Stingrays sign Sanford

Experienced 25 year old year defenceman James Sanford has signed for the Excel Hull Stingrays as a replacement for Ryan Jorde, who is expected to be out for over four weeks with a broken arm, in a shakeup of the current team, which has lost six consecutive games.

The Canadian, who has extensive experience in the AHL and ECHL, is a former junior international at U18 level and joins after originally signing to play for HYS Den Haag in the Dutch capital.

He was released by Den Haag prior to the seasons start after failing to live up to expectations as the team's highest paid player during pre-season, but that decision has played into the hands of Rays coach Sylvain Cloutier, who believes he has pulled off a coup to get his signature, the second year coach said, "he is going to be a number on or number two defenceman in this league".

After an very impressive junior career, in which he represented his country at the Junior World Championships in Slovakia and scored 55 goals and added 132 assists in 272 games in the QMJHL, he failed to get drafted into the NHL, primarily because of his apparently small 5'10 stature. Two years later, however, he was signed by the Montreal Canadians to a two-year, two-way contract.

Sandford scores for Moncton

The blueliner, who hails from Moncton, New Brunswick, failed to make an appearance in the NHL, but did go on to compete in 123 AHL games, scoring 51 points, and 102 ECHL games, adding 69 points.

It is this sort of experience that Cloutier believes the Stingrays require to shore up a, so far, frail defence that has conceded 45 goals in all competitions.

"I am really excited about this signing. If you play that many games in the AHL then you are a pretty decent hockey player. He has got all the tools. He is a defensive-minded defenceman but he is also strong offensively. He will improve our transition which is something we needed to do and will improve our powerplay as he moves the puck well."

Last season he split his time between Utah (ECHL), where he scored 18 points in 24 games, Chicago (AHL), where he was called up to appear in seven games, and the St Georges CRS Express (LNAH), where he offensively excelled scoring 15 points, including six goals, in 14 games.

He said, in an official press release, that he is excited to be joining the team, even if they are currently struggling to find any semblance of form.

"I am really looking forward to it....I cannot wait for the first game. I have been in touch with the coach and some of the players and I know they have been having a tough time with injuries and suspensions so I hope I can help them out and get the team going"

He went on to describe what sort of player he is:

"I am an offensive defenceman and powerplay specialist. I have made my living out of running powerplays. I feel I am good at reading the play and being in the right position. I just do all the little things right"

The signing leaves significant question marks over a number of the Stingrays current squad, particularly the defencemen that have allowed netminder Tommy Sandahl's goal to be breached so frequently.

They, particularly favourite to leave Pavel Gomenyuk and Stephen Burns, are now left fighting for their jobs ahead of Sanford's arrival next weekend and Jorde's return to action in around a month.

Cloutier gets tough; new defenceman incoming

Sylvain Cloutier has today put out a stark warning to his current squad: shape up or ship out.

The Canadian, who has seen his side lose seven of their opening eight games, announced to the Hull Daily Mail that he is in the process of signing a new defenceman to guard the ever impressive Tommy Sandahl in the Rays net, whilst Ryan Jorde recovers from a broken arm.

The revelation that he will sign a new blueliner comes with strong words to his current squad, the 35 year old coach said:

"I know the guys who care and the guys who are here just for a ride. Those things are going to be addressed and we are going to make sure we bring guys in who want to be here.

"Hopefully that will send a message to some of the guys that they can't get comfortable...We are not going to accept being in last place and lose hockey games and just go through the motions."

With Jorde out, and with Cloutier bringing in a new defenceman during his layoff, the commitment questions are being firmly laid at the door of current D men Stephen Burns and Pavel Gomenyuk, although it is still feasible that those question marks are over an import forward.

If that were the case, Cloutier would have to re-shuffle his pack by releasing said forward and keep tough guy Adam Knight up front, where he has produced some decent performances so far this season.

In what is a clear message for his side to improve following a bad run of form, Cloutier believes that the defenceman will be one of the best in the country, therefore implying that this is not a temporary signing and that he will be staying in Hull once Jorde returns to the lineup in early November.

"There is a defenceman coming in and if that doesn't send a message to anybody to pick up their game… he is going to be a number one or number two defenceman in this league and hopefully the paperwork will go through this week and we can get him after next weekend."

Very early speculation suggests that James Sanford, a 5'10 D man from Alma, New Brunswick, has signed for the side after his agents website announced he would be joining an unnamed EIHL club.

The 25 year old, who last season played 24 games in the ECHL with Utah and seven games in the AHL with the Chicago, had initially joined HYS Den Haag in the Dutch capital this season before they were forced to release him, as one of their highest played players, for poor performance.

A former Canadian junior international at under 18 level and prolific scorer at junior level in the QMJHL, with over 170 points in 200 plus games, in 2004 he signed a two-way contract with the NHL's Montreal Canadiens and he would significantly improve the Rays rearguard options, providing them with a clear number one at the back.

This seemingly unexpected move has been taken by Cloutier to shake things up and to get the side performing after a torrid couple of games in Elite League and Challenge Cup action, including a 9-2 thrashing at the hands of the Edinburgh Capitals.

With Adam Knight and Curtis Huppe set to return on Saturday against that same Edinburgh, and with Lee Mitchell well on the road to recovery, the, as yet, unnamed player could join the team a week on Saturday, forcing the current squad into a month long scrap for jobs before the return of Jorde.

Clarke double helps Panthers to win over battered Stingrays

Excel Hull Stingrays 2-4 Nottingham Panthers

David Clarke netted twice as the Nottingham Panthers beat an understrength Excel Hull Stingrays side in Challenge Cup Group B by four goals to two at the Hull Arena.

The Stingrays, already missing Ryan Jorde, Lee Mitchell, Adam Knight and Curtis Huppe, were also without evergreen forward Jeff Glowa, but it was them that took a surprise lead on 16 minutes with the goal stream of Konstantin Kalmikov showing no signs of letting up as the Ukrainian notched his seventh in eight games.

With just six imports however, it was always going to be a battle for the Stingrays and a second period powerplay double from GB international Clarke gave the league leading Panthers a winning foundation going into the final period.

Sylvain Cloutier finally netted for the first time in his Stingrays career to bring the lead back down to one halfway through the third, but further goals from the Panthers Kevin Bergin and an empty netter from Sean McAslan condemned the Rays to their third defeat in three in the Challenge Cup games, all but ending their cup campaign, and sixth in all competitions.

Although they only fired 15 shots on Kevin St-Pierre and saw their losing streak extended to six, the Stingrays can take heart from this defeat, especially since the Panthers only won the tie with eight minutes to go with four more imports.

Further encouragement can be taken from the strong performance of Tommy Sandahl in net, who tonight turned away 47 shots and continues to be a real bright spark so far this season, whilst Adam Knight and Curtis Huppe will now return from five game suspensions for next weekend's league game at home to Edinburgh.

PIM: 18-18
SOG: 48-31

Devils down Rays again

The Excel Hull Stingrays failed to score more than two goals for their fourth consecutive game, as they were beaten by the Cardiff Devils for the second time in two weeks in South Wales.

A Slava Koulikov goal for the Stingrays separated goals from Cardiff's Matt Towe, Mark Smith, Ben Davies and Wes Jarvis as the Devils took a 4-1 win for their first regulation league win of the season, but it was the same old story for the Rays as they once again failed to find any sort of consistent firepower.

PIM: 14-16
SOG: 35-20

Match Highlights: Excel Hull Stingrays 2-9 Edinburgh Capitals

26th/27th September Weekend Preview

vSaturday 26th September: Cardiff Devils (6th) v Excel Hull Stingrays (8th) @ Cardiff Bay Arena, F/O 7pm

Sunday 27th September: Excel Hull Stingrays (8th) v Nottingham Panthers (1st) @ Hull Arena, F/O 6pm

Form
Stingrays: W L L L L
Cardiff: L L W L L
Nottingham: W W L W W

Last 3 Meetings
v Cardiff
21/03/09 2-5 L H
12/09/09 4-2 W H
13/09/09 5-2 L A

v Nottingham
08/02/09 1-5 L H
01/03/09 6-4 W H
30/08/09 4-3 W H

Season Series
v Cardiff: 1-1, 6 GF, 7 GA
v Nottingham: First Meeting

Players to Watch
Stingrays: Sylvain Cloutier (GP6 0+1) It is unfair to single out one player after just six games of a season, however, although Sylvain Cloutier has been leading the way with his physical style of play, his single assist from six games suggest he is a player struggling to re-discover form after a year of watching from the bench. The off-ice implications of his job on the play on the ice will obviousy huge, but with Adam Knight and Curtis Huppe out, and with only Konstantin Kalmikov regularly hitting the twine, he probably needs to have more of an impact on the score sheet if the Rays are to hit form.

Cardiff: Wes Jarvis (6GP 6+1) The rangy Canadian defenceman, who, prior to moving to the UK was noted for his solid defensive play, has scored at goal-a-game rate in the Devils first six games this season. After a turbulent year in Basingstoke in 07/08, he joined the Devils last season and had a career year with 19 goals and 37 points in 64 games. Last weekend he had a pair of two goal games as the Devils split a weekend against the Sheffield Steelers and he currently leads the team in goals.

