season, Mark Hurtubise levelled the scores with less than 60 seconds remaining and with Capitals netminder Pasi Raitanen pulled.
Fortunately the gap between 8th and 9th is just one point after tonight as Mike Hartwick scored for Cardiff to seal the two points.
As it stands:
8th- Edinburgh GP43, W 12, OTL6, L25, GF131, GA205, GDIFF -74, PTS 30
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9th- Stingrays GP43, W 12, OTL5, L26, GF112, GA187, GDIFF -75, PTS 29
The Devils took a three zip lead in the second period with a double from Tyson Teplitsky before the Scottish side defied the odds once again to level it up.
The Welsh side very nearly did the Stingrays a big favour by denying Edinburgh even a point as a Wes Jarvis goal handed the Devils a 4-3 lead with less than eight minutes remaining. Capitals talisman, and one of the players of this Elite League season, Mark Hurtubise levelled the scores with less than 60 seconds remaining and with Capitals netminder Pasi Raitanen pulled.
Fortunately the gap between 8th and 9th is just one point after tonight as Mike Hartwick scored for Cardiff to seal the two points.
As it stands:
8th- Edinburgh GP43, W 12, OTL6, L25, GF131, GA205, GDIFF -74, PTS 30
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9th- Stingrays GP43, W 12, OTL5, L26, GF112, GA187, GDIFF -75, PTS 29
All Star call up for Slonina
Versatile Excel Hull Stingrays defenceman, Steve Slonina, has today been called up to play in the Elite League's inaugural All Star game in Coventry on Thursday night.Southern All Star coach Paul Thompson has called Slonina into the side after a number of injuries, most notably an injury to Cardiff's Jason Stone, and he will step straight into defence for the game against the Northern All Stars, coached and selected by Sheffield Steelers coach Dave Matsos.
Slonina, who has scored seven goals and added 27 assists this season, becomes the fifth Stingrays player to be selected after Lee Mitchell, Slava Koulikov, Curtis Cruickshank and Jeff Glowa.
The University of Massachusetts-Lowell alumni has been particularly impressive in the three months since his switch from forward to defence, in which time he has not only shored up the Stingrays woeful defence but also provided the blueline with a scoring threat.
In the wake of the Stingrays crippling injury crisis he moved from his preferred centre spot to defence and the move has seen him win three consecutive fan voted player of the month awards, a record in the five year history of the event.
Photo courtesy Arthur Foster
Tuesday 17 February 2009
Stingray news
Say it quietly......Stingrays return to full strength
Thompson, who had scored eight goals in 26 games, suffered a neck injury against the Sheffield Steelers some weeks ago whilst Reynolds, who led the Stingrays in points and goals before his injury, broke a finger in the same game. They will both return to full training this week and should they not suffer any re-occurrences , will play in back to back games against Cardiff and Sheffield.
The games this weekend should see the Stingrays return to full strength for the first time since the opening day of the season.
Rick Strachan said:
"Thompson and Reynolds should be ready for full practice this week. We’ve missed them. Matt was our top scorer when he got injured and he plays on our special teams and powerplay."
We will then have a full bench and it is something we are looking forward to. It will take a lot of responsibility of the shoulders of some of our young kids who have been carrying this team. Guys like Jeff Glowa and Konstantin Kalmikov have also been going every second shift for a month and those guys are dead tired and they need a rest."
All Stars Prepare
The Elite League's inaugural All Star game will face off on Thursday night at the Coventry Skydome with four Excel Hull Stingrays in the lineup. And whilst players like Steve Slonina, Matt Reynolds and Konstantin Kalmikov have been at the heart of the Stingrays push for their first ever playoff berth, the Elite League have implemented a two import and two Brit rule from each team, meaning many of the Stingrays 'stars' will miss out.The result of the rule has seen Brits Slava Koulikov and Lee Mitchell selected alongside the ever brilliant Jeff Glowa and Curtis Cruickshank and all four will lineup on Thursday alongside the rest of the Southern All Stars.
Auctions, Auctions, Auctions...
