Excel Hull Stingrays 1-4 Sheffield Steelers
The Stingrays were on the wrong end of a 4-1 scoreline against a Sheffield Steelers side in front of the Sky cameras at the Hull Arena.
The Steelers, who had been struggling for league points of late, started with Rod Sarich on defence as cover for Scott Basiuk. Jeff Hutchins also played after recovering from an injury caused by a check from Newcastle Vipers defenceman Ryan Mahrle. Former Vipers netminder Andrew Verner made his second start for Sheffield, having shipped 4 goals in a defeat against Coventry the previous day. The Stingrays gave a home debut to new signing James Sanford on defence.
Sheffield began the game as the stronger team, and they received a gift wrapped opportunity after a poor line change from the Stingrays left Steelers sniper Joey Talbot all alone on a breakaway, only for him to squander his chance.
This did not perturb the Steelers, and they hit the twine on 6.19. After pressure in the Stingrays' zone, Brad Cruikshank's shot was saved, but Doug Sheppard was on hand to fully capitalise on Sandahl's rebound, calmly slotting home.
The next big opportunity fell to the home side as they quickly counter-attacked into the Steelers' zone. A cleverly disguised behind-the-back pass from Lee Esders left Kalmikov with only netminder Verner to beat, however the netminder made a superb save, stacking the pads to deny the Ukrainian.
Stingrays netminder Sandahl was also called into action on a regular occurrence. He had to be at his best after attempting to clear the puck out of the zone on the penalty kill, only to find a Steeler on the point, who forced Sandahl into another save.
The Steelers struck again on 16.38, this time on the powerplay, as a behind the net pass from the ever reliable Doug Sheppard found Hutchins on the door step, and his low shot found its way past Sandahl.
The beginning of the second period saw a big improvement from the Stingrays, and a miscued shot from Curtis Huppe left Andrew Verner out of position. A goalmouth scramble ensued, with the floundering netminder lucky to not concede.
That fortune was not to last long however as the Stingrays scored a powerplay goal on 24.21. A shot from the blue line was deflected by Kalmikov down low past a helpless Verner to half the deficit.
The Stingrays continued to apply pressure with an impressive shift from forwards Huppe, Knight and Cloutier, forcing a save from Verner soon after the goal.
Six minutes into the second period, Steelers forward Robert Dowd found himself in a 2-on-1 break, but he couldn't find a way past Sandahl in the Hull net.
Soon after, Kalmikov was denied by Verner for the second time in the match after his shot from the top of the left circle headed high glove side, however Verner was up to the challenge, as he disdainfully pouched the puck in his catcher.
An altercation broke out at 30.22 between Stingrays defenceman Stephen Burns and Steelers captain Jonathan Phillips. The two were battling behind the Stingrays' net, agitating each other enough to drop the gloves. Blows were exchanged, with Burns the marginal victor. Both were awarded 5 minute fighting penalties, with Burns picking up a separate minor for slashing, and Phillips a coincidental minor for roughing.
The Steelers ran into penalty trouble late in the second period, but their penalty killing units proved solid after killing a minute and a half of 5 on 3 time, maintaining their 2-1 lead going into the break
The third period began with a precise pass from Kalmikov finding Huppe with his back to goal just outside of the crease. A 'spinarama' effort from the Stingrays forward was well saved by Verner.
An elementary error from Matt Reynolds left the Steelers with a chance to go further ahead. The Stingrays forward attempted a pass across his own hash marks, only to find a Steelers forward, who, fortunately for Reynolds, was unable to capitalise.
The Steelers doubled the lead on the powerplay on 54.45, as good work from Joe Talbot and Sarich left Jeff Legue with a shooting lane to fire the puck from the blue line past Sandahl.
A late holding the stick penalty was called on Jason Hewitt by referee Marco Coenan, providing the Stingrays with a final chance to get back into the game. Stingrays coach Sylvain Cloutier called a time out, and netminder Sandahl was pulled to provide a 6 on 4 advantage. However despite gaining possession in the Steelers' zone, no real opportunities emerged for the Stingrays.
After the Stingrays eventually relinquished the puck, Jonathan Phillips finished the job with a calm empty net finish past a desperate Curtis Huppe to make the final score 1-4.
- Huppe 1+0, Glowa, Kalmikov 0+1
- Sandahl: 38 shots, 3 goals
- SOG: 37-38
- PIM: 19-21
Best
Some promising offensive touches from new arrival James Sanford. Another good performance from Tommy Sandahl.
Worst
Defensive mistakes providing the Steelers with several gilt-edged chances. Referee Marco Coenan not blowing the whistle for a stoppage, despite a slap shot clattering into Tommy Sandahl's mask, leaving Stingrays fans (and Sandahl) furious.
Stingrays: Tommy Sandahl (38 shots, 3 goals against) A good performance from the Swede, who was always likely to be tested by Steelers forwards. Kept the scoreline close throughout the game, and covered for defensive errors on multiple occasions.
Steelers: Andrew Verner (37 shots, 1 goal against) The new signing bounced back from a 4-1 defeat on Saturday to help his team reverse the scoreline. Showed the form that made him a Newcastle favourite, with some key saves. He also showed good stick skills, with some smooth passing out of defence.
Stingrays Verdict: 5/10
An uninspiring display from the Stingrays against what was a blue collar road performance from the Steelers. Numerous defensive errors, and little threat posed in the offensive zone left Stingrays fans with a feeling of de-ja-vu against the South Yorkshire side.
Cloutier's Comments
"Even though Sheffield are struggling this season they are defending champions and they always find ways to win. They kept chipping the puck in and chipping the puck in and we kept turning the puck over and getting away from our game plan. On Saturday everything clicked but on Sunday nothing went our way, but you have to work at it to get it to go your way. You can't expect it to go your way all the time, you have to work at it."