Nottingham: Jade Galbraith (6GP 6+6) Galbraith fought off several demons during the summer and has returned to Nottinghamshire with a new lease of life after being heavily criticized last season. The Alberta native is in scintillating form for the Panthers having scored seven points in two Nottingham wins last weekend, taking his points tally to a league leading 12 in six games.

Between the Pipes
Stingrays: Tommy Sandahl (6GP, 5 GAA, 89.8 sv%) The Swede produced a good performance during mid-week in Belfast, turning away 34 of the Giants 39 shots on net. Unfortunately once again the Stingrays lack of discipline, after suspensions to Huppe and Knight, and injuries to Ryan Jorde and Lee Mitchell succuppered the Rays chances of taking the game to the Giants, however, in Sandahl, coach Sylvain Cloutier knows they have a netminder that will, once at full strength, win some games for the team.

Cardiff: Stevie Lyle (6GP, 4 GAA, 85 sv%) Lyle has suffered from a less than impressive start to the season stat wise. The Devils, marked as the EIHL's dark horse side this season, currently sit in a disappointing sixth place, with Lyle towards the bottom of the EIHL's netminding stats. Both Lyle and the Welsh sides defence will have to improve if they are to fulfill that label as the unlikely tip for the top.

Nottingham: Kevin St-Pierre (6GP, 2.33 GAA, 92.4 sv %) After a couple of worrying performances early on, the French-Canadian has sent the Panthers to the top of the table with just one loss to his name. Helped by a largely solid D, the tall netminder will need to stand and be counted if the NIC side are to break their long wait for a league title.

Absentees
Stingrays: Ryan Jorde (broken arm), Lee Mitchell (doubt; knee), Curtis Huppe (suspended), Adam Knight (suspended)
Cardiff: Jason Stone (doubt), Brad Voth (suspended), Mark Richardson (doubt)
Nottingham: Cameron Mann (doubt; illness)

News
- This weekend will mark the end of bans to the Devils Brad Voth and Stingrays Curtis Huppe and Adam Knight following respective five game bans.

- Hocktoberfest kicks off next weekend as the Rays travel to the one day, knockout cup competition to face the home Sheffield Steelers in the short version of the day. The EIHL schedule will take a day out of the calender for this one off tournament which sees all eight EIHL sides ice in seven games during just a single day of competition with the Hocktoberfest winner being crowned after the 7pm final.

Predicitons
Cardiff 3-2 Stingrays
Stingrays 2-5 Nottingham

Stingrays shutout in Belfast

Belfast Giants 4-0 Excel Hull Stingrays

The Excel Hull Stingrays were shut out for the first time in the Sylvain Cloutier era as they travelled to Dundonald to take on the Belfast Giants and were soundly beaten 4-0 by the home side.

A double from Colin Shields and goals from Brandon Benedict and Craig Peacock were enough to seal the win for the Northern Irish side and send the Giants into joint second place.

The Stingrays, on the back of two losses, tried hard to create chances, firing 30 shots on the Belfast net, but failed to beat GB netminder Stephen Murphy, who stood tall for the Giants to claim the shutout.

SOG: 39-39
PIM: 8-4

23rd September Mid-Week Preview

v

Wednesday 26th September: Belfast Giants (3rd) v Excel Hull Stingrays (8th) @ Dundonald Ice Bowl, F/O 7.30pm

Form
Stingrays: D W L L L
Belfast: W L W L L

Last 3 Meetings
v Belfast
28/12/08 3-4 OTL H
28/02/09 8-6 L A
08/09/09 2-3 L H

Season Series
v Belfast: 0-1, 2GF, 3GA

Players to Watch
Stingrays: Matty Davies (5GP 1+2) The young Brit has grabbed the opportunity for a regular shift with both hands, performing admirably whilst filling in for suspended forwards Adam Knight and Curtis Huppe. Assisting on the Rays only two goals against Edinburgh, including one brilliant set up for Jeff Glowa to slot home, he followed that up with his first goal for the club against Coventry.

Belfast: Pat Batemen (6GP 3+1) The Canadian's arrival in Northern Ireland was somewhat overshadowed by the signing of Pierre-Luc Faubert in the summer, however the Canadian is proving to be just as good a finisher as his French-Canadian teammate. He recorded his first goals of the season against Coventry last weekend, eventually bagging a hat-trick as the Giants very nearly came from three goals down in their 5-4 loss against the Blaze.

Between the Pipes
Stingrays: Tommy Sandahl (5GP, 89.8 sv%, 5.25 GAA) He was pulled in the thrashing against Edinburgh through no fault of his own, with much of the Rays defence, going AWOL. He responded to that disappointment well with a 40 save effort in the tight loss in the Skydome on Sunday.

Belfast: Stephen Murphy (3GP, 91.3 sv%, 3.5 GAA) The Giants are one of the few teams to have a genuine one-two punch between the pipes with two good British netminders, meaning either could start against the Stingrays. Stats wise, Murphy has the edge over Craze, however the younger former Bracknell keeper has started more games and is argueably the starting choice against the Rays.

Absentees
Stingrays: Lee Mitchell (knee), Ryan Jorde (broken arm), Curtis Huppe (suspended), Adam Knight (suspended)
Belfast: Full Strength

What coaches say...
Cloutier (Stingrays)

"Belfast have a lot of firepower so we have to keep it simple and smart. We have to keep the puck out of the neutral zone, chip it off the boards and go to get it, and do nothing fancy. We won the last 50, but lost the first 10 against Belfast last time. They caught us sleeping and scored two goals, but hopefully that type of thing has been fixed after Sunday's performance."

Thornton (Belfast)

“Hull is a big test for us and a must win. Losing is not acceptable here in Belfast and last weekend was a dissapointing team effort. I expect more of everyone and the pressure is on for success or changes will be made.”

Prediction
Belfast 5-3 Stingrays

Jorde out for six weeks

Tough stay-at-home defenceman Ryan Jorde will be forced to sit on the sidelines for six weeks after breaking a bone in his arm in the Stingrays embarrassing 9-2 loss to Edinburgh.

The British Columbia native blocked a big slapshot from pointblank range during the second period of the Rays home loss to the impressive Caps and, after slowly leaving the ice clutching his arm after the incident, he was taken straight to hospital.

Further assessment revealed that the shot broke his ulna, the longest bone in the forearm, and that he will be condemned to the sidelines for around six weeks.

27 year old Jorde will be a big miss for the Stingrays, who are already without Lee Mitchell, through injury, and Curtis Huppe and Adam Knight, through suspension, and although coach Sylvain Cloutier is disappointed to lose the solid blueliner, he knows his side will be forced to cope with the setback.

"His injury will hurt us and we are going to miss him. He is a 'steady Eddie', he clears the net and adds toughness - he is a big part of the defence. But we just have to deal with it.

"It means the other four guys will have to pick up their game, which they did in Coventry, and we will need to count of those guys now. We will need to play strong 'D'. But Adam is back after next weekend and can play 'D' so we do have options."

The injury brings back bad memories of the season just past, in which Rick Strachan's side were, at one point, down to just two fully fit defencemen following injuries to Stuart Kerr, Paul Moran, Troy Neumeier.

The Stingrays travel to Belfast tomorrow night in the Elite League before weekend fixtures against Cardiff and Nottingham, which will see Knight and Huppe's suspensions expire.

Stingrays improve but still lose out in Coventry

Coventry Blaze 4-2 Excel Hull Stingrays

Sylvain Cloutier returned to a club where he was captain and fan favourite two years ago, but was unable to prevent his new side, the Excel Hull Stingrays, from losing their third game in a row against the Coventry Blaze.

The Stingrays took a surprise lead in the Skydome with Konstantin Kalmikov bagging his sixth of the season in the first period before the Blaze took control of a fairly even game, with goals from Jonathan Weaver, Greg Chambers and Joe Henry giving them a 3-1 lead.

Youngster Matty Davies sealed an impressive weekend, recording his third point in two games, as he pulled the score back to 3-2 with less than seven minutes remaining, however it was left to Dan Carlson to seal a 4-2 Blaze win, putting the Rays pointless after two games in the Challenge Cup and on a three game losing streak.

Cloutier's side have now failed to score more than of two goals in fourth of their five fixtures this season, with the over reliance on Kalmikov, who has scored half of the team's goals, becoming a worrying trend.

Next weekend the Stingrays return to Cardiff, without Curtis Huppe and Adam Knight due to suspension and probably Ryan Jorde and Lee Mitchell because of injury, for a league match up against the Devils, before they travel home to face the league leading Nottingham Panthers in the Challenge Cup on Sunday. However, before that, the Rays face a mid-week trip to Northern Ireland to take on the Belfast Giants, who edged out the Stingrays on the opening day of the season.