The auctions for the Stingrays Valentine's Day shirts, used in their 4-3 loss against the Manchester Phoenix, are beginning to come to an end. Currently Lee Esders and Jeff Glowa are the highest priced shirts at £78.01, with Slava Koulikov in second with a price of £77. However there are still shirt's available in the auction including James Cooke's #18 shirt, Aaron Wilson's #23, Pavel Gomenyuk's #40 and Richie Thornton's unworn #6 shirt. The eBay site can be found here.There is a similar auction for the game worn All Star jerseys to be used on Thursday in the EIHL's first All Star game. The eBay site for this auction can be found here. It contains All Star jerseys for the Stingrays Jeff Glowa, Slava Koulikov, Curtis Cruickshank and Lee Mitchell.
Kerr To Sit Season
With the return to action of import forwards Jamie Thompson and Matt Reynolds comes bad news for defenceman Stuart Kerr, out since November.With Thompson and Reynolds the Stingrays have 11 fit imports, out of an allowed 11 under EIHL rules, and Kerr, who has played just 24 games for the Stingrays, recording six assists, will be forced to sit for the remainder of the season unless the Stingrays suffer yet more injuries.
Despite rumour of Kerr being let go by the Stingrays, who are one of, if not, the lowest budget team in the league, it seems that Kerr will remain will the team as both a good will move and backup for any more injuries the team will suffer.
The signing, and impressive displays, by young Finnish defenceman Antti Turunen seem to have been the determining factor in Kerr sitting on the sidelines for the final few weeks despite allegedly returning to fitness in the last fortnight.
Caps v Devils
In their only game in hand before they, and the Stingrays, ice 11 times on the same nights in the run up to the playoffs, the Edinburgh Capitals face a Cardiff Devils on Wednesday. The Caps are ahead of the Stingrays by games between the sides after their 7-4 win against the Devils on Sunday took them level on points.Gomenyuk another All Star...sort of
Pavel Gomenyuk, who is having a career year after scoring ten goals and 17 assists, has agreed to ice in Newcastle player-coach Rob Wilson's testimonial game.The match will pit a Rob Wilson's All Star Select against a North East All Star select and will feature a number of players from Wilson's 20 career in Britain.
Fixture Change
The Stingrays scheduled game in Manchester on March 8 has now been moved to Thursday March 19.
Sunday 15 February 2009
PLAYOFF RACE 09: Capitals back level on points
The Edinburgh Capitals have moved back onto level points with the Excel Hull Stingrays as the battle for the final playoff spot intensifies with just 11 games remaining.
The Capitals beat the sixth placed Cardiff Devils 7-4 at their Murrayfield rink with Slovakian forward Martin Cingel notching himself an important hat trick.
The win takes the Capitals onto 29 points, level with the Stingrays, with a game in hand against the Devils in Cardiff. Perhaps crucially the Stingrays have six home games remaining to the Capitals five, whilst the sides face each other at the Hull Arena on the final day of the season, rendering a point difference of two points or less prior to the final day of the season irrelevant.
As it stands:
7th- Newcastle GP44, W 17, OTL4, L22, GF119, GA142, GDIFF -23, PTS 38
8th- Edinburgh GP42, W 12, OTL5, L25, GF127, GA200, GDIFF -73, PTS 29
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9th- Stingrays GP43, W 12, OTL5, L26, GF112, GA187, GDIFF -75, PTS 29
10th-BasBison GP43, W 08, OTL3, L32, GF111, GA211, GDIFF -100, PTS 19
Remaining games:
Edinburgh (12 games remaining)
18/02 @ Cardiff
21/02 v Coventry
22/02 @ Coventry
28/02 @ Manchester
01/03 v Newcastle
07/03 @ Cardiff
08/03 v Belfast
14/03 @ Nottingham
15/03 @ Coventry
21/03 v Manchester
22/03 @ Stingrays
Stingrays (11 games remaining)
21/02 v Cardiff
22/02 @ Sheffield
28/02 @ Belfast
01/03 v Nottingham
07/03 v Manchester
08/03 @ Manchester
14/03 @ Cardiff
15/03 v Basingstoke
21/03 v Cardiff
22/03 v Edinburgh
TBA @ Coventry
The Capitals beat the sixth placed Cardiff Devils 7-4 at their Murrayfield rink with Slovakian forward Martin Cingel notching himself an important hat trick.
The win takes the Capitals onto 29 points, level with the Stingrays, with a game in hand against the Devils in Cardiff. Perhaps crucially the Stingrays have six home games remaining to the Capitals five, whilst the sides face each other at the Hull Arena on the final day of the season, rendering a point difference of two points or less prior to the final day of the season irrelevant.
