The Excel Hull Stingrays kicked off a new era in the club's short history with an edgy 2-0 win over the English Premier League's Sheffield Scimitars in front of a decent Rays following at iceSheffield. The Stingrays, clearly short of full match fitness and lacking team cohesion, came up against a youthful and spirited Scimitars side that surprisingly pushed their Elite League counterparts all the way to the final buzzer.
The Scimitars, who were missing two of their signed imports plus an, as yet, unannounced import defenceman, had just Finn netminder Pasi Raitanen as their sole non-Brit against a Stingrays side that boasted nine imports.
An uneventful first period saw both sides sparring for early season form with a lack of chances and large number of misplaced passes a direct consequence of both sides unfamiliarity with teammates.
However, the Stingrays, who marginally edged possession in the first period, were the first to strike through debutant British forward Shaun Thompson after good work by Adam Knight. The hard nosed Canadian forced a break down the left wing and fired a dangerous pass across the face of goal. Thompson eventually, following a number of deflections, diverted the puck home via his glove and despite Scimitar disputes, the Rays took a one-zip lead after 11 minutes.
Many may have thought that would be the end of the game as a contest, especially given the Rays nine-one dominance over the Scimitars in the import stakes. Apparently not, as the plucky Scimitars continued to work hard throughout the game and restricted the Rays to just two goals.
The second period saw a number of chances for both sides. Twice Glowa and Knight combined well to force good saves from Raitanen and Ben Bowns, who replaced the Finn in the home sides goal halfway through the second. Whilst Swede Tommy Sandahl, in the Stingrays goal, also made a couple of solid saves as the Scimitars began to get some offense going following some large periods of play cooped up in their defensive end.
However it was a rasping Curtis Huppe 31st minute wrister that came closest to hitting the twine and extending the Rays lead to two in the second, as his shot cannoned off the crossbar and into the protective netting.
The third period finally brought another goal, this time on the powerplay after former Stingray Stuart Brittle was binned for a tripping call. The Rays kept control of the puck well in their only powerplay of the game and a well worked move between Pavel Gomenyuk, who recieved a 10 minute penalty for inciting during the third, and Matt Reynolds, handed Jeff Glowa the kind of chance he rarely misses. He didn't miss, making it two-nil to the Stingrays after 44 minutes.
The Scimitars continued to hold firm, thwarting most of the Rays newly created offence with relative ease, whilst the Stingrays continued to try and push forward for more goals. None came, and the scoreline finished at a rather unsatisfying (for Rays fans) two-nil.
Stingray Stats
Jeff Glowa 1+0, Shaun Thompson 1+0, Pavel Gomenyuk and Matt Reynolds 0+1.
Tommy Sandahl 27 shots/0 goals.
Best Parts: A confidence inspiring display from Sandahl, Adam Knight proving he is more than an enforcer and that he can actually play a little too, Knight throwing a couple monster hits, a nice post-to-post save from Sandahl, early goals for Glowa and Thompson.
Worst Parts: A severe lack of goals (especially given it was nine imports against one), a lack of cohesion (although that will certainly come with time), the team's willingness to unnecessarily get involved physically in an 'Challenge' match.
F Block Blog MOM
Stingrays: Tommy Sandahl (27 shots, 0 goals) Although he may not have been tested as often as he may be during this upcoming weekend, or even next weekend in the Rays opener, Sandahl restored confidence in the Rays netminding department. He was the biggest question mark coming into this pre-season and his solid performance (collision with a Rays defenceman aside) has done a lot to answer his early critics. Honourable mention to Adam Knight, who also impressed
Sheffield: Pasi Raitanen/Ben Bowns(27 shots, 2 goals) The duo made a couple of point blank saves that surely kept the Scimitars score to a more very very respectable level than the respectable it would have been at even five or six-nil. 39 year old Raitanen is a known quality to all throughout the hockey land and made a very nice looking glove save following a Glowa-Knight-one-two, but Bowns too did very well when called upon and also made a number of very good saves.
Stingrays Verdict: (5/10) Coming into this game coach Sylvain Cloutier knew little about how this Rays side, his first Stingrays side,which he had just spent a couple of months assembling, would turn out on the ice. Now he knows that, to live up to the praise and predictions of the off-season, his side must improve.
Although this game clearly wore off some of the rust and tired summer legs, the Stingrays will need to be sharper and fitter if they are to challenge Tilburg, and particularly Nottingham this weekend. Too often in this game the team chose to pass rather than shoot, but that can, hopefully, be written down to the 'friendly' nature of this game.
Adam Knight, labelled as a goon that would probably not supply more than a few black eyes to the opposition, proved that he can actually play puck, whilst Tommy Sandahl proved he will easily step into the shoes of the much maligned Curtis Cruickshank in the Rays net.
Elsewhere, Matty Davies showed he has the stickhandling, if not the size, to cope with professional hockey, whilst Shaun Thompson continued where he left off in Basingstoke last month with a goal and glimpses of what he can do. The Rays defence, although caught out of position a little too much (call it summer rust), weren't called upon much, however Stephen Burns rushes up the ice look promising. Matt Reynolds certainly showed more of his form from early last season.
Although the result may have not been as emphatic as many expected, in part due to a fit, well-drilled Scimitars side, this game will have gone a long way to shaking some of the pre-season cobwebs, getting the players fit and preparing the side for the weekend P&O Channel Cup and, ultimately, the Elite League season.
Cloutier's Comments
"Obviously it was our first game and we have a lot of things to work on but we are working towards getting ready for Belfast. We made some mistakes and turned the puck over which I don’t want to see but that will come with time. I thought Tommy made some big saves and our ‘D’ played pretty well."Sheffield played hard and gave us a great game and a good test. They have some good little players, they work hard and you have to give their coaching staff credit, they did a really good job. The two young guys [Chilcott and Musil] did a great job and they were not afraid. They are going to go to Canada and that will be a great experience and hopefully they will have a career over there. If not, we will welcome them into our club with open arms."