PIM: 20-12
SOG: 43-26

Stingrays cave in to Capitals

Excel Hull Stingrays 2-9 Edinburgh Capitals

The Excel Hull Stingrays were well beaten by a clinical Edinburgh Capitals performance in the Scottish sides first game of the season. In doing so, the Murrayfield based side inflicted the Stingrays, who were without Adam Knight, Curtis Huppe and Lee Mitchell as well as Ryan Jorde who sustained a wrist injury mid-game after blocking a slapshot, with one of their largest ever Elite League losses.

The Stingrays went down two goals early in the first period for the third home game in a row as a mazy Michael Beynon run saw Scott McKenzie score on his debut and that was quickly followed another goal a minute later, after Pavel Gomenyuk had failed to get to grips with Owen Fussey on the boards the resulting two-on-one saw Simon Lambert one time his first of three goals.

With the Stingrays trailing by two goals, Edinburgh player-coach Doug Christiansen mistimed a questionable hit on Slava Koulikov and went off injured as a result of either the hit or Sylvain Cloutier's immediate reaction to jump on the Canadian after the dangerous check.

The second period saw the Capitals continue to dominate the lackluster Stingrays, who were again failing to finish their checks as they did with so much success against Nottingham in pre-season.

Lambert finished his second of the night on 26 minutes before Jorde went off after blocking a rocket of a slapshot from point blank range with his wrist.

Despite the injury, which put the Rays four players down, the fightback finally began to materialise for the Rays as a good five minutes of pressure finally paid off, a Pavel Gomenyuk slapshot from the point sneaking past Cody Rudkowski, playing his first game for more than a year, in the Edinburgh net.

Shaun Thompson hit the crossbar for the Stingrays, with a shot that looked, to many, to have crossed the line, before Jeff Glowa capitalised on a nice pass from youngster Matty Davies to reel the Caps back to a one goal lead.

However, the fight was ripped from the home side less than a minute later as Owen Fussey netted on 33 minutes with a debatable kick into the net that was deemed acceptable by referee Andy Carson.

That goal was clearly straw that broke the camels back, especially as the Stingrays had brought it so close seconds earlier, and the Scots knew that, scoring their second in 42 seconds through Darius Pliskauskas, who making his second debut for the Edinburgh side.

The rest of the game was all but a formality as Scott McKenzie registered two goals in 22 seconds to complete the Capitals first hat-trick of the game and to end Tommy Sandahl's night between the pipes, with Andrew Jaszcyzk replacing the Swede for the Stingrays.

7-2 down is never the best time to come into a side, let alone a side that is sinking and quickly losing all desire to be on the ice, and that showed in the Stingrays defence, or lack of, as the backup faced four shots, allowing goals from Chris Allen and Simon Lambert, who scored the Capitals second hat-trick goal of the night.

Stingray Stats
- Stats: Glowa 1+1, Gomenyuk 1+0, Davies 0+2, Reynolds 0+1.
- Sandahl: 36 shots, 7 goals
- Jaszcyzk: 4 shots, 2 goals
- SOG: 41-40
- PIM: 18-12

Best
Matty Davies proving he is more than up for the challenge of Elite League ice hockey, the Stingrays brief comeback, some of very nice looking Edinburgh goals.

Worst
The lack of fight in the Stingrays, the final period in which the home side collapsed, Doug Christiansen's attempted hit on Slava Koulikov.

F Block Blog MOM
Stingrays: Matty Davies (0+2) The Brit proved why he should be given a more regular shift for his hometown side, recording two assists, including a brilliant set up for Glowa's goal, and showing the energy which much of the team missed.

Edinburgh: Simon Lambert (3+1) The French-Canadian bagged a hat-trick and his speedy breakout, which was a regular occurrence in the Capitals offence, helped his side take an easy win out of the Hull Arena.

Stingrays Verdict: 3/10
This was just a poor game from the whole Stingrays team. Matty Davies, making his first regular shifts with the Rays filling in for messrs Huppe and Knight, and Tommy Sandahl, who had little or no defence in front of him, were the only players to come out with any real credit. Jeff Glowa tried hard again and showed more of his infamous determination and Konstantin Kalmikov did his best attempts to be a one more team offensively but that really was it.

Lax, sloppy and lethargic are the words that immediately spring to mind, whilst, as previously mentioned, they again failed to show any kind of physicality that paid dividends in recent weeks.

As Sylvain Cloutier mentions below, it was an unacceptable performance, particularly the way the team collapsed after it was made clear they were, in no way, going to win the game with the Capitals fifth and sixth goals.

Cloutier's Comments

"We've got to step up our game 150 per cent against Coventry. Okay, we were missing Adam Knight and Curtis Huppe, but there are no excuses. We have four defencemen back there and nine forwards. We have to go into the game ready to play and ready to battle."

Match Highlights: Stingrays 4-2 Cardiff

19th/20th September Weekend Preview

v

Saturday 19th September: Excel Hull Stingrays (4th) v Edinburgh Capitals (8th) @ Hull Arena, F/O 5.30pm

Sunday 20th September: Coventry Blaze v Excel Hull Stingrays @ Coventry Skydome, F/O 6pm (Challenge Cup)

Form
Stingrays- W L D W L
Edinburgh- First Game
Coventry- W W W L L

Last 3 Meetings
v Edinburgh
16/11/08 3-7 L A
14/12/08 3-2 L A
22/03/09 5-8 L H

v Coventry
10/01/09 1-7 L A
31/01/09 2-6 L H
08/03/09 1-4 W A

Season Series (08/09)
v Edinburgh: 2-4, 18GF, 28GA
v Coventry: 1-6, 18GF, 38GA

Players to Watch
Stingrays: Konstantin Kalmikov (3GP 5+0) You can't ask for much more than five goals in three games from your team leading forward, and that is what the Ukrainian has provided so far. He bagged five of the Rays six goals last weekend and, with Curtis Huppe out of the lineup for the next five games, he will need to continue that form if the team are to win.

Edinburgh: Chris Allen (0GP 0+0) Allen is a capable former NHLer that last season stood on the blueline in the Asian league with High1. Standing at 6'3 and weighing in at 223llbs, the Caps defenceman provides his team with some real size at the back as well as giving them a leader in front of Rudkowski.

Coventry: Greg Owen (3GP 3+1) Brit Owen returned from a championship winning season in France with Briancon to sign for GB boss Paul Thompson at the Blaze. So far this season he has not disappointed the national team coach, scoring three goals in Coventry's somewhat disappointing start to the season.

Between the Pipes
Stingrays: Tommy Sandahl (3GP, 92.1%, 3.33GAA) The Rays number one chalked up his first league win last weekend, stopping 40 of Cardiffs 42 shots, before he went into South Wales on Sunday and faced 50 shots from a re-surgent Devils side.

Edinburgh: Cody Rudkowski (-GP, -SV%, -GAA) Rudkowski is another former NHLer and is one that still holds the NHL record for most minutes without conceding a goal. Replacing Curtis Sandford in the St Louis net in 2002, he stopped all ten Edmonton shots in his only appearance in 'The Show'. After a year out of the game due to injury, he will want to replicate that form for the Capitals.

Coventry: Peter Hirsch (3GP, 92.7 SV%, 2.33 GAA) A regular on the international stage with Denmark, Hirsch has four years experience in the Swedish Elite League and last year battled with Stingrays netminder Tommy Sandahl in the Swedish Allsvenskan. He has been consistent between the pipes so far this season as the Blaze have had an average start to the season.

Absentees
Stingrays: Lee Mitchell (knee), Adam Knight (suspended), Curtis Huppe (suspended), Glowa (doubt; concussion)
Edinburgh: Jeff Miles (failed medical)
Coventry: Full Strength

News
- Adam Knight and Curtis Huppe will this weekend miss the first two of their five game suspension. Huppe was caught launching his stick into the Cardiff bench during the Rays ill-tempered 5-2 Challenge Cup loss, whilst Knight fought Brad Voth off the ice after the pair had been handed two match penalties for Travesty of the game.

- Player-coach Sylvain Cloutier will return to face his old side Coventry Blaze on Sunday in the Challenge Cup. A favourite at the Skydome, Cloutier scored 131 points in 115 games and won a number of trophies in his two year stint in Coventry, part of which he captained the side for.

- Saturday will mark the start of the Edinburgh Capitals season after they were allowed to delay their season by two weeks. Next week sees the Capitals and Giants take on two AHL sides in a Hockey's Homecoming tournament and it is thought they were given special dispensation to delay their season because of the landmark tournament.

What the coaches say..
Cloutier (Stingrays)

"I am looking forward to going back to Coventry. I made a lot of friends during my two years there. I had a great experience with Coventry, something I will never forget. We won two league titles and had a really tight group of guys.

"I have a lot of respect for Thommo and we keep in touch. I loved playing for Thommo and learned a lot from him. He is a great coach, probably the best in the UK. He has all the trophies to prove it."

Predictions
Stingrays 5-4 Edinburgh
Coventry 3-1 Stingrays

Stingrays duo banned for five games

The Elite League have confirmed that Stingray forwards Curtis Huppe and Adam Knight have each been banned for five games for their parts in the chaotic scenes at the end of the Stingrays 5-2 Challenge Cup defeat in Cardiff.

