Coventry Blaze 6-1 Excel Hull Stingrays
The Excel Hull Stingrays suffered their first loss in three games as they were soundly beaten by six goals to one in Coventry with the victory, on the night of the Blazes 10th anniversary celebrations, maintaining their lead at the top of the Elite League.
The Blaze, in front of a decent crowd at the Skydome, quickly opened up a lead scoring three goals in the first eight minutes with two coming from Stingray killer Luke Fulghum.
Fulghum would complete his hat trick with the first of two Blaze shorthanded goals five minutes into the second before Dan Carlson added another on a Coventry penalty kill three minutes later to give the home side a five goal lead.
Sylvain Cloutier's side would finally record their first goal of the night on 38 minutes through a powerplay marker from Adam Knight, however, Derek Campbell added another Blaze goal two minutes into the third to give the Blaze a comfortable 6-1 win over the Stingrays, their eighth in eight attempts this season, in the process ending the Rays three game winning streak.
SOG:
PIM: 10-6
Sunday 31 January 2010
Saturday 30 January 2010
Gaisins to fill in for Stingrays
Sylvain Cloutier has made former team mate of Martins Raitums, Aivars Gaisins, the Excel Hull Stingrays 15th and final import signing for the 09/10 Elite League season just a day before the transfer window closes.
Latvian defenceman Gaisins, 27, has been training with the Stingrays all season after moving to live and work in the city earlier in the year and he will deputise as a forward tomorrow night against Coventry in place of Jeff Glowa, who suffered what is thought to be his second concussion of the season in the shootout victory over the Devils following a check from Max Birbraer.
The former Latvian international, who stands at 6'2, played on the same ASK Ogre side in the Belarusian top flight as keeper Raitums, where he registered three assists and 79 penalty minutes in 22 games as a defenceman.
His career year came 04/05, when, icing for ASK Ogre in the Latvian league, he netted five times and added seven assists in 27 games from the blueline, however, Sylvain Cloutier has other ideas for Gaisins. He said:
His signature gives the Stingrays cover up front following Shaun Thompson's departure and Glowa's injury, which, being his second concussion of the season, could see him sit out for a significant length of time as a precaution.
It also gives coach Cloutier options in defence should any of his six defencemen suffer injuries or fatigue in the run in to the Stingrays first appearance in the Elite League playoffs.
With Gaisins in the lineup, the Stingrays now travel to the Cloutier's former club Coventry tomorrow night looking for their fourth win on the bounce in a game which the Blaze will celebrate their 10th anniversary.
Latvian defenceman Gaisins, 27, has been training with the Stingrays all season after moving to live and work in the city earlier in the year and he will deputise as a forward tomorrow night against Coventry in place of Jeff Glowa, who suffered what is thought to be his second concussion of the season in the shootout victory over the Devils following a check from Max Birbraer.
The former Latvian international, who stands at 6'2, played on the same ASK Ogre side in the Belarusian top flight as keeper Raitums, where he registered three assists and 79 penalty minutes in 22 games as a defenceman.
His career year came 04/05, when, icing for ASK Ogre in the Latvian league, he netted five times and added seven assists in 27 games from the blueline, however, Sylvain Cloutier has other ideas for Gaisins. He said:
"Aivars is going to be excited about playing. He asked me at the start of the season if he could play for us and now he's finally got his chance. He's a strong, stay-at-home defenceman, but I think I'll play him on the wing."Gaisins becomes the Excel Hull Stingrays 15th and final import signing of the season and, once Glowa returns from injury, Sylvain Cloutier will have 11 imports to chose from for a 10 import match night roster.
His signature gives the Stingrays cover up front following Shaun Thompson's departure and Glowa's injury, which, being his second concussion of the season, could see him sit out for a significant length of time as a precaution.
It also gives coach Cloutier options in defence should any of his six defencemen suffer injuries or fatigue in the run in to the Stingrays first appearance in the Elite League playoffs.
With Gaisins in the lineup, the Stingrays now travel to the Cloutier's former club Coventry tomorrow night looking for their fourth win on the bounce in a game which the Blaze will celebrate their 10th anniversary.
Raitums the hero again as Stingrays edge out Devils
Excel Hull Stingrays 2-1 Cardiff Devils (After penalty shots)
It was clear from the off that this would not be a simple or easy game for Cloutier's team, with the Devils effectively and efficiently playing their speedy, physical brand of hockey under head coach Gerard Adams.
That fast, hard hitting style proved to be an effective tactic defensively as the Devils blueline stood tall in front of Stevie Lyle between the Cardiff pipes.
In fact, the only clear cut chance in a first period which was fairly even came after 13 minutes on the powerplay, as Ukrainian defenceman Pavel Gomenyuk rocketed a shot off the goal post.
While the Stingrays passing had been superior in the first, the Devils had the edge through their physicality and it was clear the Cloutier had stern words for his side, who had failed to generate offence which was capable of breaking through Cardiff's defensive unit.
Likewise, Adams had clearly had some choice words for the Devils as they began the second in better spirits with Martins Raitums tested twice in quick succession. The Latvian keeper denied Ryan Finnerty's first effort only to have the rebound cannon back of the backboards back towards the crease, causing the netminder to dive over the puck to prevent it redirecting into his own goal, with Finnerty one-timing the second chance only to be stonewalled by Raitums.
Stingrays player/assistant coach Curtis Huppe was similarly stonewalled by British keeper Lyle six minutes later. Rookie Matty Davies, who has once again hit form for the Rays, fed a pass behind the back of the Devils defence through to forward Huppe, who broke in and went backhanded on Lyle only to be denied.
With the Devils dishing out the hits, the Stingrays finally began to give them back in second as the game noticeably became more physical. This was particularly evident after a high and late check from Brad Voth on player/coach Cloutier, who went looking for retribution for the missed penalty and was handed a tripping penalty for his worries.
The Welsh side hit a post of their own just two minutes into the third with defenceman Scott Romfo the unlucky party as the Devils continued their trait of beggining the period strongly.
Perhaps the key incident in the game came just a minute later with a check from behind from Devils forward Max Birbraer left Jeff Glowa suffering the possible after effects of his second concussion against Cardiff this season. The evergreen Canadian would not return, with Israeli Birbraer was given two-plus-ten for checking from behind, depriving the Devils of one of their top forwards for a crucial period of the game, particularly with the game goalless.
From the ensuing powerplay the home side opened the scoring. Former Devil Jason Silverthorn feed Lee Mitchell just as he entered the zone with the Scottish forward firing the key first goal of the game low past Lyle.
The teams exchanged giveaway breakaways, with Stephen Burns giving the puck to Mark Smith, only for the Canadian to be rejected by Raitums, before Lee Esders squandered a breakaway of his own to see off the game in the Rays favour.
Then, with less than two minutes on the clock and with the Stingrays on a penalty kill following a dubious call on keeper Raitums, that man Finnerty deflected a Matt Miller slapshot from the point to send the game to overtime and claim at least a point for Cardiff.
The Rays were under the cosh for much of the four-on-four overtime period as they took two penalties, which, despite keeping the puck in the Stingray zone and moving it well, the Devils could not convert on sending the game to penalty shots.
Konstantin Kalmikov and Jason Silverthorn goals, combined with a Raitums save from a Finnerty's stick, handed the Stingrays the extra point and their third win in three games.
Cloutier's side now move on to a fixture against the Coventry Blaze tomorrow night before facing the Belfast Giants in Northern Ireland on Thursday with weekend games in Nottingham and at home to Newcastle in seven days time.
Stingrays Stats
Goalscorers: L.Mitchell
Raitums: 48 shots, 1 goal against
SOG: 37-48
PIM: 12-20
Good
The work ethic from the whole team. Another very decent performance from Raitums. Defensive responsibility from every player.
Bad
The difficulties the Rays had in converting past a typically shaky Stevie Lyle. Max Birbraer's check to Jeff Glowa, which left the Canadian with his second concussion of the season against the Devils. A check to the head from Brad Voth on coach Sylvain Cloutier which referee Hicks missed.
F Block Blog MOM
Stingrays: Martins Raitums (47 saves, 1 goal against) FBB attempted to avoid the old cliche of new player turns immediate hero against Sheffield and just managed to avoid giving Raitums the MOM award in the Rays first ever win in Sheffield, but the Latvian thoroughly deserves the MOM award in this 47 save effort. A number of brilliant saves, including a diving save across his crease after he'd given the puck and an empty net to Matt Miller from the halfway line, as well as saving the crucial final penalty shot without a doubt won the Stingrays the two points.