As it stands:
7th- Newcastle GP44, W 17, OTL4, L22, GF119, GA142, GDIFF -23, PTS 38
8th- Edinburgh GP42, W 12, OTL5, L25, GF127, GA200, GDIFF -73, PTS 29
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9th- Stingrays GP43, W 12, OTL5, L26, GF112, GA187, GDIFF -75, PTS 29
10th-BasBison GP43, W 08, OTL3, L32, GF111, GA211, GDIFF -100, PTS 19
Remaining games:
Edinburgh (12 games remaining)
18/02 @ Cardiff
21/02 v Coventry
22/02 @ Coventry
28/02 @ Manchester
01/03 v Newcastle
07/03 @ Cardiff
08/03 v Belfast
14/03 @ Nottingham
15/03 @ Coventry
21/03 v Manchester
22/03 @ Stingrays
Stingrays (11 games remaining)
21/02 v Cardiff
22/02 @ Sheffield
28/02 @ Belfast
01/03 v Nottingham
07/03 v Manchester
08/03 @ Manchester
14/03 @ Cardiff
15/03 v Basingstoke
21/03 v Cardiff
22/03 v Edinburgh
TBA @ Coventry
Saturday 14 February 2009
Stingrays move focus to first ever playoff qualification
Excel Hull Stingrays (3) 3-4 (8) Manchester Phoenix
The playoffs are now the sole focus for the Excel Hull Stingrays after they lost out to the Manchester Phoenix by four goals to three in the second leg of their British Knockout Cup Quarter Final, leaving the Stingrays five goals behind on aggregate.
The Stingrays required a five goal turn around to progress to their second semi final in three years after losing the first leg in Manchester 4-0.
With their foot somewhat off the gas after a week off, the Stingrays left themselves with an uphill struggle in the opening two periods, as Manchester fired 36 shots on netminder Curtis Cruickshank in the Stingrays goal. Within those 36 shots Cruickshank allowed three Phoenix goals through defenceman Kenton Smith and forwards Kyle Bruce and Luke Fulghum.
Konstantin Kalmikov gave the Stingrays dimming light at the end of the tunnel a small flash with a 32nd minute goal however the beginning of the third period saw Andrew Jazscyzk replace Curtis Cruickshank, who recieved a deserved rest,and Lucas Burnett went on to capitalised on the netminders inexperience with what would turn out to be the game winning goal.
Further goals from Jeff Glowa, his 50th point this season, and Lee Mitchell gave the Stingrays fans something to sing about and the scoreline a closer slant, however both sides went away somewhat happy with the Stingrays avoiding any further injuries, in readyness for the playoff qualification, whilst Manchester move into the semi finals of a cup competition with the chance of silverware.
Knocked out of both the Challenge Cup and British Knockout Cup, the Stingrays now face the challenge of qualifying for the EIHL Playoffs for the first time in their history. Currently two points clear of ninth placed Edinburgh with two more games played, the run in to the end of the season will be a nervy time for both sides and will culminate on the final day with riveting fixture as the Capitals travel to Hull.
Next weekend the Rays face Cardiff at home on Saturday in their only fixture, whilst the Capitals will make up their two games in hand with a midweek fixture in Cardiff before a home and away double header against the Coventry Blaze next weekend.
Strach said: "We made it through the game without any more injuries so that's a big plus. We all knew it would be pretty tough to make up four goals. To do that you have to open it up, but if you do that Manchester will score goals."
SOG: 42-29
PIM: 6-10
The playoffs are now the sole focus for the Excel Hull Stingrays after they lost out to the Manchester Phoenix by four goals to three in the second leg of their British Knockout Cup Quarter Final, leaving the Stingrays five goals behind on aggregate.
The Stingrays required a five goal turn around to progress to their second semi final in three years after losing the first leg in Manchester 4-0.
With their foot somewhat off the gas after a week off, the Stingrays left themselves with an uphill struggle in the opening two periods, as Manchester fired 36 shots on netminder Curtis Cruickshank in the Stingrays goal. Within those 36 shots Cruickshank allowed three Phoenix goals through defenceman Kenton Smith and forwards Kyle Bruce and Luke Fulghum.
Konstantin Kalmikov gave the Stingrays dimming light at the end of the tunnel a small flash with a 32nd minute goal however the beginning of the third period saw Andrew Jazscyzk replace Curtis Cruickshank, who recieved a deserved rest,and Lucas Burnett went on to capitalised on the netminders inexperience with what would turn out to be the game winning goal.