28 year old Knight automatically received a two match ban after being handed two game penalties, for fighting in the last two minutes and travesty of game, by referee Dean Smith. That was extended to five games by the Elite League because the Canadian failed to go straight to the dressing room after being ejected from the game, resulting in the ensuing off-ice fight with Voth. Like Kozak and Voth last year, he also has a six game suspended ban hanging over his head, meaning that, if he incurs another Travesty of Game penalty this season, he will be automatically forced to miss six further games.

Player-assistant coach Huppe, who threw a stick from the Stingrays bench into the Devils bench in a javelin motion, will also be banned for a combined five games after being handed one game for throwing an object and a further four games due to the reckless nature of the incident.

The Canadian sniper told the Hull Daily Mail:

"I do regret what I did and it was out of character – I am not that type of player. It was done in the heat of the moment and I know I shouldn't have done it. I am disappointed, though, I was not allowed to give the league my version of events and have my say. Adam Knight was getting hit by some of their players' sticks and I just wanted to distract them although I know what I did wasn't the right thing to do."

For the Devils, Brad Voth has been given a five game ban, with a further six games suspended, whilst Scott Romfo, Mike Hartwick and Max Birbraer will also sit out Saturdays game with Sheffield after getting single game bans.

The Stingrays pair will miss Elite League games against Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast as well as Challenge Cup ties with Coventry and Nottingham.

Five game suspension for Knight and Huppe

Various media reports suggest that Stingrays forwards Curtis Huppe and Adam Knight have been banned for five games each for their parts in Sunday's brawl in Cardiff.

Knight had automatically been given a two match ban for receiving a double match penalty in South Wales, however a further review of the game has seen that extended to five games with Huppe also suspended for five games.

More soon...

Stingray news

Glowa injury fears allayed

Stingrays captain Jeff Glowa should lineup this weekend in the Rays fixtures against Edinburgh, in the Elite League, and Coventry, in the Challenge Cup.

The 33 year old was injured early in the Stingrays hectic fixture in Wales on Sunday night after a Tylor Michel check, which was penalised with a 2+10 for checking from behind, left him with the early effects of concussion.

Although perhaps not 100% fit, Glowa is confident that the injury won't be enough to keep himself out of this weekends games.

He said: "After it happened I had a headache and wobbly legs and didn't think it was safe to go back out there. I did not feel comfortable. I am going to skate today and I will have a couple of visits to the chiropractor but it shouldn't keep me out of next weekend."

Further suspensions pending

After the unsavoury events that marred the end of the Stingrays 5-2 Challenge Cup loss in Cardiff on Sunday night, coach Sylvain Cloutier is awaiting further news from the Elite League regarding the suspensions of at least one of his squad.

Cardiff v Stingrays, Sunday night incident

Whilst Adam Knight and Cardiff's Brad Voth will automatically sit out their next two games (v Edinburgh and in Coventry for Knight), as a result of receiving a double match penalties in the final minutes of the game, speculation suggests Curtis Huppe may also receive a ban for his actions in the brawl.

Cloutier said, "both teams played hard, it was very competitive, it was intense and stuff happened in the heat of the moment. I don't want to say too much but we will have to wait to see what the league say."

The Elite Leangue are currently holding an investigation into the incident, to review whether further punishment is required and their findings are expected within the next week.

Both sides have previous with regards to opening weekend incidents. In the Rays first away game last season, Rick Kozak was banned for a total of ten games after he left Nottingham's Marc Levers needing stitches in his forehead, whilst Voth was involved with Sheffield's Andrew Sharp on the same day last season and received a 12 game suspension.

Mitchell goes under the knife

Forward Lee Mitchell will undergo surgery on his troublesome right knee tomorrow. The Brit, entering his fifth season with the Stingrays, has been kept out of action for the team so far this season after feeling pain in the knee during early pre-season training sessions.

The injury, which was feared to be ligament damage, was confirmed as a tear on his meniscus after an MRI scan last week and is likely to keep him out of action for at least another week. That time frame, however, does look optimistic given that he was forced to sit an extended period of time a year and a half ago with an injury to the same knee.

Five goal weekend seals player of the week for Kalmikov

Coming of the back of a weekend in which the Rays split two highly fought and controversial games with the Cardiff Devils, one player stood out for all the right reasons.

Konstantin Kalmikov has started this season as he finished the last...in form, scoring five of the Stingrays six goals in the doubler header, including a hat-trick on Saturday night to steal the team's first win of the season.

The Ukrainian forward last season netted 25 times in 48 games and won the player of the week award for the first time in mid-January. He continues to push his case as one of the Stingrays purest ever finishers and one of the best players in the team's five year existence, his goalscoring exploits will have to continue if the team is to be successful this year.

Devils gain revenge in feisty Challenge Cup win

Cardiff Devils 5-2 Excel Hull Stingrays

The Excel Hull Stingrays were beaten 5-2 by the Cardiff Devils as both sides opened their Challenge Cup campaigns with an aggressive, rough-and-tumble meeting which saw several skirmishes break out. The game was eventually forced to end 23 seconds from the final buzzer after an unsavory incident involving the Stingrays Adam Knight and Cardiff's Brad Voth.

Knight fought Voth early on, as well as with just 23 seconds remaining, in a game that also saw Stingrays Matt Reynolds, Lee Esders and Stephen Burns involved in the rough stuff.

The Devils, who lost last night against the Stingrays after opening up a two goal lead in the first, again took a decent lead into the final two periods, with goals from Phil Hill, Wes Jarvis and Jay Latulippe giving them a 3-0 first period lead.

The Rays obligatory comeback followed in the second as Konstantin Kalmikov shot to the top of the league's goalscoring charts with his fourth and fifth of the season to pull the Devils lead back to one.

That is as close as it would get for the Stingrays, however, as Latulippe and Jarvis added their second goals of the night to seal the Devils 5-2 win and two points towards their Challenge Cup standing.

Reports suggest that it was an exciting, uptempo match up that will no doubt be overshadowed by the events at the end of the game, which saw the referee bring an end to proceedings with 23 seconds still left on the clock and with 284 penalty minutes dished out in total.

UPDATE: Further reports are saying that Voth and Knight both recieved two match penalties for Travesty of Game, meaning that the Elite League will automatically investigate the incident and that both players recieve two game bans.

PIM: 181-103
SOG: 50-22

Kalmikov tricks Devils for first Rays win

Excel Hull Stingrays 4-2 Cardiff Devils

A Konstantin Kalmikov hat-trick inspired the Excel Hull Stingrays to their first victory of the Elite League campaign as they came from two goals behind to beat the Cardiff Devils 4-2 at the Hull Arena.

The early tone was set for the game as Brad Voth, not long after declining an invitation to fight Stingrays enforcer Adam Knight, was coaxed into an early penalty by Knight. Although the Rays failed to get out of the blocks quickly, pantomime villain Voth was kept quiet throughout the game thanks to the Rays fearless checking of the rangy forward, a rare sight in Rays-Devils games last season, as the Rays lost six out of seven ties between the sides including two 7-1 defeats.

That early coming together, along with a Tommy Sandahl triple save after ten minutes, was one of the few bright spots of the first period from a Stingrays point of view, as the home side fell behind thanks to a combination of bad marking and bad communication with Tylor Michel and that-man Voth opening up a two-nil lead in what was a scrappy and, ultimately, poor period.

Worryingly, the Rays were out shot 16-2 in the opening stanza and it was clear from that, and their lack of physicality and coherent play, that stern words and an improved performance would be needed if they were to claim their first points of the season.

Sylvain Cloutier is clearly not one to mince his words, as his side came out came out like a men-possessed in the second with Lee Esders firing a warning shot off the pipe behind Stevie Lyle in the Devils net after just 20 seconds of the first.

That warning shot was followed up with a goal just a minute later, as Ukrainian forward Kalmikov claimed his first of both the night and the season following some confusion in the Devils defensive end.

The real catalyst for what would be the Stingrays first league victory under Cloutier came after just under 25 minutes.

A spate of penalties re-ignited the comeback. With Sylvain Cloutier, Adam Knight and the Devils Brad Voth and Wes Jarvis put away following a spell of roughing, Kalmikov was on hand to fire his second past Lyle, who at this point had faced as few as six shots, with a pinpoint finish.

The Rays then benefited from a Phil Hill elbowing call and completed the comeback from 2-0 down as Lee Esders tipped a Pavel Gomenyuk slapshot from the point to hand the home side the lead. The tide was now well against the Devils and player-coach Gerard Adams called a timeout to plug the leaks that had appeared in his defence.

That, however, did not work. Hindered by the loss of stalwart Mark Smith, who was left reeling on the ice with a suspected shoulder injury, after a heavy hit at the end of the second, the Devils failed to create any clear cut chances and the ones they did create were fairly easily smothered by Tommy Sandahl, who further enhanced his reputation with another solid display between the pipes.

Both sides showed plenty of endeavour in the final period but with both goalies coming out on top. In the end there was just enough time for Kalmikov to slot into the empty net for his first hat-trick for the Stingrays, although in reality it was edge of the seat stuff for the final ten minutes as the Rays eked out their first win of the 09/10 Elite League season, a 4-2 triumph.