Cardiff: Ryan Finnerty (1+0) The gritty former Sheffield forward didn't truly come into this game until the second half of the third period, but when he did he sparked the Devils into life. Netting a goal, coming very close to scoring a possible winner and drawing a penalty from Stingrays keeper Raitums, Finnerty very nearly won the tie on his own in the last few minutes for the Welsh side.
Stingrays Verdict: 8/10
A gritty team performance from Sylvain Cloutier's Stingrays when they most needed it to gain their third win on the trot.
This win was not so much about individual performances, although Martins Raitums performance undoubtedly played a huge part, but about the whole team giving their all and fighting for every puck in every situation.
Helped by the performance of Raitums between the pipes, the Rays D cleared rebounds and protected their new keeper as they perhaps failed to do with his predecessor Tommy Sandahl, and when they didn't Raitums was there to help them out.
Up front, the Rays looked blunt, perhaps due to the Devils defensive tactics, or perhaps due to a fantastic effort from the Welsh sides blueline, but nevertheless they found it hard to break through the defensive line and create clear cut chances even handed. The powerplay, however, created offence and the penalty kill was similarly efficient, although both sides failed to convert on the man advantage.
The last minute equaliser could and maybe should have been a killer from the Rays point of view, as should the penalties in overtime which killed any chance of them netting in open play.
However, the Rays fought through it and with a bit of luck and a bit of skill the end result was another deserved two points.
Friday 29 January 2010
29th/30th January Weekend Preview
V
Saturday 29th January: Excel Hull Stingrays (8th) v Cardiff Devils (4th) @ Hull Arena, F/O 5.30pmSunday 30th January: Coventry Blaze (2nd) v Excel Hull Stingrays (8th) @ Coventry Skydome, F/O 6pm
Form
Stingrays: L L L W W
Coventry: W W L W L
Last 3 Meetings
v Coventry
30/12/09 2-5 L H
16/01/10 4-5 L H
17/01/10 5-3 L A
v Cardiff
31/10/09 5-7 L H
22/11/09 5-1 L A
19/12/09 6-0 L A
Season Series
v Coventry: 0-7, 0 points, 16GF, 34GA
v Cardiff: 1-5, 2 points, 13 GF, 29 GA
Players to Watch
Stingrays: Lee Esders (36GP 6+3 32PIM)
Cardiff: Phil Hill (37GP 14+16 28PIM)
Coventry: Greg Owen (28GP 13+13 32PIM)
Between the Pipes
Stingrays: Martins Raitums (2GP 2.00GAA 94.2sv.%)
Cardiff: Stevie Lyle (37GP 2.86GAA 90.47sv.%)
Coventry: Peter Hirsch (38GP 2.84GAA 91.7sv.%)
Absentees
Stingrays: Full Strength
Cardiff: Tylor Michel (ankle)
Coventry: Adam Calder (knee)
Predictions
Stingrays 4-3 Cardiff
Coventry 4-2 Stingrays
Thursday 28 January 2010
Overseas All Stars come from behind to beat British All Stars
EIHL British All Stars 7-13 EIHL Overseas All Stars
Excel Hull Stingrays enforcer Adam Knight netted a goal as the EIHL Overseas All Stars came from seven goals down to romp to a 13-7 victory over the EIHL's British All Stars at Ice Sheffield.
The Stingrays other representatives, James Hutchinson, Lee Mitchell, Lee Esders and Konstantin Kalmikov all went goalless, however, Ukrainian Kalmikov, alternate captain for the Overseas side, did add a goal to his teams tally with a win in the shootout competition.
Excel Hull Stingrays enforcer Adam Knight netted a goal as the EIHL Overseas All Stars came from seven goals down to romp to a 13-7 victory over the EIHL's British All Stars at Ice Sheffield.
The Stingrays other representatives, James Hutchinson, Lee Mitchell, Lee Esders and Konstantin Kalmikov all went goalless, however, Ukrainian Kalmikov, alternate captain for the Overseas side, did add a goal to his teams tally with a win in the shootout competition.
Brit bails on Stingrays
Excel Hull Stingrays forward Shaun Thompson has been released from his contract with the club after expressing a desire to leave following a lack of ice time in recent weeks, according to the Hull Dail Mail, he is now all set to rejoin his former side the Basingstoke Bison in the English Premier League (EPL).
The 22 year old, who joined the Stingrays from Basingstoke in the summer having registered an impressive 17 goals and 40 points in 62 EIHL games last season, began the season on Sylvain Cloutier's top two lines and started positively, quickly reaching the eight assist mark.
However, the re-emergence of Lee Esders and the emergence of Matty Davies as a force in the Elite League limited his chances in recent weeks with the Brit playing very few shifts in the Stingrays double win last weekend.
Indeed, his limited chances were for good reason with just one goal to show for his efforts in 37 Elite League fixtures and with that solitary goal coming within the last month when his ice time had already severely deteriorated in comparison to the beginning of the season.
The lack of ice time in Hull took its toll on him and he is now set to sign for Steve Moria for a return to Basingstoke.
Thompson becomes the sixth player to leave the Stingrays this season and his release comes just a week after Swedish netminder Tommy Sandahl was shown the door by coach Cloutier. He will be joining Slava Koulikov in the EPL, where the Russian born Brit has eight goals and 14 assists in 15 games with the Slough Jets, who he joined in late October
Cloutier had this to say of the departure of the former Great Britain junior international:
The 22 year old, who joined the Stingrays from Basingstoke in the summer having registered an impressive 17 goals and 40 points in 62 EIHL games last season, began the season on Sylvain Cloutier's top two lines and started positively, quickly reaching the eight assist mark.
However, the re-emergence of Lee Esders and the emergence of Matty Davies as a force in the Elite League limited his chances in recent weeks with the Brit playing very few shifts in the Stingrays double win last weekend.
Indeed, his limited chances were for good reason with just one goal to show for his efforts in 37 Elite League fixtures and with that solitary goal coming within the last month when his ice time had already severely deteriorated in comparison to the beginning of the season.
The lack of ice time in Hull took its toll on him and he is now set to sign for Steve Moria for a return to Basingstoke.
Thompson becomes the sixth player to leave the Stingrays this season and his release comes just a week after Swedish netminder Tommy Sandahl was shown the door by coach Cloutier. He will be joining Slava Koulikov in the EPL, where the Russian born Brit has eight goals and 14 assists in 15 games with the Slough Jets, who he joined in late October
Cloutier had this to say of the departure of the former Great Britain junior international:
"I've not had any problems with Shaun and I wish him all the best, but I was hoping for more points production from him, given he had been playing on our top-two lines earlier in the season."He said he was not happy with the amount of ice time he was now getting, but I've been through it, every guy goes through it, at some stage, but you just keep working and then take your chance to prove you deserve a bigger role. Unfortunately, I was not going to play him ahead of Lee and Matt."
Wednesday 27 January 2010
All Star Stingrays set for Import v Brit showdown
The Excel Hull Stingrays will tonight have five representatives in the Elite League's annual All Star game, this season set to take place at Ice Sheffield, with a British All Star side, coached by the Sheffield Steelers Dave Matsos, taking on an Overseas All Star lineup, coached by Corey Neilson of the Nottingham Panthers.
The Rays will have tough guy Adam Knight and Ukrainian forward Konstantin Kalmikov representing the Overseas All Stars, while Lee Esders, Lee Mitchell and late call up James Hutchinson will represent the British All Stars.
Enforcer Knight, who can play both defence and forward, was voted by fans into the Overseas All Star lineup despite notching just four goals and nine assists in 33 games this season, however, the Canadian has become a fan favourite at the Hull Arena this season for his activities with his fists. Perhaps controversially, he will line up tonight alongside fellow tough guy Sean McMorrow, with whom he has several notable bouts this year.
Kalmikov, who last season netted 25 goals in 48 games and has 22 goals in just 39 games so far this term, has once again has become a pivotal part of the Stingrays success and will wear an alternate captain 'A' during the All Star game.
Esders, who has recently come into form to take his tally to six goals and three assists in 11 games following a career year in which he accumulated 11 goals and 10 assists, was surprisingly selected to the British All Star side by the fans after a slow start to the year.
He is joined by James Hutchinson after the withdrawal of Cardiff's Jason Stone due to injury and, although he has failed to hit the heights of his numbers in a championship winning season in the EPL last year, he has become a reliable and solid defenceman on the Rays blueline.