Further goals from Jeff Glowa, his 50th point this season, and Lee Mitchell gave the Stingrays fans something to sing about and the scoreline a closer slant, however both sides went away somewhat happy with the Stingrays avoiding any further injuries, in readyness for the playoff qualification, whilst Manchester move into the semi finals of a cup competition with the chance of silverware.
Knocked out of both the Challenge Cup and British Knockout Cup, the Stingrays now face the challenge of qualifying for the EIHL Playoffs for the first time in their history. Currently two points clear of ninth placed Edinburgh with two more games played, the run in to the end of the season will be a nervy time for both sides and will culminate on the final day with riveting fixture as the Capitals travel to Hull.
Next weekend the Rays face Cardiff at home on Saturday in their only fixture, whilst the Capitals will make up their two games in hand with a midweek fixture in Cardiff before a home and away double header against the Coventry Blaze next weekend.
Strach said: "We made it through the game without any more injuries so that's a big plus. We all knew it would be pretty tough to make up four goals. To do that you have to open it up, but if you do that Manchester will score goals."
SOG: 42-29
PIM: 6-10
Thursday 12 February 2009
British Knockout Cup Quarter Final Second Leg Preview (Stingrays v Manchester)
V
Saturday 14th February: Excel Hull Stingrays (0) v (4) Manchester Phoenix @ Hull Arena, F/O 5.30pm (British Knockout Cup Quarter Final 2nd Leg)Form
Stingrays- L L W W L
Manchester- W L L W OTW
Last 3 Meetings
22/11/08 0-5 L A
29/11/08 1-7 L H
18/01/09 0-4 L A
Season Series
v Manchester 0-5, 8GF, 26GA
Man of the Moment
Stingrays- Jason Kostadine (48GP 11+14)- Scored the Stingrays lone goal against the Panthers last weekend, his 11th of the season, and proved a pest to the Panthers all game long, culminating in a fight against Danny Meyers.
Manchester- Kenton Smith (45GP 7+26)- The Phoenix captain and leader at the back, scored just his seventh goal of the season in overtime against the Coventry Blaze last weekend and also added an assist. He currently sits fifth in Phoenix points and has a goal and five assists in four games against the Rays this season.
Absentees
Stingrays- Paul Moran (shoulder), Stuart Kerr (knee), Jamie Thompson (neck), Matt Reynolds (broken finger)
Manchester- Full Strength
Other news
- The Stingrays will wear special Valentine's Day jerseys for this game. The jerseys can be purchased via Ebay HERE.
- The Stingrays will have to overturn a four goal deficit if they are to reach their second semi final in their Elite League history after losing out to the Basingstoke Bison in last years British Knockout Cup.
- The Rays have yet to beat the Phoenix in five encounters this season and have beaten them just five times in 20 games in the Stingrays three year Elite League stay. After the second leg the teams will have met six times this season and the final two of the eight with come in a double header on 7th/8th March.
- The Stingrays remain without defencemen Stuart Kerr and Paul Moran, who it is expected will remain on the sidelines for the rest of the season, whilst Jamie Thompson and Matt Reynolds could return to action next week in a home game on Saturday against the Cardiff Devils.
Prediction
Stingrays 2-3 Manchester
Wednesday 11 February 2009
Stingrays go Pink for Valentine's Day
The Excel Hull Stingrays will, for the first time in their history, wear special Valentine's Day jerseys during their British Knockout Cup Second Leg against the Manchester Phoenix on Saturday.After the game the new red jerseys (left), which also contain a new name and number font style on the reverse of the shirts, will be auctioned off on internet auction site eBay.
Other teams have previously exploited events such as Christmas, Valentine's day, Haloween and St Patrick's day for commercial reasons whilst a number of other clubs, such as EPL side Romford Raiders, have auctioned off the shirts for charity.
Stingrays co-owner had this to say about the one off shirts.
"We were approached by the shirt manufacturer to see if we were interested and we decided we were. We have not gone for Christmas or Halloween shirts in the past, but we were tempted this time."EDIT: The shirts are now avaliable from HERE
Sunday 8 February 2009
Stingrays run out of steam against Panthers
Excel Hull Stingrays 1-5 Nottingham Panthers
The Nottingham Panthers gained revenge for the Excel Hull Stingrays win in Nottingham three weeks ago with a 5-1 victory in front of one of the biggest attendances of the season and Sky Sports cameras at the Hull Arena.