Stingray Stats
-Kalmikov 3+0, Esders 1+0, Glowa 0+3, Thompson 0+2, Hutchinson, Gomenyuk 0+1.
-Sandahl: 42 shots, 2 goals against
-SOG: 19-42
-PIM: 16-16

Best
- Kalmikov's deserved hat-trick, the team coming out in the second and third as they should have in the first, the first win of the season.

Worst
- The first period, increasingly worrying performances by Slava Koulikov who seems to be slightly lacking in confidence.

F Block Blog MOM
Stingrays: Konstantin Kalmikov (3+0) The Rays first period performance dictated that they needed someone to step up in the second and third periods if they wanted anything from this game. That man was Kalmikov, who notched goals 37, 38 and 39 in his Elite League career, with two neat top shelf finishes and an empty net goal to drag the Stingrays back into the game.

Cardiff: Matt Miller (0+0) The Canadian, who scored nine goals in 12 appearances for Basingstoke last year, outshone Max Birbraer and Mark Smith, two players that are supposed to carry the Devils this season. With speed and good hands, his secondary scoring should help the Welsh side this season, especially if Birbraer and Smtih go MIA.

Stingrays Verdict 7/10
First period aside, this was a much better Rays performance than the loss against Belfast. Lacking the physicality that they lacked against Belfast in the first period, the Stingrays of the victory over the Panthers returned, with hits and hardwork in the corners back on the agenda.

Tommy Sandahl continues to rise on the list of Stingrays all time goaltenders, by boosting his save percentage to a creditable 93.5% for the season. Although it is early in the season, Sandahl made the saves he is expected to make and, in doing so, made it look relatively easy.

Sylvain Cloutier's nasty streak made a welcome return, as he and Voth had an entertaining battle right throughout the match, whilst Jorde, Knight and Burns also showed brawn and defensive responsibility in equal measure.

Shaun Thompson, Matt Reynolds and Jeff Glowa continue to threaten offensively and Lee Esders had his best game so far this year, hitting the post, whilst adding a nice tip in for his first of the year.

Kalmikov, of course, was the man in this game. Three goals, speed, brilliant stick handling and a number of hits when the game got gritty, the Ukrainian continues to give the Stingrays a huge chance to win every weekend.

12th/13th September Weekend Preview

V

Saturday 12th September: Excel Hull Stingrays (6th) v Cardiff Devils (5th) @ Hull Arena, F/O 5.30pm

Sunday 13th September: Cardiff Devils v Excel Hull Stingrays @ Cardiff Bay Arena, F/O 6pm (Challenge Cup)

Form
Stingrays- W W W L D
Cardiff- D L W PSW L

Last 3 Meetings
v Cardiff
21/02/09 1-7 L H
14/03/09 7-1 L A
21/03/09 2-5 L H

Season Series (08/09)
v Cardiff: 1-6, 3 points, 10 GF, 31GA

Players To Watch
Stingrays- Curtis Huppe (1GP 0+1) The Canadian has had a slow start to his Stingrays career and has often looked frustrated as his shots have frequently been blocked or saved, however, with two goals against Peterborough in midweek, as well as a goal in the P&O Channel Cup win against Nottingham, he may have now beaten that slump in goalscoring form.

Cardiff- Phil Hill (2GP 2+1) The British forward has followed up his breakthrough year, in which he recorded 50 points in 64 games, with a three point first weekend. Much is expected of Hill, who will, this season, be able to link up with the likes of Max Birbraer, Mark Smith and Matt Miller.

Between The Pipes
Stingrays- Tommy Sandahl (1GP, 91.4SV.%, 3GAA) Although he may have been partly to blame for one of Belfast's three goals, the Swede, along with the Rays restrictive defence, were a large part of the Stingrays keeping the two points within arm's reach last weekend.

Cardiff- Stevie Lyle (2GP, 84.6SV.%, 3.84GAA) GB international Lyle had an inconsistent third debut in Cardiff colours last weekend as the Devils split a double header weekend against the Newcastle Vipers. Lyle's stats for last week indicate the Welshman can do better.

Absentees
Stingrays- Lee Mitchell (doubt; knee)
Cardiff- Jason Stone (cartilage), Mark Richardson (doubt;groin)

News
- The 09/10 Round The World Clipper Race begins in Hull on Sunday and will kick-off with a weekend of festivities in Hull. There will be an estimated 100,000 extra people in the region over the weekend and with the marina being in close proximity to the Hull Arena, traffic and parking problems are expected in the area. For more information see HERE or for Stingrays specific info see @HullStingrays.

- Sunday sees the beginning of the Stingrays Challenge Cup campaign in Cardiff. The Rays have been placed in Challenge Cup Group B alongside Nottingham, Coventry and Sunday's opponents Cardiff, and will play each side home and away, with the top two sides meeting the top two from Group A in the Challenge Cup Semi Finals.

- It is yet to be revealed whether British forward Lee Mitchell will make his season debut this weekend. He injured a knee in pre-season preparations and an MRI scan last week revealed that there is no long-term damage, however, he and the club are remaining cautious over the injury, which is on the same knee that required surgery two year's ago.

What The Coaches Say...
Cloutier (Stingrays)

There are no easy match-ups this year. Cardiff have put a strong side together and it's going to be a battle. They have put a team together they feel can win the league and we feel we can do as well as anybody so it's going to be a good match-up and hopefully we will come out on top.

Predictions
Stingrays 3-2 Cardiff
Cardiff 3-1 Stingrays

Match Highlights: Stingrays 3-2 Nottingham

Courtesy Phoben Multimedia

Match Highlights: Stingrays 4-3 Tilburg

Courtesy Phoben Multimedia

Phantoms hold Rays to draw

The Excel Hull Stingrays were tonight held to a 5-5 draw against the English Premier League's Peterborough Phantoms, who last season swept the EPL's three trophies, in a one off challenge match in Peterborough.

The Stingrays, who tied the game late on, via a Shaun Thompson shorthanded goal, outshot the Phantoms 48-32 but could not find a way past netminder Wall in the final two periods to squeeze out a win.

The Rays found themselves 3-0 down after the first period but, after some, likely, stern words from Sylvain Cloutier in the first intermission, they pulled the Phantoms lead back to 4-3 at the end of the second, thanks to Jeff Glowa and a double from Curtis Huppe.

Without Matt Reynolds, Lee Mitchell, Konstantin Kalmikov, Slava Koulikov and first choice netminder Tommy Sandahl, the Stingrays finally managed to level the scores in the final minute through Thompson after coach Sylvain Cloutier had bagged his first in a Stingrays jersey, restoring some of the pride in what could have been a somewhat embarrassing loss.

Cloutier's Comments

"I was happy with the second 40 minutes. We were three down in the first but Andy settled down after that and played well.

"The young guys came in and did a great job. They had a chance to skate with us and they worked hard but I had to cut the bench to get us back in the game and it was a shame I couldn't throw them in more. But now we will prepare for a tough weekend against Cardiff."

9th September Midweek Preview

V

Wednesday 9th September: Peterborough Phantoms v Excel Hull Stingrays @ Planet Ice Peterborough, F/O 8pm

Form
Stingrays: W W W L
Peterborough: First game

Last 3 Meetings
v Peterborough
20/11/05 2-1 W A
11/02/06 3-1 W H
26/02/06 2-1 L A

Players to Watch
Stingrays- Stephen Burns: The defenceman has so far proved to be a sound summer acquisition by coach Sylvain Cloutier, with his best performance so far coming in the Rays solid defensive performance against an explosive Belfast offence. After showing brilliant vision and passing ability to pick out Jeff Glowa for his first point as a Stingray, it seems that there may be much more to come from the Canadian.

Peterborough- Maris Ziedens: Latvian Ziedens moved to North America as a youngster to progress his career in hockey and that helped him to five seasons split between the ECHL and UHL. Five appearances and one goal for Latvia at the 2006 Olympic Games in Torino, show that he could ply his trade at a higher level if he so desired. However, after a treble winning season last year, in which he bagged 34 goals and 79 points in 54 games, he is back for another run at the EPL and will be a big threat against the Stingrays.

Between the Pipes
Stingrays- Andrew Jaszczyk: The 20 year old will be handed his first appearance of season against the Phantoms after seeing Tommy Sandahl shut out fellow EPL side, the Sheffield Scimitars, in the Rays pre-season opener at the end of August. It will give coach Sylvain Cloutier a first opportunity to see his new backup in a game situation after the Brit recorded a 82% save percentage in 11 league appearances last season.

Peterborough- Stephen Wall: Wall backstopped the Phantoms to a clean sweep of the EPL trophies last season with a 91.7 save percentage and 2.95 goals against average. In helping Peterborough do the treble, he also earned deserved call ups to the Elite League with Basingstoke and Manchester, so should pose difficult opposition for the Rays, so far, relatively goal shy offence.

Absentees
Stingrays: Lee Mitchell (knee), Slava Koulikov
Peterborough: Brent Gough (doubt)

News
- After an incredibly successful treble campaign last year under Colin Patterson, this game will be the Phantoms first game under new head coach Doug Irwin, who comes in after spells as coach in Italy's second tier, with Eppan and Gherdeina, and German's third tier, with Bayreuth.