After suffering from a knee injury at the beginning of the season, 22 year old Mitchell, who will be appearing in his second EIHL All Star game, has begun to come good for Sylvain Cloutier's side, netting an impressive eight goals and nine assists in 22 games after a career year under Rick Strachan last term in which he scored nine goals and 25 assists for 34 points in 46 games.
Last season saw the Elite League split into North and South for the purpose of the All Star game, with Mitchell, Jeff Glowa, Steve Slonina, Slava Koulikov and Curtis Cruikshank of Stingrays ending up on the victorious Southern All Star side by a score of 12-10, with Glowa grabbing himself a goal.
The Rays will have tough guy Adam Knight and Ukrainian forward Konstantin Kalmikov representing the Overseas All Stars, while Lee Esders, Lee Mitchell and late call up James Hutchinson will represent the British All Stars.
Enforcer Knight, who can play both defence and forward, was voted by fans into the Overseas All Star lineup despite notching just four goals and nine assists in 33 games this season, however, the Canadian has become a fan favourite at the Hull Arena this season for his activities with his fists. Perhaps controversially, he will line up tonight alongside fellow tough guy Sean McMorrow, with whom he has several notable bouts this year.
Kalmikov, who last season netted 25 goals in 48 games and has 22 goals in just 39 games so far this term, has once again has become a pivotal part of the Stingrays success and will wear an alternate captain 'A' during the All Star game.Esders, who has recently come into form to take his tally to six goals and three assists in 11 games following a career year in which he accumulated 11 goals and 10 assists, was surprisingly selected to the British All Star side by the fans after a slow start to the year.
He is joined by James Hutchinson after the withdrawal of Cardiff's Jason Stone due to injury and, although he has failed to hit the heights of his numbers in a championship winning season in the EPL last year, he has become a reliable and solid defenceman on the Rays blueline.
After suffering from a knee injury at the beginning of the season, 22 year old Mitchell, who will be appearing in his second EIHL All Star game, has begun to come good for Sylvain Cloutier's side, netting an impressive eight goals and nine assists in 22 games after a career year under Rick Strachan last term in which he scored nine goals and 25 assists for 34 points in 46 games.
Last season saw the Elite League split into North and South for the purpose of the All Star game, with Mitchell, Jeff Glowa, Steve Slonina, Slava Koulikov and Curtis Cruikshank of Stingrays ending up on the victorious Southern All Star side by a score of 12-10, with Glowa grabbing himself a goal.
Monday 25 January 2010
Jorde returns to the Elite League
Former Excel Hull Stingrays defenceman Ryan Jorde, released by the club for disciplinary reasons, has returned to the country after being signed by the Newcastle Vipers.
The 27 year old, without a club since leaving the Stingrays in October, has been signed by Vipers head coach Rob Wilson alongside former Elite League forward Brent Hughes after they beat the Belfast Giants on Sunday evening with just ten skaters, following a number of injuries, the unexpected departure of import forward Matus Petriko and the release of Canadian defenceman Tyler Kindle.
Jorde joined the Stingrays in the summer with a reputation as a tough, uncompromising defenceman with three full seasons experience in the American Hockey League, the second level of hockey in North America.
However, after making a fairly promosing start under Sylvain Cloutier, he broke a bone in his arm while blocking a shot from pointblank range in late September and was ruled out for at least four weeks.
An off-ice incident then occured during his time on the sideline which forced Cloutier to release the defenceman after just four games, no points and six penalty minutes with the club.
It is expected that both he and former Basingstoke forward Hughes will be in the Vipers lineup this weekend against Coventry and Cardiff, before he faces the Stingrays for the first time a week on Sunday at Whitley Bay.
The 27 year old, without a club since leaving the Stingrays in October, has been signed by Vipers head coach Rob Wilson alongside former Elite League forward Brent Hughes after they beat the Belfast Giants on Sunday evening with just ten skaters, following a number of injuries, the unexpected departure of import forward Matus Petriko and the release of Canadian defenceman Tyler Kindle.
Jorde joined the Stingrays in the summer with a reputation as a tough, uncompromising defenceman with three full seasons experience in the American Hockey League, the second level of hockey in North America.
However, after making a fairly promosing start under Sylvain Cloutier, he broke a bone in his arm while blocking a shot from pointblank range in late September and was ruled out for at least four weeks.
An off-ice incident then occured during his time on the sideline which forced Cloutier to release the defenceman after just four games, no points and six penalty minutes with the club.
It is expected that both he and former Basingstoke forward Hughes will be in the Vipers lineup this weekend against Coventry and Cardiff, before he faces the Stingrays for the first time a week on Sunday at Whitley Bay.
Sunday 24 January 2010
Seven year wait for win in Sheffield is over
Sheffield Steelers 2-5 Excel Hull Stingrays
The Excel Hull Stingrays ended a seven year wait for a win in Sheffield over the Steelers with a landmark 5-2 win over the South Yorkshire side on Sunday night, in doing so Sylvain Cloutier's side claimed just its second four point weekend of the season.
The game began in all too familiar fashion for the Stingrays with the Kevin Bolibruck squeezing one through Martins Raitums on the powerplay to give the Steelers a lead after less than two minutes.
Despite Adam Knight levelling on the Stingrays own powerplay just over 60 seconds later, after Steelers backup Dan Green had dropped a rebound at the tough Canadians feet, the Steelers immediately pushed forward again.
On the ensuing pressure home debutant Jonathan Zion then scored his second goal and fourth point in two games to give the Steelers the lead once more with a two-on-one handing the rangy defenceman a chance he could not miss.
The first period went much as previous fixtures between the two sides had gone, with the Steelers retaining much of the possession, picking and choosing their opportunities to rush at the Stingrays defence.
Luckily for the Stingrays, after a period that could be described as lacklustre, the deficit was just one goal, thanks, in part, to some sloppy passing from the Steelers and some sterling work by Raitums.
As has happened on a number of occasions so far this season, the Stingrays came out of the second intermission as a different side following words from coach Cloutier, and, for once, did not look back.
In the 27th minute Green once again split a juicy rebound, this time from a George Halkidis shot, and Curtis Huppe was on hand to level the scores with his 14th of the season as the momentum began to swing in the Stingrays favour.
The third saw the Stingrays really turn the screw as two quick 47th minute goals put paid to the Steelers efforts to claim both points from the visitors.
Jason Silverthorn scored the Rays third of the night from a three-on-two which saw Konstantin Kalmikov unload one of his rocket shots on Green. Brit Green was clearly having trouble controlling his rebounds and he could only direct the rebound towards the incoming Silverthorn, who jubilantly hit the twine to give the Rays the lead for the first time in the game.
49 seconds later and Craig Mitchell fired home a slapshot from the point after receiving a pass straight from the face-off win of Lee Esders to give the Rays an unheard of two-goal lead at the Sheffield Arena.
Sylvain Cloutier's side were now beginning to dominate the game and chances continued to come until two minutes remaining when the expected final push from the Steelers began.
Raitums had to make a number of impressive quick stops to deny the Steelers a chance of getting back into the game late on but Cloutier netted the empty net goal from his own blueline with less than 40 seconds remaining to send the sizable Stingrays following into a frenzy and to claim ice hockey in Hull's first ever win at the Sheffield Arena.
Next weekend, Cloutier's side face an out-of-form Cardiff Devils side at the Hull Arena before heading to league leaders Coventry as they look to close the six point gap between them and the Steelers and build on what could turn out to be a historic past weekend.
Stingrays Stats
Goalscorers: Knight, Huppe, Silverthorn, C.Mitchell, Cloutier
Raitums: 30 shots, 2 goals against
SOG: 28-30
PIM: 12-14
Good
Jeff Glowa's determined shift during crucial penalty kill in the third, summed up Glowa's commitment to the team. Martins Raitums providing some very very solid play, easily tidying up any rebounds he gave up. A brilliant team performance, hard work and not giving up on anything. The three goal, third period, blowing away any chance of the Steelers once again picking up a win in this fixture.
Bad
Not much, perhaps only the first period performance in which it felt as though it would be another one of those nights in Sheffield, with the Steelers taking much of the control.
F Block Blog MOM
Stingrays: Craig Mitchell (1+0)Often players are handed the official man of the match award simply because they scored a goal, sometimes even their first goal for their team (as in this case), but, oddly enough, Mitchell primarily stood out for his defensive play, and despite scoring his first for the Stingrays and despite his brother Lee claiming the Steelers official MOM award, he was the standout figure from FBB's point of view. Calm, assured on the puck and physically not afraid to get involved, Mitchell bagged a long overdue first of the season and put in his best performance of the year.