The opening few minutes were stop start with neither side gaining any real opportunities and with a shorthanded Stingrays inevitably attempting to shut down the Panthers in the same way they had in Newcastle the night before.
That tactic largely worked for the opening one and a half periods, which saw both sides trade goals through Jade Galbraith and the Stingrays Jason Kostadine, before a number of powerplay calls from referee Michael Hicks saw the Panthers capitalise with a goal each from Johan Molin and Dan Tessier.
With the score at 3-1 the Stingrays began to tire and the Panthers took control of the game firing a succession of shots on Curtis Cruickshank. Once again the Stingrays frailties in depth, as a result of injuries, began to show and the Panthers, perhaps harshly, took the game from a close run scoreline to a rout with a goal from Brendan Cook after 38 mintes and Matt Myers late in the third period.
Before the game petered out to a close, with the scoreline at 5-1, the Panthers Danny Meyers and Stingrays ever agitating Jason Kostadine dropped the gloves, with Meyers, on the losing side in the fight, having to make an early visit to the changing room with an injury.
The game closed out in an uneventful fashion however the Stingrays will leave the weekend with the satisfaction that they continued their two-points-a-weekend form.
The Stingrays now face a two week gap before their next league game, against the Cardiff Devils on February 21, before which they play the Manchester Phoenix on Valentine's Day next weekend. The game will be the second round of the British Knockout Cup, which the Stingrays trail 4-0, and to mark Valentine's Day the team will be wearing special jersey's.
Best Moment- Jason Kostadine's fight and win over Danny Meyers, any number of Antti Turunen hits, yet another Antti Turunen off-the-line clearance.
Worst Moment- The first two minutes which were very stop start, the final five minutes which were inevitably both sides playing out the remaining time.
F Block MOM
Stingrays- Antti Turunen (0+0)- Played a very good game in the defensive zone with a couple of nice hits to go with his niggly defensive style. He also enjoyed several good tussles with his Scandinavian opponent Johan Molin in which neither particularly came out on top.
Nottingham- Johan Molin (1+1)- Fast, skillful and linked with playmaker Dan Tessier like Torvill and Dean. Only negative to his game tonight was what looked like an unnecessary and fairly purposeful high stick on Jeff Glowa.
Stingrays verdict: (6/10)- Yet again it was a hard working but tiring performance from an Excel Hull Stingrays side that is still low on numbers. Three powerplay goals from five attempts from the Panthers says that, on the man advantage, the Stingrays couldn't handle Nottingham. Jeff Glowa, Steve Slonina, Troy Neumeier and Antti Turunen put in workman like stints but with just seven forwards the Stingrays ideas and legs looked tired.
Strachan's verdict: "The defeat doesn't dent our confidence at all. We're not going to take any negatives out of it. The guys worked their socks off and battled hard. We didn't lose because we're not a good team, we didn't have enough bodies to get the job done. We used an awful lot of energy to beat Newcastle on Saturday."
PIM: 25-9
The Nottingham Panthers gained revenge for the Excel Hull Stingrays win in Nottingham three weeks ago with a 5-1 victory in front of one of the biggest attendances of the season and Sky Sports cameras at the Hull Arena.
The opening few minutes were stop start with neither side gaining any real opportunities and with a shorthanded Stingrays inevitably attempting to shut down the Panthers in the same way they had in Newcastle the night before.
That tactic largely worked for the opening one and a half periods, which saw both sides trade goals through Jade Galbraith and the Stingrays Jason Kostadine, before a number of powerplay calls from referee Michael Hicks saw the Panthers capitalise with a goal each from Johan Molin and Dan Tessier.
With the score at 3-1 the Stingrays began to tire and the Panthers took control of the game firing a succession of shots on Curtis Cruickshank. Once again the Stingrays frailties in depth, as a result of injuries, began to show and the Panthers, perhaps harshly, took the game from a close run scoreline to a rout with a goal from Brendan Cook after 38 mintes and Matt Myers late in the third period.
Before the game petered out to a close, with the scoreline at 5-1, the Panthers Danny Meyers and Stingrays ever agitating Jason Kostadine dropped the gloves, with Meyers, on the losing side in the fight, having to make an early visit to the changing room with an injury.