- As well as starting backup Andrew Jazscyzk in net, the Stingrays will hand debuts to youngsters Ben Lowe, Jamie Cobley, Kieran Beach and Dan Sayer from the Kingston Jets.

- James Hutchinson will return to his former club for the first time. The North-East native, who has impressed in Stingrays colours so far, had a 58 point season from defence last year, topping his three year point tally with the club at 143 points in 127 games

What the Coaches say...
Cloutier (Stingrays)

"It's a good chance for Andy to showcase himself. He wants to be a number one goalie one day and he now has a chance to show what he can do. He faces some good shooters in practice and he works hard in training. This is his reward for that and it's a chance for him to show me what he has got in case we need him."

Doug Irwin (Phantoms)

"It is a tough start for us against Hull but I am happy that in guys like Lewis Buckman, Joe Miller and Dwayne Newman I have the leaders on the ice that are needed to be successful. The result is not the most important thing tonight but I want to see maximum commitment from my players. If I get that I will be a happy man."

Predictions
Peterborough 2-4 Stingrays

Stingrays slow out of the gate against rapid Giants

Hull Stingrays 2-3 Belfast Giants

The Excel Hull Stingrays lost out by the odd goal in five in their opening Elite League fixture against the Belfast Giants at the Hull Arena.

Jeff Glowa and Matt Reynolds goals for the Stingrays were not enough to snatch a hard worked first victory against a speedy Giants side that skated with into the Hull Arena with an excellent team defence and took both points.

The Stingrays, buoyed by an unbeaten pre-season, immediately lacked the physicality that was so obvious against the Panthers last week, with the Giants fast forwards getting off to the perfect start, pressuring the Rays into their own defensive end and silencing the home crowd.

That pressure and superior puck possession in the opening minutes eventually saw Pierre-Luc Faubert force a puck through Tommy Sandahl, who may have done better with a shot which squeezed through.

Giants man of the match Brandon Benedict then doubled Belfast's lead after 11 minutes, as the Rays sluggish start to the game continued. A brilliantly fast rush from defenceman Tim Cook lead the Canadian to wheel around the back of the Rays net and lay off a pass to Benedict, which the Halifax, Nova Scotia native snuck home to extend the visitors lead.

The Rays finally began to get some puck possession late in the first but still found it difficult to force their way past a resolute and immediately impressive Giants defence.

However, with the first period coming to a close, Stephen Burns spotted Jeff Glowa on the opposing blueline in a rare gap behind the Giants D and fired a long pass from his defensive end which Glowa expertly controlled. Glowa, entering a record fifth season with the team, skated in on Giants netminder Nathan Craze, holding his shot until the former Bracknell and Cardiff stopper went down, before roofing his finish in typically Glowa fashion.

Both sides cancelled each other out in the second third, with a number of powerplay chances going astray for both sides, and with Craze particularly tested with two big Stingrays chances that perhaps should have found the twine.

Onto the third and the Giants once again extended their lead to two, this one a goal that Rays netminder Sandahl will definitely want back, as an Evan Cheverie strike went through the Swede and across the line.

The Stingrays had noticeably improved their forward play since the first period but were still finding it difficult to break through the wall that was Belfast's defence.

Matt Reynolds somehow managed that, however, in the game's only powerplay goal. A nicely worked passing powerplay ended with Reynolds slotting home a pinpoint pass from Curtis Huppe with ten minutes remaining.

If that wasn't the catalyst to push for another goal, then Ryan Jordes huge hip-check on Faubert, which sent the French-Canadian flying through the air, certainly was, with the atmosphere in the Hull Arena noticeably turned up another notch after the big defenceman's hit.

The Stingrays continued to push forward, however the Giants road game tactics were well worked and they managed to stifle the Rays limited offensive options. In the end Evan Cheverie could even afford to miss the empty net for Belfast with seconds remaining as the Giants took away their first victory of the season and a hard fought one at that.

Stingray Stats
Jeff Glowa and Matt Reynolds 1+0, Curtis Huppe, Shaun Thompson and Stephen Burns 0+1.
Tommy Sandahl: 35 shots, 3 goals against.

PIM: 8-20
SOG: 25-35

Best Parts
Stephen Burns long pass to set up Glowa, Glowa's brilliant finish from said pass, Ryan Jorde's big hit on Faubert, not playing brilliantly and losing by just one goal to one of the league's top teams.

Worst Parts
The Rays offence which seemed easily shut down, the atmosphere (although still good) not at the standards of the Panthers game the week before.

F Block Blog MOM
Stingrays: Stephen Burns (0+1) His perfectly timed long pass for Glowa was enough to give him man of the match, but his feisty play in the Stingrays defensive end helped the Rays shut down a particularly potent offence to just three goals.

Belfast: Jacobsen (0+0) The rangy Canadian epitomised the Giants solid defence and proved that this Belfast side may just be fine without Dave Phillips in their lineup. A real rock on the blueline, he could turn out to be one of the finds of the season on this form.

Stingrays Verdict: 6/10
Make no doubt about it, this was an average Rays performance which lacked the hits and real excitement of last week against the Panthers.

They were up against a Belfast side expected to be one of the high scoring sides in the league and restricted them to just three goals, credit should go to the Rays blueliners for that, all of whom thoroughly impressed.

On the other hand, the Rays offence is a little cause for concern. They seem to lack an huge playmaking talent such as a Dan Tessier or Tony Hand, that can create a chance from nothing, and when Konstantin Kalmikov is marked out of the game, as he was, they can struggle to get the puck into the zone. That, of course, is up against a fine defence (if you hadnt noticed by now, the Giants blueline is highly thought of here), so things will, hopefully, get a little easier.

With all that said, most of which is unfairly critical of the Stingrays performance, especially given Cloutier's comments below stating categorically that they can and will play better, this was not a bad home opener and the team showed plenty of potential, especially in defence, to indicate that this season will be better than most.

Cloutier's Comments:

"We missed our assignments for the first two goals. We will go over our mistakes, those type of things just can’t happen. It’s unacceptable – losing is not going to be accepted here. It’s got to be in our heads right away that we have to battle for 60 minutes – you can’t take 10 minutes off because they put two pucks in our net. That was the game right there, 10 minutes of hockey we didn’t show up for and that is why they got the win.

"We know we can do it, if you battle hard for 60 minutes you will give yourself a chance. We did it for 40 minutes, we had our chances but those two little mistakes cost us. You just can’t afford to make mistakes. But it’s early days and we will move on."

6th September Weekend Preview

VSunday 6th September: Excel Hull Stingrays v Belfast Giants @ Hull Arena, F/O 6pm

Form
Stingrays- W W W
Belfast- W W L

Last 3 Meetings
v Belfast
18/12/08 8-2 L A
28/12/08 3-4 OTL H
28/02/09 8-6 L A

Season Record (08/09)
v Belfast: 2-4, 5 points, 13GF, 31GA

Players to Watch
Stingrays- Konstantin Kalmikov- After missing the Rays opening pre-season fixture against the Sheffield Scimitars, Kalmikov made up for lost time last weekend with three goals, including two against former side Nottingham, in the P&O Channel Cup. This certainly won't be the last time the Ukrainian is featured in this section if his performances last weekend are anything to go by.

Belfast- Pierre-Luc Faubert: Thought to be one of the standout forwards in the Elite League this season, Faubert has begun as he would like to continue this season with a hat-trick and an assist in the Giants easy victory over an understrength Newcastle side last Saturday, followed by a goal in the Giants 11-3 demolishion of an Irish League All Star side.

Between the Pipes
Stingrays- Tommy Sandahl- Sandahl has impressed Rays fans so far this season with some solid displays. He openly admits that he may not make the highlight reel saves that many netminders thrive on, however he prides his game on his solidity between the pipes. After debuting for the Stingrays with a shutout over Sheffield Scimitars, the Swede kept out 33 Nottingham shots in the Rays cup winning victory on Monday.

Belfast- Nathan Craze- The Brit is expected to start the Giants EIHL campaign between the pipes after a knee injury to expected number one stopper Stephen Murphy. Craze is a young keeper with a bright future after featuring as fill-in for the Giants and Devils in the last few years. He has been rewarded for his growing potential with more starts than your average EIHL backup netminder and has yet to let down coach Steve Thornton.

Absentees
Stingrays- Lee Mitchell (doubt; knee)
Belfast- Stephen Murphy (doubt; knee), Tim Cook (doubt)

News
- British forward Lee Mitchell, who missed all three of the Rays pre-season games, underwent an MRI scan on Thursday to determine the damage sustained to his knee in preparation for the Rays upcoming season. The prospective GB international had problems with the same knee at the end of the 07/08 season and thought that tje issues had been sorted with an operation which kept him out for a number of months over the 2008 summer. However the injury is back again and he is unlikely to ice this weekend, prefering to await the diagnosis of the injury before testing his knee again.