Sheffield: Jonathan Zion (1+1) It's easy to see why the Steelers picked this guy up in place of the injured Rod Sarich. Offensively determined to power forward, a great shot, good eye for a pass and was deservedly awarded for his home debut efforts with a goal and an assist to go with the goal and assist he added in the loss to Nottingham the previous night. His defensive efforts may be questioned as time goes by but there are no doubts about his pointscoring abilities.
Stingrays Verdict: 9/10
But only because it's probably not fair on future performances to give a 10 out of 10. Fans, long serving players and, particularly, the owners and management of the club had been waiting a long, long time for a victory in Sheffield and how sweet it was.
Performance wise it did not pick up until the second period, but when it did pick up it was clear the Rays had it in them to actually win a game in Sheffield.
Ok, the Steelers may be a shadow of their former selves (some may even say a club in crisis) but they managed to retain a large majority of the players that claimed them the double last season and they still boast, as reported today in the Sheffield Star, a wage bill a lot larger than the Stingrays.
Without wanting to jinx him, Marty Raitums, after just one training session with the team, already looks like a brilliant signing by Sylvain Cloutier, and in front of him the defence, while still a little hesitant, look a lot more confident with the stock of Stephen Burns and Craig Mitchell rising quickly in the last month.
Up front and more goals from the likes of Curtis Huppe, Jason Silverthorn and Sylvain Cloutier will do the teams chance no harm, with the goalscoring form of Huppe particularly encouraging.
This game just turned into a hardworking team performance, one reminiscent of how Cloutier played and plays the game and it was clear how much this victory meant to him at the final buzzer.
It may have been just another victory, and, that, one against the seventh placed team in the league, but the monkey is now well and truly off the Stingrays backs. The confidence gained from both a four point weekend and reducing the gap between them and the Steelers to six points could, potentially, be great. The key is now continuing that momentum through to next weekend and the rest of the season, with Raitums in net, that may be possible.
Cloutier's Comments
The Excel Hull Stingrays ended a seven year wait for a win in Sheffield over the Steelers with a landmark 5-2 win over the South Yorkshire side on Sunday night, in doing so Sylvain Cloutier's side claimed just its second four point weekend of the season.
The game began in all too familiar fashion for the Stingrays with the Kevin Bolibruck squeezing one through Martins Raitums on the powerplay to give the Steelers a lead after less than two minutes.
Despite Adam Knight levelling on the Stingrays own powerplay just over 60 seconds later, after Steelers backup Dan Green had dropped a rebound at the tough Canadians feet, the Steelers immediately pushed forward again.
On the ensuing pressure home debutant Jonathan Zion then scored his second goal and fourth point in two games to give the Steelers the lead once more with a two-on-one handing the rangy defenceman a chance he could not miss.
The first period went much as previous fixtures between the two sides had gone, with the Steelers retaining much of the possession, picking and choosing their opportunities to rush at the Stingrays defence.
Luckily for the Stingrays, after a period that could be described as lacklustre, the deficit was just one goal, thanks, in part, to some sloppy passing from the Steelers and some sterling work by Raitums.
As has happened on a number of occasions so far this season, the Stingrays came out of the second intermission as a different side following words from coach Cloutier, and, for once, did not look back.
In the 27th minute Green once again split a juicy rebound, this time from a George Halkidis shot, and Curtis Huppe was on hand to level the scores with his 14th of the season as the momentum began to swing in the Stingrays favour.
The third saw the Stingrays really turn the screw as two quick 47th minute goals put paid to the Steelers efforts to claim both points from the visitors.
Jason Silverthorn scored the Rays third of the night from a three-on-two which saw Konstantin Kalmikov unload one of his rocket shots on Green. Brit Green was clearly having trouble controlling his rebounds and he could only direct the rebound towards the incoming Silverthorn, who jubilantly hit the twine to give the Rays the lead for the first time in the game.
49 seconds later and Craig Mitchell fired home a slapshot from the point after receiving a pass straight from the face-off win of Lee Esders to give the Rays an unheard of two-goal lead at the Sheffield Arena.
Sylvain Cloutier's side were now beginning to dominate the game and chances continued to come until two minutes remaining when the expected final push from the Steelers began.
Raitums had to make a number of impressive quick stops to deny the Steelers a chance of getting back into the game late on but Cloutier netted the empty net goal from his own blueline with less than 40 seconds remaining to send the sizable Stingrays following into a frenzy and to claim ice hockey in Hull's first ever win at the Sheffield Arena.
Next weekend, Cloutier's side face an out-of-form Cardiff Devils side at the Hull Arena before heading to league leaders Coventry as they look to close the six point gap between them and the Steelers and build on what could turn out to be a historic past weekend.
Stingrays Stats
Goalscorers: Knight, Huppe, Silverthorn, C.Mitchell, Cloutier
Raitums: 30 shots, 2 goals against
SOG: 28-30
PIM: 12-14
Good
Jeff Glowa's determined shift during crucial penalty kill in the third, summed up Glowa's commitment to the team. Martins Raitums providing some very very solid play, easily tidying up any rebounds he gave up. A brilliant team performance, hard work and not giving up on anything. The three goal, third period, blowing away any chance of the Steelers once again picking up a win in this fixture.
Bad
Not much, perhaps only the first period performance in which it felt as though it would be another one of those nights in Sheffield, with the Steelers taking much of the control.
F Block Blog MOM
Stingrays: Craig Mitchell (1+0)Often players are handed the official man of the match award simply because they scored a goal, sometimes even their first goal for their team (as in this case), but, oddly enough, Mitchell primarily stood out for his defensive play, and despite scoring his first for the Stingrays and despite his brother Lee claiming the Steelers official MOM award, he was the standout figure from FBB's point of view. Calm, assured on the puck and physically not afraid to get involved, Mitchell bagged a long overdue first of the season and put in his best performance of the year.
Sheffield: Jonathan Zion (1+1) It's easy to see why the Steelers picked this guy up in place of the injured Rod Sarich. Offensively determined to power forward, a great shot, good eye for a pass and was deservedly awarded for his home debut efforts with a goal and an assist to go with the goal and assist he added in the loss to Nottingham the previous night. His defensive efforts may be questioned as time goes by but there are no doubts about his pointscoring abilities.
Stingrays Verdict: 9/10
But only because it's probably not fair on future performances to give a 10 out of 10. Fans, long serving players and, particularly, the owners and management of the club had been waiting a long, long time for a victory in Sheffield and how sweet it was.
Performance wise it did not pick up until the second period, but when it did pick up it was clear the Rays had it in them to actually win a game in Sheffield.
Ok, the Steelers may be a shadow of their former selves (some may even say a club in crisis) but they managed to retain a large majority of the players that claimed them the double last season and they still boast, as reported today in the Sheffield Star, a wage bill a lot larger than the Stingrays.
Without wanting to jinx him, Marty Raitums, after just one training session with the team, already looks like a brilliant signing by Sylvain Cloutier, and in front of him the defence, while still a little hesitant, look a lot more confident with the stock of Stephen Burns and Craig Mitchell rising quickly in the last month.
Up front and more goals from the likes of Curtis Huppe, Jason Silverthorn and Sylvain Cloutier will do the teams chance no harm, with the goalscoring form of Huppe particularly encouraging.
This game just turned into a hardworking team performance, one reminiscent of how Cloutier played and plays the game and it was clear how much this victory meant to him at the final buzzer.
It may have been just another victory, and, that, one against the seventh placed team in the league, but the monkey is now well and truly off the Stingrays backs. The confidence gained from both a four point weekend and reducing the gap between them and the Steelers to six points could, potentially, be great. The key is now continuing that momentum through to next weekend and the rest of the season, with Raitums in net, that may be possible.
Cloutier's Comments
"Marty's come in and done a great job for us. You couldn't ask any more from him this weekend. He just clams things down, and no-one's running around and squeezing their sticks."
"I'm proud of all 20 guys in the dressing room – it's a team game. We've been playing some good hockey for the last month to six weeks, but we just haven't been getting the results. They've all worked extremely hard and it's four big points for our club this weekend and the confidence is back.""But it's back to work tomorrow to get ready for next weekend."
Saturday 23 January 2010
Debut win for Rays netminder Raitums
Excel Hull Stingrays 3-2 Belfast Giants
Martins Raitums, Sylvain Cloutier and the Excel Hull Stingrays latest signing, produced a man of the match performance between the Rays pipes to record a 3-2 victory over the high flying Belfast Giants in his debut in the UK.
The debutant turned away 39 of the 42 shots fired at him by the third placed Giants and was handed the man of the match award as the Rays gained their first win in four games.