The game closed out in an uneventful fashion however the Stingrays will leave the weekend with the satisfaction that they continued their two-points-a-weekend form.
The Stingrays now face a two week gap before their next league game, against the Cardiff Devils on February 21, before which they play the Manchester Phoenix on Valentine's Day next weekend. The game will be the second round of the British Knockout Cup, which the Stingrays trail 4-0, and to mark Valentine's Day the team will be wearing special jersey's.
Best Moment- Jason Kostadine's fight and win over Danny Meyers, any number of Antti Turunen hits, yet another Antti Turunen off-the-line clearance.
Worst Moment- The first two minutes which were very stop start, the final five minutes which were inevitably both sides playing out the remaining time.
F Block MOM
Stingrays- Antti Turunen (0+0)- Played a very good game in the defensive zone with a couple of nice hits to go with his niggly defensive style. He also enjoyed several good tussles with his Scandinavian opponent Johan Molin in which neither particularly came out on top.
Nottingham- Johan Molin (1+1)- Fast, skillful and linked with playmaker Dan Tessier like Torvill and Dean. Only negative to his game tonight was what looked like an unnecessary and fairly purposeful high stick on Jeff Glowa.
Stingrays verdict: (6/10)- Yet again it was a hard working but tiring performance from an Excel Hull Stingrays side that is still low on numbers. Three powerplay goals from five attempts from the Panthers says that, on the man advantage, the Stingrays couldn't handle Nottingham. Jeff Glowa, Steve Slonina, Troy Neumeier and Antti Turunen put in workman like stints but with just seven forwards the Stingrays ideas and legs looked tired.
Strachan's verdict: "The defeat doesn't dent our confidence at all. We're not going to take any negatives out of it. The guys worked their socks off and battled hard. We didn't lose because we're not a good team, we didn't have enough bodies to get the job done. We used an awful lot of energy to beat Newcastle on Saturday."
"I didn't think a couple of those penalties were penalties in my book. It was 1-1 and we were doing what we had to do to keep it close, but they got two powerplay goals and that made it tough for us."
PIM: 25-9
Saturday 7 February 2009
Rays Sting Vipers
Newcastle Vipers 1-2 Excel Hull Stingrays
The Excel Hull Stingrays snatched two points with less than five minutes remaining for the second time in two weeks and in the process ended their three year Elite League winless streak in Newcastle.
The Stingrays, who were of course still minus Kerr, Moran, Reynolds and Thompson, took the lead through forward turned defenceman Steve Slonina. However that lead was cut short later in the first period by former Belfast Giants player-coach Ed Courtenay who tied the game on the powerplay with three minutes remaining.
In a drab affair both sides tried, and failed, to get the all important leading goal, partly down to offensive inefficiency and partly from good netminding from Stingrays keep Curtis Cruickshank and, more so perhaps, Andrew Verner, who ended up facing 28 shots from the shorthanded Stingrays.
The third period saw more of the same with both netminders coming up big. That was until the Stinrgays once again pulled a surprise out of the hat as evergreen forward Jeff Glowa slotted what would turn out to be the game winning goal with less than four minutes remaining.
The win handed the Stingrays their third victory away from home in five and their first in Newcastle, whilst also propelling them two points clear in 8th place after an Edinburgh loss in Nottingham.
SOG: 22-28
PIM: 4-10
The Excel Hull Stingrays snatched two points with less than five minutes remaining for the second time in two weeks and in the process ended their three year Elite League winless streak in Newcastle.
The Stingrays, who were of course still minus Kerr, Moran, Reynolds and Thompson, took the lead through forward turned defenceman Steve Slonina. However that lead was cut short later in the first period by former Belfast Giants player-coach Ed Courtenay who tied the game on the powerplay with three minutes remaining.
In a drab affair both sides tried, and failed, to get the all important leading goal, partly down to offensive inefficiency and partly from good netminding from Stingrays keep Curtis Cruickshank and, more so perhaps, Andrew Verner, who ended up facing 28 shots from the shorthanded Stingrays.
The third period saw more of the same with both netminders coming up big. That was until the Stinrgays once again pulled a surprise out of the hat as evergreen forward Jeff Glowa slotted what would turn out to be the game winning goal with less than four minutes remaining.
The win handed the Stingrays their third victory away from home in five and their first in Newcastle, whilst also propelling them two points clear in 8th place after an Edinburgh loss in Nottingham.