- The Stingrays have been drawn against the Sheffield Steelers in the quarter final of the new Hocktoberfest tournament to be held at Sheffield Arena at the beginning of October. The tournament will feature a seven game knockout competition including all eight EIHL sides, in games that will consist two forty minute periods, with running clock. This weekends opponents Belfast Giants will face the Cardiff Devils, with winner facing the winner of the Rays-Steelers tie in the semi final.

-Stingrays coach Sylvain Cloutier has revealed that he has changed a number of things around the Hull Arena in order to bring in the new era and fresh start to the club. He has switched around the home and away benches, changed the ends which the Rays shoot at twice (now the far end from the bar) and he has also changed the Rays dressing room.

What the Coaches say...
Huppe (Stingrays, assistant coach)

"It's going to be a great game for myself, playing against my old team. Belfast are always a force to be reckoned with, forwards-wise and defensively, so we have to get prepared."

Thornton (Belfast)

"We’ve got a tough start with four of our first five games against teams that finished above us last season. This weekend we go to Nottingham and Hull and for both it’s their home opener and they’ll want to put on a good show for their fans."

Predictions
Stingrays 3-4 Belfast

Rays drawn against Steelers in Hocktoberfest Quarter Final

The Excel Hull Stingrays have been draw against local rivals the Sheffield Steelers in the first Quarter final of the new Hocktoberfest tournament to be held at Sheffield Arena on Saturday October 4 at 11am.

The draw for the tournament, which will feature all eight Elite League teams in a seven game knockout competition during one day, was featured live tonight on Steelers Hockey, with Sheffield head coach Dave Matsos and Newcastle head coach Rob Wilson picking the teams from a hat.

That draw saw the Rays drawn against their Yorkshire counterparts, and last seasons league and playoff champions, the Sheffield Steelers.

Elsewhere in the draw, the Belfast and Cardiff will fight it out for the right to play the winner of the Stingrays tie, whilst Newcastle and Edinburgh, and Coventry and Nottingham were paired together.

The tournament is a new Elite League initiative, in a similar vein to the 20/20 cricket, which has revitalised the sport with an entertaining take on the traditional game.

In hockey's form, each game will consist of two, forty minute periods, with a running clock, whilst each side will have just four out skaters and a netminder and will also have warm up time restricted to three minutes with just three pucks.

EIHL Hocktoberfest (Saturday 4 October, F/O 11am)
All times estimates

11am: Sheffield Steelers v Excel Hull Stingrays (Game 1)
12pm: Belfast Giants v Cardiff Devils (Game 2)
1pm: Edinburgh Capitals v Newcastle Vipers (Game 3)
2pm: Coventry Blaze v Nottingham Panthers (Game 4)
3pm: Winner of Game 1 v Winner of Game 2 (Game 5- Semi)
4pm: Winner of Game 3 v Winner of Game 4 (Game 6- Semi)
5pm: Winner of Game 5 v Winner of Game 6 (Game 7- Final)

EIHL 09/10 Season Preview

It's that time of year again, a few days before the EIHL kicks off=predictions time. Last summer F Block Blog successfully predicted zero of the below categories, so let's hope for a better return this season.

EIHL Champions: Coventry Blaze
Challenge Cup Winners: Nottingham Panthers
Hocktoberfest Winners: Belfast Giants
Playoff Winners: Sheffield Steelers
Top Goalscorer: Adam Calder (COV)
Top Pointscorer: Cameron Mann (NOT)
Top British Pointscorer: Jonathan Weaver (COV)
Top Netminder (sv%): Peter Hirsch (COV)
Most PIM's: Brad Voth (CAR)

Belfast Giants

Last season: 4th (Challenge Cup and Knockout Cup Winners)
Prediction: 4th
Key To Success: Stephen Murphy/Nathan Craze
Key Arrival: Tom Walsh
Top Goalscorer: Pierre Luc Faubert

After a double winning season last year, the Giants have been forced to re-stock their shelves following wholesale departures in their import ranks, these changes will be key if they are to finally make a run at an Elite League title they last won in 2005.

Their explosive first line of Bobby Robins, Paul Deniset and Andrew Martin from last season has been replaced by Pierre-Luc Faubert, expected to be one of the leagues top players after a high scoring spell in the ECHL, Brandon Benedict and Pat Bateman, with renowned tough guy Sean McMorrow brought in to protect and defend those three particularly. Upcoming Brit Craig Peacock has joined GB regular Colin Shields after a treble winning season in Peterborough as the Giants two main British offensive threats.

The loss of Brit Dave Phillips, who originally signed for this season, only to take up a once in a lifetime contract in the AHL, was massive, especially so late in the season, but brother Kevin Phillips, who has done well in the EPL during the last few years, and Canadian Michael Jacobsen, who has an impressive CV, seem to have adequately filled the gap left by the former Hull favourite.

A change in mentality elsewhere on defence sees imports Tim Cook and Tom Walsh come in for offensive minded defencemen Mike Burgoyne and Tyler Howells. Whilst a key to the Giants whole season remains between the pipes as Stevie Lyle is replaced by his GB international teammate Stephen Murphy, who joins from the now departed Manchester, with capable back up Nathan Craze remaining with the club.

The Giants have an above average offence for the Elite League and their recent signing of Jacobsen has also brought their defence up to par, if not over it. Now, the biggest question over their title credentials remains between the pipes, with a British duo allegedly incapable of winning the title. Craze and Murphy could win, or lose, the Giants the EIHL title.

Cardiff Devils

Last season: 5th
Prediction: 5th
Key To Success: Mark Smith/Max Birbraer
Key Arrival: Matt Miller
Top Goalscorer: Max Birbraer

The Devils are the dark horse for the upcoming season after previously settling for mid-table mediocrity. The Welsh side, renewed with a fresh sense of optimism last summer after Comms Direct owner, Matt Burge, took over control of the side, spent last season building for a push this term and beyond.

That renewal of optimism has been created, primarily, by the return of former point-per-game EIHL forwards Max Birbraer and Mark Smith who are likely to be joined on the first line by last season Basingstoke Bison Matt Miller. The unforgettable Brad Voth is back again alongside speedy Jay Latulippe, with Tylor Michel joining the team as a third line catalyst.

A familiar blueline sees player/coach Gerard Adams, Mike Hartwick, Wes Jarvis and Jason Stone return. Whilst Mark Richardson returns after two seasons in Nottingham and American Scott Romfo signs as a possible replacement for Tyson Teplitsky after four improving seasons in the ECHL with South Carolina.

They will be protecting Stevie Lyle, who is another returnee to the club he started his career with at 15 after seven years away and, like his former club the Giants, is a question mark if the Devils have title aspirations.

That question aside, the Devils are the common choice as dark horse for this season anf for good reason, with Smith and Birbraer, they should be an offensive threat every night. Their main problem may be whether or not they have enough to compete with the big four on a regular basis for the full schedule.

Coventry Blaze

Last season: 2nd (League runners up)

Prediction: 1st
Key To Success: Jonathan Weaver
Key Arrival: Brian Lee
Top Goalscorer: Adam Calder

The Blaze have seriously strengthened after, what in their books, was an unsuccessful last season, where they finished as league runners-up.

Many people questioned Paul Thompson's decision to sign JF Perras as Coventry's number one netminder last year, and that decision may have ultimately cost the Blaze silverware. This season, Thompson targeted and signed his goalie before the season had even finished if rumours are to be believed.

Denmark international Peter Hirsch, who played in Sweden's top two leagues last season, as well as his homeland, was the man signed to guard the Blaze net and, before a puck has been dropped, looks to be the stellar netminder in the league.

Forever searching for a Neal Martin replacement, Thompson's most recent attempt to replace the Blaze favourite is Brian Lee, who spent last season in France. Meanwhile big hitting former London, Sheffield and Newcastle defenceman Jason Robinson has filled the physicality gap in their roster, as he joins Mathias Soderstrom, Tom Watkins and Jonathan Weaver, one of the league's top D men, on the blueline.

The firepower of the Blaze is always one of their strengths and, on paper, looks to be again, especially with the Adam Calder/Dan Carlson combination likely to be at its usual best. Last season Manchester forward Luke Fulghum, power forward/agitator Derek Campbell and former Bison import/GB international Greg Chambers are the newest recruits on the Blaze front line, all from EIHL sides, and all look to have seriously improved their firepower. GB international Greg Owen has returned from a season in France to sign in Coventry and has further boosted their chances for the upcoming season.

After missing out on the title last season, the Blaze, along with the Steelers, look to posses the most rounded team in the league and Coventry's improvements right throughout the squad may be enough to see them pip Sheffield to the title.

Edinburgh Capitals

Last season: 8th

Prediction: 8th
Key To Success: Chris Allen
Key Arrival: Cody Rudkowski
Top Goalscorer: Owen Fussey

Edinburgh have, as is custom in Scotland, kept their summer relatively low-key (Homecoming tournament aside), but, for once, their silence is not for good reason. Edinburgh sides are usually good for a guaranteed bottom two slot, along with the Stingrays, and although F Block Blog has them finishing in 8th place, things aren't so nailed on this year.