Konstantin Kalmikov opened scoring for the home side with his 23rd goal of the season after 11 minutes before Colin Shields leveled the scores 13 minutes later during the second period.
Goals from Jeff Glowa, shorthanded, and Pavel Gomenyuk, then gave the Stingrays firm control of the game with a 3-1 lead.
Belfast would then hit back through Pierre-Luc Faubert but, despite pulling Stephen Murphy in favour of the extra out skater, the Northern Irish side could not crucially level the scores once again.
Cloutier's side can narrow the gap between them and the seventh placed Sheffield Steelers to seven points with victory over the South Yorkshire side tonight, however, that will be no mean feat in a fixture that the Stingrays have not won in their seven year history.
SOG: 39-26
PIM: 6-16
Martins Raitums, Sylvain Cloutier and the Excel Hull Stingrays latest signing, produced a man of the match performance between the Rays pipes to record a 3-2 victory over the high flying Belfast Giants in his debut in the UK.
The debutant turned away 39 of the 42 shots fired at him by the third placed Giants and was handed the man of the match award as the Rays gained their first win in four games.
Konstantin Kalmikov opened scoring for the home side with his 23rd goal of the season after 11 minutes before Colin Shields leveled the scores 13 minutes later during the second period.
Goals from Jeff Glowa, shorthanded, and Pavel Gomenyuk, then gave the Stingrays firm control of the game with a 3-1 lead.
Belfast would then hit back through Pierre-Luc Faubert but, despite pulling Stephen Murphy in favour of the extra out skater, the Northern Irish side could not crucially level the scores once again.
Cloutier's side can narrow the gap between them and the seventh placed Sheffield Steelers to seven points with victory over the South Yorkshire side tonight, however, that will be no mean feat in a fixture that the Stingrays have not won in their seven year history.
SOG: 39-26
PIM: 6-16
Thursday 21 January 2010
Raitums replaces Sandahl
As widely expected, Excel Hull Stingrays coach Sylvain Cloutier today made a change in his sides netminding department, replacing Tommy Sandahl with Latvian international Martins Raitums.
Raitums, 24 ,joins the team having spent five seasons with HK Riga 2000, split between the Latvian and Belarusian leagues, before he made the switch to ASK Ogre in the Belarusian league last season where he appeared in 36 games recording a 3.51 goals against average and a 90.2% save percentage.
Despite being just 24, the Talsi, Lativa native, has plenty of experience in the top flight of play in his homeland and was selected as backup to Team Latvia in Pool A of the IIHF World Championships on three occasions, in 2005, 2006 and 2007, in 2006 facing world beaters Team Canada.
Swede Sandahl's ability was constantly under question and his fate seemed to have been sealed in last weekends double header against Coventry, where the former Troja-Ljungby stopper leaked five Coventry goals in just over 20 minutes of play before Brit backup Andrew Jaszcyzk stepped in and allowed just one in 24 shots and two periods of play as the Stingrays almost completed a miraculous comeback.
Cloutier then seriously considered starting Jaszczyk in the following nights 5-3 loss in Coventry only to give Sandahl another chance between the pipes. In his 39 game spell in the Elite League he registered a league worst 4.24 goals against average and 89.3% save percentage.
The Stingrays head coach spoke of the changes to the Hull Daily Mail, highlighting Raitums clear quality, while admitting that the Rays lowly position was not all the fault of Sandahl. He said:
Raitums, 24 ,joins the team having spent five seasons with HK Riga 2000, split between the Latvian and Belarusian leagues, before he made the switch to ASK Ogre in the Belarusian league last season where he appeared in 36 games recording a 3.51 goals against average and a 90.2% save percentage.Despite being just 24, the Talsi, Lativa native, has plenty of experience in the top flight of play in his homeland and was selected as backup to Team Latvia in Pool A of the IIHF World Championships on three occasions, in 2005, 2006 and 2007, in 2006 facing world beaters Team Canada.
Swede Sandahl's ability was constantly under question and his fate seemed to have been sealed in last weekends double header against Coventry, where the former Troja-Ljungby stopper leaked five Coventry goals in just over 20 minutes of play before Brit backup Andrew Jaszcyzk stepped in and allowed just one in 24 shots and two periods of play as the Stingrays almost completed a miraculous comeback.Cloutier then seriously considered starting Jaszczyk in the following nights 5-3 loss in Coventry only to give Sandahl another chance between the pipes. In his 39 game spell in the Elite League he registered a league worst 4.24 goals against average and 89.3% save percentage.
The Stingrays head coach spoke of the changes to the Hull Daily Mail, highlighting Raitums clear quality, while admitting that the Rays lowly position was not all the fault of Sandahl. He said:
"If you bring in anyone it's a gamble, as you don't know whether they are going to settle. We were getting saves from Tommy, but we need to get those extra ones. Martins has played in the Latvian and Belarus leagues and they are high scoring leagues with very skilled hockey players, so I'm not too worried about him being new to Britain. "
"If he has played at World Championships and been back-up for the Olympics he has to be decent, and I'm excited about bringing him in. He's played a lot of games every year and has been carrying a load for his team, so he has the experience. It will be a fresh start for us and hopefully he can come in and give us the confidence we need in defence."
"We took a chance with Tommy and you can't blame him for everything. A lot of stuff has happened during the season with injuries and suspensions and Tommy has faced a lot of rubber. He showed in the P & O Cup he was not a bad goaltender and he has a great future ahead of him, but we just felt we needed to make a change. Tommy was disappointed, but he understood and I wish him nothing but the best as he is a good guy."
The change, which had been rumoured for a number of weeks, with the Hull Dail Mail suggesting the deal was being worked on for several weeks, will see Raitums train with the team on Friday before making his debut at home to the Belfast Giants on Saturday.
Monday 18 January 2010
Sunday 17 January 2010
Blaze do the double over Stingrays
Coventry Blaze 5-3 Excel Hull Stingrays
The Excel Hull Stingrays pushed the league leading Coventry Blaze all the way for the second night in a row tonight at the Coventry Skydome, however, once again Paul Thompson's side, this weekend under the guidance of assistant coach Luc Chabot, came away with all the spoils.
The Blaze couldn't better the 17 seconds it took them to open the scoring in Hull on Saturday night, they did however get an early goal on the board, this time through Brit Joe Henry.
Sylvain Cloutier's side responded somewhat better than the four consecutive goals they threw away 24 hours earlier, netting through forward Curtis Huppe and then defenceman George Halkidis to take the lead just six minutes in.
Adam Calder levelled the scores with a powerplay goal with seven minutes left in the first before Lee Esders scored a shorthanded goal midway through the second to restore the Rays lead.
Much like the previous night, when the Blaze hit five goals in the first and early second, Coventry picked their time to dominate perfectly as a double from Luke Fulghum, his third and fourth in two games against the Stingrays, and a Danny Stewart goal sealed the home side a 5-3 win.
SOG: 51-33
PIM: 10-14
Stingrays comeback falls just short
Excel Hull Stingrays 4-5 Coventry Blaze
After falling behind by five goals, the Excel Hull Stingrays nearly produced an incredible comeback against the league leading Coventry Blaze, eventually losing out by five goals to four after battering the Blaze in the final two periods to hit four consecutive goals.
The Blaze were ahead by the five goals after just 20 minutes and 17 seconds thanks to a double from Luke Fulghum and further goals from Dan Carlson, Adam Calder and Russ Cowley. But a change of netminder later, with Stingrays backup Andrew Jaszcyzk replacing Tommy Sandahl after the fourth goal, turned the game on its head.
The comeback began with Jason Silverthorn adding what looked like a consolation goal less than two minutes after the Blaze fifth marker and Curtis Huppe, against his former team, and Lee Mitchell then further narrowed the gap between the sides heading into the third.
British forward Shaun Thompson then added his first in a Stingrays jersey to put the home side just one goal short of the Blaze, however, despite the momentum clearly swung in their favour, they could not find the all important tying goal.
The two sides now meet again tomorrow night in Coventry with Sylvain Cloutier hoping that his current side can top his former side for the first time in eight meetings this season.
SOG: 33-35
PIM: 17-17
Match highlights:
After falling behind by five goals, the Excel Hull Stingrays nearly produced an incredible comeback against the league leading Coventry Blaze, eventually losing out by five goals to four after battering the Blaze in the final two periods to hit four consecutive goals.