SOG: 22-28
PIM: 4-10
Thursday 5 February 2009
Stingrays Weekend Preview (07/02, 08/02)
V
Saturday 7th February: Newcastle Vipers (7th) v Excel Hull Stingrays (9th) @ Metro Radio Arena, F/O 6.30pmSunday 8th February: Excel Hull Stingrays (9th) v Nottingham Panthers (3rd) @ Hull Arena, F/O 6pm
Form
Stingrays- L W L L W
Newcastle- PSL W L L L
Nottingham- L W L W W
Last 3 Meetings
v Newcastle
11/01/09 3-4 OTL H
24/01/09 2-3 L A
25/01/09 4-2 W H
v Nottingham
11/10/08 4-7 L H
23/11/08 4-5 PSL A
18/01/09 2-3 W A
Season Series
v Newcastle 2-3, 5 points, 14GF, 18GA
v Nottingham 1-3, 1 draw, 4 points, 15GF, 22GA
Man of the Moment
Stingrays- Pavel Gomenyuk (42GP 10+16)- Has scored three goals in four games, including two in the last five minutes against Cardiff last weekend, and is currently having a career year with the Stingrays bettering his previous best by four points with 13 games remaining.
Newcastle- Ed Courtenay (19GP 8+17)- Has gone pointless in just three games out of 19 games after making a return from retirement mid-season. Has recorded five assists in four games against the Rays.
Nottingham- Kevin Bergin (43GP 23+25)- Scored three goals in two games against the Manchester Phoenix last weekend in the Panthers back to back wins. Also has ten goals in thirteen games since Boxing Day.
Absentees
Stingrays- Stuart Kerr (knee), Matt Reynolds (broken finger), Paul Moran (shoulder), Jamie Thompson (neck)
Newcastle- Jeff Hutchins (knee), Dean Holland (groin), Burt Henderson (broken wrist)
Nottingham- David Clarke (doubt) Rumun Ndur
Other News
- The Excel Hull Stingrays will continue on their seemingly everlasting mission to win in Newcastle. The Stingrays have failed to win at the Metro Radio Arena, formerly known as the Telewest Arena, and Whitley Bay, the Vipers second home, in ten attempts during their three year tenure in the Elite League.
- The battle for the playoffs between the Stingrays and Edinburgh Capitals seems likely to go down to the final game where the two teams face up to each other for the final time. Last weekend both sides, who now sit on 27 points each, scored goals with less than 30 seconds remaining to take the point stalemate into another weekend.
- Nottingham defenceman Ed Hill had a steady debut last weekend against the Manchester Phoenix in a double header that the Panthers won two games to nil. The former Alaska Aces defenceman, who visited Boston Bruins training camp in 2001, recorded one assist and two penalty minutes in back to back games.
Predictions
Newcastle 3-4 Stingrays
Stingrays 4-5 Nottingham
Monday 2 February 2009
Stingray news.
Eleven in ElevenIt is a run of form that has seen the side leap from 16 points to 27 points, equal with the Capitals and eight points clear of bottom side the Basingstoke Bison. Should they continue on point-a-game form for the remainder of the season they would end up on a joint team record 39 points, a record point total that was set in 2006/07.
Stingrays All Star lineup complete
In a surprising move, Southern All Star coach Paul Thompson has announced that Slava Koulikov would join Curtis Cruickshank, Lee Mitchell and Jeff Glowa as the Excel Hull Stingrays representatives in the Elite Ice Hockey Leagues first ever All Star game.After initial confusion over whether fellow Eastern European Konstantin Kalmikov had instead been selected, it was confirmed on Monday that Koulikov, who has scored 15 points in 24 games this season, would become to final Stingray to be selected.
In his last ten games Koulikov has scored seven points and he will join up with his fellow All Stars in Coventry on Thursday 19 February.
Brits on form
Since injuries to import forwards Matt Reynolds and Jamie Thompson the Excel Hull Stingrays British forwards have seen increased ice time and more notably increased offensive output.In the six games since Canadian Reynolds suffered a broken finger, Lee Esders, Slava Koulikov, James Cooke and Lee Mitchell have contributed five goals and six assists, a significant increase in production.