Netminder Cody Rudkowski, defenceman Chris Allen and forward Owen Fussey all have experience in both the NHL and AHL, the top two levels hockey in the world, providing the Capitals a very very useful looking backbone.

Allen is joined in defence by GB international Kyle Horne, Ben O'Connor, who has returned post-season from Coventry, after originally signing with the Blaze, whilst solidity is the name of the game with their final two import defencemen in former CHLers Mark Smith and Mike Beynon.

Fussey, who last season played at the top level in Italy, is joined by player-coach Doug Christiansen, speedy sophomore Simon Lambert, long time Capital Martin Cingel and Lithuanian Darius Pliskauskas, who returns after quitting the team two years ago. The main talking point in the Capitals forward corps, other than the impressive signing of Fussey, is the signing of British enforcer Andrew Sharp, who, other than causing a lot of fuss amongst British hockey followers, allows Edinburgh to sign an, as yet unnamed, final import forward, further increasing their scoring prowess.

The Caps will be beginning their season a couple of weeks later than the rest of the league due, apparently, to the Hockey's Homecoming tournament, which they are hosting, with games against Belfast and AHL sides Toronto Marlies and Hamilton Bulldogs.

The Capitals have a strong side that looks, on paper, more rounded than previous squads. That is more rounded than squads that included Elite League stars Colin Hemmingway and Mark Hurtubise. Can they take the next step, and finish outside the bottom two?

Hull Stingrays

Last season: 9th
Prediction: 7th
Key To Success: Tommy Sandahl
Key Arrival: Sylvain Cloutier
Top Goalscorer: Curtis Huppe

A new era and a newteam has begun in Hull as the Stingrays prepare for life after Rick Strachan. Former Coventry man Sylvain Cloutier has taken the player-coaching role in Hull for two years and is expected to turn the Stingrays into a different proposition for the next two seasons at least.

Many believed that Cloutier would bring a whole new set of ideas, tactics and players to East Yorkshire. Whilst he may bring new ideas and tactics, fast forward a couple of months and he has re-signed ten of Rick Strachan's squad from last season, a surprisingly large number of players to many, but maybe further confirmation that it was not Strachan's signings and, perhaps, the tactics of the former coach that cost the Rays so much in previous years.

In defence, just Pavel Gomenyuk has returned, after a career year in which he scored 42 points. He is joined by tough import Ryan Jorde, utility man and enforcer Adam Knight and mobile blueliner Stephen Burns, with Craig Mitchell, brother of Rays forward Lee, and James Hutchinson, last season a treble winner and 40 points scorer in the EPL, also signing to join from Edinburgh and Peterborough respectively.

They will be guarding Swede Tommy Sandahl in net, who has joined from Allsvenskan in Sweden for his first career starting job. Sandahl faces a big season in Hull, as much of the Stingrays summer doubt has been placed on his shoulders.

Upfront Cloutier has brought in former 30 goal EIHL man Curtis Huppe as player-assistant coach as well as Brits Shaun Thompson from Basingstoke, after a 42 point year in the EIHL, and hometown Matty Davies, after three successful years in the EPL. Elsewhere in the Rays offence it is all about the returnees with last seasons leading scorers, Jeff Glowa, Matt Reynolds and Konstantin Kalmikov, returning alongside Brits Slava Koulikov, Lee Mitchell and Lee Esders.

The new era, new team motive has caused a huge buzz at the Hull Arena. The Rays offence looks more potent than ever as successful EIHL forwards Cloutier and Huppe join last season's best. With the league so strong this year, and minus Basingstoke and Manchester, how far can the Stingrays really go, given the strength of the top four?

Newcastle Vipers

Last season: 7th
Prediction: 6th
Key To Success: Jason Tejchma
Key Arrival: Todd Griffith
Top Goalscorer: Todd Griffith

A new approach from Rob Wilson and the Vipers this summer has seen them sign primarily young, hungry ECHL level talent, replacing the old, seasoned EIHL veterans (or friends of Rob Wilson) approach that they had, generally, stuck with in their four seasons in the EIHL.

Although former ECHL forwards Mike Berry, Jason Tejchma and returnee Todd Griffith have been signed, all with decent pedigree in the third level of North American hockey, the Vipers have mixed it up a little bit with the return of Slovakian Matus Petricko, a key player in the Vipers playoff win of 2005, and Matic Kralj, a top scorer last season with Slovenian side HK Maribor. Meanwhile the North-East hockey factory has continued to produce, handing the Vipers Ben Campbell, Dean Holland, Nathan Salem and Jamie Tinsley on a plate, and giving the young prospects a chance to develop alongside David Longstaff.

Likewise, in defence they have three new signings from the 'E', all different kind of defencemen, giving them a good balance. Jermain Domish, Ryan Marhle and Tyler Kindle join third year blueliner Mark Gouett and Brit Richie Thornton at the back. Those five will be defending in front of former Panthers netminder Michel Robinson, who will have to fill the substansial skates of Andrew Verner after the Canadian quit his two year deal with the Vipers a year early.

Todd Griffith and his ECHL friends will have a lot of work to get the Vipers into the top four, a fifth place is not out of the question, but neither is an eight placed finish in what should be Rob Wilson's first full season coaching from the bench.

Nottingham Panthers

Last season: 3rd (Playoff runners up)
Prediction: 3rd
Key To Success: Jade Galbraith
Key Arrival: Marty Gascon
Top Goalscorer: Cameron Mann

Corey Neilson and the Panthers were one of the first squads to be completed this summer, leaving the team and fans plenty of time to consider whether this season will be the season they end their 54 year league jinx.

Key arrivals in their defensive end include netminder Kevin St-Pierre, who replaces fellow French-Canadian Michel Robinson in one of the Panthers problematic areas, Stevie Lee, a former Hull prospect that is beggining to fufill his potential as a future GB regular, and Dominic D'Armour, who joins from the ECHL after 119 games in the AHL. They join hard hitting defenceman Nick Toneys, player-coach, and offensive defencemen, Corey Neilson and, much revered captain, Danny Meyers in a decent looking Panthers defensive corps.

Up front, Dan Tessier has retired from the game, after years of will-he-won't-he, to join the police force in North America; he is replaced by Marty Gascon, a mid to high level centre in the Central Hockey League last year. On the wings, Sean McAslan has returned after a season in Denmark and is capable of putting up big points in the EIHL, whilst Cameron Mann, a veteran of 172 German DEL games and nearly 100 NHL games, has signed with huge expectations.

Jade Galbraith has re-signed, amid much discussion about his fitness and work rate of last year. Later came the admission, from the horses mouth, that he did not give the team his all last season in both fitness or work rate, so all Panthers eyes will be firmly fixed on him this year. He is one player capable of pushing the Panthers further if his late season/playoff form of last season is anything to go by. Fellow returnee Bruce Richardson will have to find a new sparring partner, after the departure of the Steelers Ryan Finnerty, although his spark will again be needed if the Panthers are to challenge for honours.

A lot is expected of the Panthers this year, particularly following the capture of Cameron Mann, one of the biggest name signings in the EIHL since the NHL lockout. Much will depend on the Mann, Galbraith, St-Pierre trio, who between them hold much of the Panthers hopes and fears for the upcoming year.

Sheffield Steelers

Last season: 1st (League and Playoff winners)

Prediction: 2nd
Key To Success: Robert Dowd
Key Arrival: Kevin Bolibriuck
Top Goalscorer: Joey Talbot

What do you get when you take a championship and playoff winning side, a take away a core of its players and try to replace them? Well, given the Steelers attempts to replace netminder Jody Lehman, defenceman Steve Munn and forwards Ashley Tait and Ryan Finnerty, you get another top roster.

After three years and an EIHL title between the Steelers pipes, Lehman has moved to Denmark, to be replaced in Sheffield by the underrated Kevin Reiter, last season in Basingstoke, whilst rock at the back Steve Munn, thought to be one of the biggest parts to the South Yorkshire sides success in the past two years, has been replaced by the return of fan favourite Kevin Bolibriuck.

Elsewhere, GB forward Tait has been replaced by skillful import defenceman-turned-forward Rod Sarich, with British defenceman Ben Morgan replacing the Canadian in front of Reiter. Sarich and Brit scoring sensation Robert Dowd, who really burst onto the scene last season, will have to replace the pointscoring void left by Tait's departure to the continent.

The final replacement came in the place of niggly pointscoring forward Ryan Finnerty, who, after failing to agree terms with Sheffield, is replaced by Jeff Hutchins, a forward that put up a total of 62 points in weaker Newcastle and Edinburgh sides last season.

Despite losing the aforemention core, the Steelers have still managed to maintain a large nucleus of their title winning squad this summer. Scorers Joey Talbot and Jeff Legue are back once again, with even more underrated former Basingstoke players in Brad Cruikshank and Doug Sheppard also back at the Sheffield Arena.

In defence, Scott Basiuk and Randy Dagenais, once thought to be a certainty to leave the club in post-season, are back alongside Bolibriuck and Brit Mark Thomas, with Scimitar Morgan giving them more depth requried.

The Steelers problem is whether their replacement core, like Coventry, is good enough to re-capture that EIHL title.