The Blaze were ahead by the five goals after just 20 minutes and 17 seconds thanks to a double from Luke Fulghum and further goals from Dan Carlson, Adam Calder and Russ Cowley. But a change of netminder later, with Stingrays backup Andrew Jaszcyzk replacing Tommy Sandahl after the fourth goal, turned the game on its head.
The comeback began with Jason Silverthorn adding what looked like a consolation goal less than two minutes after the Blaze fifth marker and Curtis Huppe, against his former team, and Lee Mitchell then further narrowed the gap between the sides heading into the third.
British forward Shaun Thompson then added his first in a Stingrays jersey to put the home side just one goal short of the Blaze, however, despite the momentum clearly swung in their favour, they could not find the all important tying goal.
The two sides now meet again tomorrow night in Coventry with Sylvain Cloutier hoping that his current side can top his former side for the first time in eight meetings this season.
SOG: 33-35
PIM: 17-17
Match highlights:
Saturday 16 January 2010
16th/17th January Weekend Preview
V
Saturday 16th January: Excel Hull Stingrays (8th) v Coventry Blaze (1st) @ Hull Arena, F/O 5.30pmSunday 17th January: Coventry Blaze (1st) v Excel Hull Stingrays (8th) @ Coventry Skydome, F/O 7.30pm
Form
Stingrays: L L W L L
Coventry: W W W L W
Last 3 Meetings
v Coventry
08/11/09 5-2 L A
15/11/09 0-5 L H
30/12/09 2-5 L H
Season Series
v Coventry: 0-6, 0 points, 13GF, 29GA
Players to Watch
Stingrays: Curtis Huppe (32GP 11+11 32PIM)
Coventry: Adam Calder (38GP 28+23 76PIM)
Between the Pipes
Stingrays: Tommy Sandahl (34GP 4.09GAA 89.6sv.%)
Coventry: Peter Hirsch (37GP 2.87GAA 91.9sv.%)
Absentees
Stingrays: Full Strength
Coventry: Jason Robinson (doubt)
Predictions
Coventry 5-3 Stingrays
Stingrays 2-3 Coventry
Wednesday 13 January 2010
Monday 11 January 2010
Sanford finds a home in Odessa
Former Excel Hull Stingrays defenceman James Sanford has found a new team in the Central Hockey League (CHL) after being released from his Stingrays contract last month.
The New Brunswick native joined the Stingrays during an injury crisis and was signed to give the Stingrays more offensive capabilities from defence, while filling the gap on the blueline left by the departure of Ryan Jorde.
During his time in Britian, Sanford totalled an impressive two goals and ten assists in an 18 game stint before the return of Ukrainian defenceman Pavel Gomenyuk from injury forced Sylvain Cloutier to release one of his import defensive corps.
That man was Sanford, however, he has now signed for the Odessa Jackalopes in the Central Hockey League, the same team that former Stingray Stuart Kerr originally signed for in the summer.
The 25 year old has already chalked up two games for the Jackalopes, registering an assist and four shots with a -1 plus/minus rating, while Kerr is no longer with the team.
The New Brunswick native joined the Stingrays during an injury crisis and was signed to give the Stingrays more offensive capabilities from defence, while filling the gap on the blueline left by the departure of Ryan Jorde.
During his time in Britian, Sanford totalled an impressive two goals and ten assists in an 18 game stint before the return of Ukrainian defenceman Pavel Gomenyuk from injury forced Sylvain Cloutier to release one of his import defensive corps.
That man was Sanford, however, he has now signed for the Odessa Jackalopes in the Central Hockey League, the same team that former Stingray Stuart Kerr originally signed for in the summer.
The 25 year old has already chalked up two games for the Jackalopes, registering an assist and four shots with a -1 plus/minus rating, while Kerr is no longer with the team.
Sunday 10 January 2010
Stingrays drop two goal lead for second time in two
Excel Hull Stingrays 3-6 Nottingham Panthers
The Excel Hull Stingrays blew a two goal lead for the second time in two games tonight, losing out by six goals to three to the Nottingham Panthers after holding a deserved 3-1 lead heading into the third.
Despite the final scoreline, it was the Stingrays that came out of the traps quicker, as it took them less than 15 seconds to test the generally solid Kevin St-Pierre in the Panthers net for the first time. Former Hull defenceman Stevie Lee gifting the puck to Jason Silverthorn early on, who broke in on St-Pierre with Lee Mitchell, only for the pair to be denied on two occasions.
It was an energetic and efficient opening from both sides, but particularly the Stingrays, who were particularly effective in their own zone, stifling the Panthers significant offensive threat.
The big chance of the first period came around the 14 minute mark as the Panthers D misjudged a long pass from the Stingrays defensive corps, giving Matty Davies the chance to glove the puck and take it in one-on-one. St-Pierre, though, would part-expertly, part-fortuitously save the Panthers blushes by tipping the shot onto the bar and over the plexi leaving the first period goalless.
To the dismay of the home side, it was the Panthers that struck the crucial first goal, as the deadly combination of Sean McAslan and Jade Galbraith combined on the powerplay with the latter redirecting a pinpoint pass-come-shot from former to net the opening goal.
Four minutes later, however, the Rays found themselves back on level terms thanks to some individual genius from the evergreen Jeff Glowa. The Stingrays club captain picked the puck up on his own blueline and menacingly skated forward across the red line, blueline, past two Panthers before deking over and around the remaining defencemen and slotting past the helpless St-Pierre, a typically Glowa goal.
That naturally sparked the Stingrays into a frenzy, as they hit goals number two and three within seven minutes of Glowa's incredible individual effort.
First, a dangerous pass across the face of the Panthers net from Lee Mitchell saw Konstantin Kalmikov bundle the puck home at the back post as another Panthers defensive breakdown allowed the Stingrays another odd-man rush, then, with less than two minutes on the clock in the second, Curtis Huppe let rip from the top of the circle, surprising and beating St-Pierre down low to hand the Rays a two goal advantage.
As opposed to their last visit to Hull, the Panthers were ready and waiting for the Stingrays to begin the third period, and that psychological advantage would eventually pay dividends for the visiting side as a David Clarke double and another from Galbraith would give the Panthers a 4-3 lead and firm control of the game with less than five minutes gone in the final period.
The Stingrays had gone mentally, and with player-coach Sylvain Cloutier in the box serving a 2+10 penalty after a failed bout with Panthers defenceman Danny Meyers, they had little or no control over what they did about conceding so many goals in such a short period of time.
They had no reply and the Panthers helped themselves to two further goals from Cameron Mann and McAslan to give the game a harsh slant in favour of the Panthers.
The double loss this weekend, both of which came with the Stingrays leading by two goals, coupled with next-bottom Sheffield's 8-0 demolition of Edinburgh extends the gap between seventh and eighth place in the Elite League to six points with the Rays set to face Coventry home-and-away next weekend.
Stingrays Stats
Goalscorers: Glowa, Kalmikov, Huppe
Sandahl: 37 shots, 6 goals against
SOG: 28-37
PIM: 22-32
Good
A cracking first two periods in which the Rays played some of their best, most disciplined hockey of the season so far. Jeff Glowa's single handed effort, one of the best in that the Hull Arena has seen in recent years.
Bad
The worst collapse from two goals up. Sylvain Cloutier v Danny Meyers so-called fight, costing the Rays their coach when they most needed him during the heart of their collapse.
F Block Blog MOM
Stingrays: Jeff Glowa (1+0) Glowa would have walked away with this MOM award even if he hadn't taken on, and beaten, four Panthers before netting the Rays opener. As it is, he did single-handedly beat four Nottingham players and slot home past Kevin St-Pierre to score one of his finest goals in a Rays shirt and to round of a typically determined performance that ultimately didn't reap the reward it deserved.
Nottingham: Jade Galbraith (1+2) It wasn't the first and certainly won't be the last time that the Alberta native will come away with all of the plaudits in a Stingrays-Panthers match up. He was the force behind much of the Panthers third period showing, clinically turning it on when the result looked most in doubt for the visiting side.
Stingrays Verdict: 5/10
A near perfect opening two periods was completely ruined by a horrific third period showing, as the Rays leaked five unanswered goals in a devastating final 20 minutes.
Defensively they opened the game well, Stephen Burns, who was solid throughout, leading the way as he has done in recent weeks. However, a number of defensive errors, some of which were made up for, some of which weren't, as well as two delay-of-game penalties, saw the defence put in a below average shift in the final two periods.
The good news continues to come up front, with big name forwards Kalmikov, Glowa and Huppe all registering this game, but it is obvious that this loss did not come form the team's defence, or lack of it, or a lack of goals but a simple lack of concentration at a crucial period of the game.