Neumeier makes successful return for home stretch
Troy Neumeier has seemingly made a successful return from a torn knee ligament which had initially threatened to end both is season and career prematurely.Neumeier, who has set his sights on sending the Excel Hull Stingrays to the playoffs for the first time as his last act on the ice, played in both away games against Manchester and Cardiff and made his return to the Hull Arena on Saturday night against his former side the Coventry Blaze.
Sunday 1 February 2009
Gomenyuk Dances with the Devils
Cardiff Devils 1-2 Excel Hull Stingrays
The Excel Hull Stingrays produced a late late show to steal two points from the Cardiff Devils in South Wales, with Ukrainian defenceman Pavel Gomenyuk coming away with all plaudits after two goals in the last five minutes.
In a similar fashion to the previous encounter with the Devils in Cardiff Bay, which ended 1-0 to the Devils, it was clear that a goal either way could be crucial.
The Devils made early inroads into the Stingrays defence before that pressure paid off with a Wes Jarvis goal after just five minutes. The Devils continued to press but failed to find a way past the combination of an inform Curtis Cruickshank and framework of the goal, which denied the Devils on a couple of occasions, most notably from home debutant and former NHLer Matt Elich.
In the end though it was the Devils who were made to pay for their inability to convert at the crucial times as Gomenyuk struck, unassisted, after 55 minutes. At this point it looked almost certain that both sides would accept a point after a blunt offensive performance and would head into overtime to settle the game
Unfortunatly for the Devils, Gomenyuk popped up again with just thirty seconds left in the game
to capitalise on a Jay Latulippe slashing call to seal the Stingrays fifth win in the so called 'Blue Tent'.
The win was made all the more important as the Edinburgh Capitals, who before tonight sat on an equal 25 points with the Stingrays with just one game in hand, also scored a goal in the last 30 seconds of their match against the Basingstoke Bison, to snatch themselves maximum points.
The gap between bottom side Basingstoke and the Stingrays is now an unprecedented eight points whilst they and the Capitals are now nine points adrift of the Newcastle Vipers in seventh place.
Next weekend the Stingrays face the Newcastle Vipers for the fourth time in a month at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle before returning home to play the Nottingham Panthers, meanwhile the Capitals face the Panthers in Nottingham on Saturday in what promises to be a tense run in to the playoffs.
Strachan said: "We knew it was going to be a low-scoring game and we had to play a tight defensive game. All the guys played great."
PIM: 10-6
The Excel Hull Stingrays produced a late late show to steal two points from the Cardiff Devils in South Wales, with Ukrainian defenceman Pavel Gomenyuk coming away with all plaudits after two goals in the last five minutes.
In a similar fashion to the previous encounter with the Devils in Cardiff Bay, which ended 1-0 to the Devils, it was clear that a goal either way could be crucial.
The Devils made early inroads into the Stingrays defence before that pressure paid off with a Wes Jarvis goal after just five minutes. The Devils continued to press but failed to find a way past the combination of an inform Curtis Cruickshank and framework of the goal, which denied the Devils on a couple of occasions, most notably from home debutant and former NHLer Matt Elich.
In the end though it was the Devils who were made to pay for their inability to convert at the crucial times as Gomenyuk struck, unassisted, after 55 minutes. At this point it looked almost certain that both sides would accept a point after a blunt offensive performance and would head into overtime to settle the game
Unfortunatly for the Devils, Gomenyuk popped up again with just thirty seconds left in the game
to capitalise on a Jay Latulippe slashing call to seal the Stingrays fifth win in the so called 'Blue Tent'.
The win was made all the more important as the Edinburgh Capitals, who before tonight sat on an equal 25 points with the Stingrays with just one game in hand, also scored a goal in the last 30 seconds of their match against the Basingstoke Bison, to snatch themselves maximum points.
The gap between bottom side Basingstoke and the Stingrays is now an unprecedented eight points whilst they and the Capitals are now nine points adrift of the Newcastle Vipers in seventh place.
Next weekend the Stingrays face the Newcastle Vipers for the fourth time in a month at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle before returning home to play the Nottingham Panthers, meanwhile the Capitals face the Panthers in Nottingham on Saturday in what promises to be a tense run in to the playoffs.
Strachan said: "We knew it was going to be a low-scoring game and we had to play a tight defensive game. All the guys played great."
"We got a little lucky to tie the game but we are in a situation where we are battling for points every weekend with a depleted squad. We only have seven forwards and teams shouldn’t win many games with that number. But these guys just don’t give up."
SOG: 25-17PIM: 10-6
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