While the first and second saw some of the best Rays hockey of the season, the third period collapse is inexcusable for any side, but especially against that team at this point in the season. A different night but the same story from Saturday night it would seem.
Cloutier's Comments
Despite the final scoreline, it was the Stingrays that came out of the traps quicker, as it took them less than 15 seconds to test the generally solid Kevin St-Pierre in the Panthers net for the first time. Former Hull defenceman Stevie Lee gifting the puck to Jason Silverthorn early on, who broke in on St-Pierre with Lee Mitchell, only for the pair to be denied on two occasions.
It was an energetic and efficient opening from both sides, but particularly the Stingrays, who were particularly effective in their own zone, stifling the Panthers significant offensive threat.
The big chance of the first period came around the 14 minute mark as the Panthers D misjudged a long pass from the Stingrays defensive corps, giving Matty Davies the chance to glove the puck and take it in one-on-one. St-Pierre, though, would part-expertly, part-fortuitously save the Panthers blushes by tipping the shot onto the bar and over the plexi leaving the first period goalless.
To the dismay of the home side, it was the Panthers that struck the crucial first goal, as the deadly combination of Sean McAslan and Jade Galbraith combined on the powerplay with the latter redirecting a pinpoint pass-come-shot from former to net the opening goal.
Four minutes later, however, the Rays found themselves back on level terms thanks to some individual genius from the evergreen Jeff Glowa. The Stingrays club captain picked the puck up on his own blueline and menacingly skated forward across the red line, blueline, past two Panthers before deking over and around the remaining defencemen and slotting past the helpless St-Pierre, a typically Glowa goal.
That naturally sparked the Stingrays into a frenzy, as they hit goals number two and three within seven minutes of Glowa's incredible individual effort.
First, a dangerous pass across the face of the Panthers net from Lee Mitchell saw Konstantin Kalmikov bundle the puck home at the back post as another Panthers defensive breakdown allowed the Stingrays another odd-man rush, then, with less than two minutes on the clock in the second, Curtis Huppe let rip from the top of the circle, surprising and beating St-Pierre down low to hand the Rays a two goal advantage.
As opposed to their last visit to Hull, the Panthers were ready and waiting for the Stingrays to begin the third period, and that psychological advantage would eventually pay dividends for the visiting side as a David Clarke double and another from Galbraith would give the Panthers a 4-3 lead and firm control of the game with less than five minutes gone in the final period.
The Stingrays had gone mentally, and with player-coach Sylvain Cloutier in the box serving a 2+10 penalty after a failed bout with Panthers defenceman Danny Meyers, they had little or no control over what they did about conceding so many goals in such a short period of time.
They had no reply and the Panthers helped themselves to two further goals from Cameron Mann and McAslan to give the game a harsh slant in favour of the Panthers.
The double loss this weekend, both of which came with the Stingrays leading by two goals, coupled with next-bottom Sheffield's 8-0 demolition of Edinburgh extends the gap between seventh and eighth place in the Elite League to six points with the Rays set to face Coventry home-and-away next weekend.
Stingrays Stats
Goalscorers: Glowa, Kalmikov, Huppe
Sandahl: 37 shots, 6 goals against
SOG: 28-37
PIM: 22-32
Good
A cracking first two periods in which the Rays played some of their best, most disciplined hockey of the season so far. Jeff Glowa's single handed effort, one of the best in that the Hull Arena has seen in recent years.
Bad
The worst collapse from two goals up. Sylvain Cloutier v Danny Meyers so-called fight, costing the Rays their coach when they most needed him during the heart of their collapse.
F Block Blog MOM
Stingrays: Jeff Glowa (1+0) Glowa would have walked away with this MOM award even if he hadn't taken on, and beaten, four Panthers before netting the Rays opener. As it is, he did single-handedly beat four Nottingham players and slot home past Kevin St-Pierre to score one of his finest goals in a Rays shirt and to round of a typically determined performance that ultimately didn't reap the reward it deserved.
Nottingham: Jade Galbraith (1+2) It wasn't the first and certainly won't be the last time that the Alberta native will come away with all of the plaudits in a Stingrays-Panthers match up. He was the force behind much of the Panthers third period showing, clinically turning it on when the result looked most in doubt for the visiting side.
Stingrays Verdict: 5/10
A near perfect opening two periods was completely ruined by a horrific third period showing, as the Rays leaked five unanswered goals in a devastating final 20 minutes.
Defensively they opened the game well, Stephen Burns, who was solid throughout, leading the way as he has done in recent weeks. However, a number of defensive errors, some of which were made up for, some of which weren't, as well as two delay-of-game penalties, saw the defence put in a below average shift in the final two periods.
The good news continues to come up front, with big name forwards Kalmikov, Glowa and Huppe all registering this game, but it is obvious that this loss did not come form the team's defence, or lack of it, or a lack of goals but a simple lack of concentration at a crucial period of the game.
While the first and second saw some of the best Rays hockey of the season, the third period collapse is inexcusable for any side, but especially against that team at this point in the season. A different night but the same story from Saturday night it would seem.
Cloutier's Comments
"Yes I'm annoyed, as we should have won. I watched from the penalty box, I had a clear view of it all unfolding. We're 3-1 up after two perfect periods and then we go and do that. The players got away from the game plan.
"You can't be assuming guys will get the puck and clear it out, you have to take care of your defensive zone, like we did in the first two periods. You can't just criticise guys, you have to give them a pat on the back too.
"You have to take the positives, and that is for two periods we out-played Nottingham. They are one of the top teams in the league, but you have to make those break-aways count. Their netminder made some big saves otherwise it could have been 3-0 or 4-2, but that's the way it goes. I don't think you can fault Tommy. The guys in front of him have to pick up their man."
Saturday 9 January 2010
Five goal Vipers sink Stingrays
Newcastle Vipers 5-2 Excel Hull Stingrays
The Newcastle Vipers hit five straight goals to condemn the Excel Hull Stingrays to their third loss in four matches and in doing so they gained revenge for their 5-3 defeat by Sylvain Cloutier's Rays last weekend.
The Stingrays opened up a two goal lead thanks to a goal from Lee Esders and a shorthanded marker from Konstantin Kalmikov, however, the Vipers netted five consecutive goals in the second half of the game via a David Longstaff double and further goals from Dean Holland, Matus Petricko and Majic Krajl to comprehensively seal the victory.
SOG: 41-31
PIM: 6-8
The Newcastle Vipers hit five straight goals to condemn the Excel Hull Stingrays to their third loss in four matches and in doing so they gained revenge for their 5-3 defeat by Sylvain Cloutier's Rays last weekend.
The Stingrays opened up a two goal lead thanks to a goal from Lee Esders and a shorthanded marker from Konstantin Kalmikov, however, the Vipers netted five consecutive goals in the second half of the game via a David Longstaff double and further goals from Dean Holland, Matus Petricko and Majic Krajl to comprehensively seal the victory.
SOG: 41-31
PIM: 6-8
Friday 8 January 2010
9th/10th January Weekend Preview
V
Saturday 9th January: Newcastle Vipers (5th) v Excel Hull Stingrays (8th) @ Whitley Bay Ice Rink, F/O 6.30pmSunday 10th January: Excel Hull Stingrays (8th) v Nottingham Panthers (2nd) @ Hull Arena, F/O 6pm
Form
Stingrays: W W L L W
Nottingham: W W W W L
Newcastle: W L L L L
Last 3 Meetings
v Nottingham
13/12/09 4-3 SOL A
20/12/09 5-4 W H
02/01/10 4-1 L A
v Newcastle
07/02/09 2-1 W H
01/11/09 2-1 L A
03/01/10 5-3 W H
Season Series
v Nottingham: 1-4, 4 points, 14 GF, 18 GA
v Newcastle: 1-1, 2 points, 6 GF, 5 GA
Players to Watch
Stingrays: Stephen Burns (35Gp 3+4 59PIM) After receiving some moderate criticism early in the season, 25 year old defenceman Burns turned up the intensity shortly and in recent weeks has begun to show why coach Sylvain Cloutier offered him a two-year university deal with the Stingrays in the summer. While he may not register on the scoreboard that often, his tenacity in defence and ability to throw a hit provides the Rays rearguard with another useful attribute.
Newcastle: Michel Robinson (27GP 3.19GAA 91.5.sv%) The French-Canadian netminder, who has been selected by Corey Neilson to the Elite League Overseas All Star squad, has been one of the league leaders between the pipes, helping the Vipers into a strong position pre-Christmas. It is no coincidence that, since he has been sidelined by an injury, the Vipers form has drastically dropped off.
Nottingham: Kevin Bergin (39GP 9+12 50PIM) Bergin has been an unusually quite visitor to the Hull Arena so far this season, primarily because he has missed a couple of the heated Stingrays-Panthers bouts. Nevertheless, the 28 year old tough guy, in his fourth season in the Elite League, always seems to save something special for the Rays, more often than not playing a key role on the game winning goal.
Between the Pipes
Stingrays: Tommy Sandahl (34GP 4.09GAA 89.6sv.%)
Newcastle: Michel Robinson (27GP 3.19GAA 91.5.sv%)
Nottingham: Kevin St-Pierre (38GP 2.84GAA 90.8sv.%)
Absentees
Stingrays: Sylvain Cloutier (knee), James Hutchinson (hand)
Nottingham: Full Strength
Newcastle: Full Strength
Predictions
Newcastle 2-3 Stingrays
Stingrays 3-4 Nottingham
Tuesday 5 January 2010
Esders and Knight crack All Star lineup
Fans of the Elite Ice Hockey League have voted Excel Hull Stingrays forward Lee Esders and utility enforcer Adam Knight, alongside eight fellow EIHLer, into this years All Star game, set to take place at Ice Sheffield on Wednesday January 27.
23 year old Knight, who has two goals and eight assists in 27 games this season, has been voted into the Overseas All Star line up, coached by Nottingham player/coach Corey Neilson, as a defenceman after regularly switching between forward and defence for Sylvain Cloutier's injury hit side.
The rugged Canadian has become a fan favourite at the Hull Arena due to his honest, hardworking play and fearlessness, which has seen him accumulate a league leading 170 penalty minutes and drop the gloves 15 times against the likes of fighting heavyweights Sean McMorrow and Brad Voth.
He has been selected on the blueline alongside Nottingham's Dominic D'Armour, while the rest of the Overseas All Star lineup consists of Knight's Belfast sparring partner Sean McMorrow, skilled forwards from Belfast and Nottingham, Jeff Szwez and Jade Galbraith, and Coventry's Danish netminder Peter Hirsch.
He is joined in the EIHL's second ever All Star game by forward Lee Esders, who has been selected by fans to the British All Star lineup, coached by Sheffield head coach Dave Matsos.
Esders, 21, has been selected after netting just 4 times in 35 games this season but following a hugely successful sophomore season in which he netted 11 goals and added 10 assists in 60 games under Rick Strachan.
The Beverly born forward is another fan favourite at the Hull Arena after developing through the Kingston Junior Development system and he has been selected alongside Great Britain regulars Stephen Murphy and Colin Shields, from Belfast, David Clarke, from Nottingham and Coventry blueliner Jonathan Weaver as well as former Stingrays D man, and junior international, Stevie Lee, currently at Nottingham.
23 year old Knight, who has two goals and eight assists in 27 games this season, has been voted into the Overseas All Star line up, coached by Nottingham player/coach Corey Neilson, as a defenceman after regularly switching between forward and defence for Sylvain Cloutier's injury hit side.The rugged Canadian has become a fan favourite at the Hull Arena due to his honest, hardworking play and fearlessness, which has seen him accumulate a league leading 170 penalty minutes and drop the gloves 15 times against the likes of fighting heavyweights Sean McMorrow and Brad Voth.
He has been selected on the blueline alongside Nottingham's Dominic D'Armour, while the rest of the Overseas All Star lineup consists of Knight's Belfast sparring partner Sean McMorrow, skilled forwards from Belfast and Nottingham, Jeff Szwez and Jade Galbraith, and Coventry's Danish netminder Peter Hirsch.
He is joined in the EIHL's second ever All Star game by forward Lee Esders, who has been selected by fans to the British All Star lineup, coached by Sheffield head coach Dave Matsos.
Esders, 21, has been selected after netting just 4 times in 35 games this season but following a hugely successful sophomore season in which he netted 11 goals and added 10 assists in 60 games under Rick Strachan.
The Beverly born forward is another fan favourite at the Hull Arena after developing through the Kingston Junior Development system and he has been selected alongside Great Britain regulars Stephen Murphy and Colin Shields, from Belfast, David Clarke, from Nottingham and Coventry blueliner Jonathan Weaver as well as former Stingrays D man, and junior international, Stevie Lee, currently at Nottingham.
Sunday 3 January 2010
Stingrays make hard work of Vipers
Excel Hull Stingrays 5-3 Newcastle Vipers
The Excel Hull Stingrays tonight made difficult work of an under par Newcastle Vipers outfit at the Hull Arena, eventually prevailing over the Tyneside based club by five goals to three to continue their mid-season transformation, in doing so, Sylvain Cloutier's side made it four wins from six Elite League outings.
The Stingrays started in unusually spirited form, controlling much of the play and easily entering the Vipers zone time after time. Despite their dominance with the puck, the Stingrays failed to pepper shots on stand in keeper Kevin Reiter but they did eventually open the scoring through player/assistant coach Curtis Huppe, who fired home after some close passing with Jeff Glowa and Matty Davies fortuitously worked to breach the Vipers defence.
However, fewer than 60 seconds after the opening goal, Stingrays netminder Tommy Sandahl failed to glove a routine wrist shot, dropping the puck at his feet allowing Matus Petriko to poke home and level the scores.
The Vipers, having been largely controlled from opening face-off, now smelt blood and headed straight for Sandahl's goal from the restart with Jason Tejchma unlucky to hit the bar and not send the Vipers into the lead.
Five minutes later the Stingrays were deservedly back in the lead under somewhat lucky circumstances. As the Rays dumped the puck in keeper Reiter went behind the net to collect the puck only to be met by his own defenceman, lots of confusion later and the puck found its way into the net with Lee Esders, happy to add another notch on his seasons goalscoring tally.
The Vipers would respond again though, this time Tejchma was not so unlucky, netting a rasping wrist shot in off the post on the penalty kill, to hit the third shorthanded goal against the Rays in two games, but, more importantly, to send the teams level heading into the second.
The first half of the second was largely quiet, with the Vipers improving enough to muster some sort of a challenge.
Indeed, they took a 3-2 lead on 29 minutes as defenceman Mark Gouett netted a rebound with Tommy Sandahl still searching for the puck and five minutes later they would the bar again, this time from the stick of Ryan Mahrle.
The Stingrays then finally took control of the game on the scoreboard thanks to the clinical finishing of Konstantin Kalmikov, who, despite not looking 100%, again came good at the right time.
First, the Ukrainian expertly diverted a powerful Jason Silverthorn pass from the corner to bullet in short one timer, before a Vipers give away with less than 60 seconds left on the clock gave the Rays a 2-on-1, with Kalmikov preferring to shoot past Kevin Reiter than pass to Lee Esders at the back stick.
With the Stingrays finally deservedly in the lead, the third period was all about maintaining that lead and securing the two points, although a disallowed Mike Berry goal, which was ruled to have hit the bar, and an injury to Jeff Glowa's left leg made that task a little harder than it should have been.
Lee Mitchell then added an empty net goal after beating the Vipers D to the puck to seal a 5-3 win.
Next weekend, the Stingray face a re-match with Newcastle in Whitley Bay on Saturday night before returning home to play the Nottingham Panthers for the third time in four weeks, as the Rays hope to continue their good run of form post-Christmas.
Match Highlights
Stingrays Stats
Goalscorers: Kalmikov x 2, L.Mitchell, Huppe, Esders
Sandahl: 41 shots, 3 goals against
SOG: 41-30
PIM: 10-8
Good
Another two points on the road to turning the season around. A far from ideal performance still producing a win. Goalscorers scoring goals.
Bad
Making very difficult work of a pretty poor Newcastle side. A couple of the team failing to put in 60 minutes. The Vipers first goal, a bit of a clanger from Sandahl.
F Block Blog MOM
Stingrays: Konstantin Kalmikov (2+0) The Ukrainian looked lethargic and frustrated early in the game, perhaps showing signs of an illness, however, he put in a typically determined shift, persevering to hit a crucial double to once again prove his immense worth to Sylvain Cloutier's side.
Newcastle: Jason Tejchma (1+0) Tejchma netted a shorthanded goal in off the post from just inside the face off circle that no one expected to hit the twine and to unexpectedly put the Vipers level again. He and Mike Berry spearheaded the Vipers attack, however for much of the game that offensive threat was weakened.
Stingrays Verdict: 6/10
The Stingrays did enough...just. First impressions in the first period were that this appeared to be one of the weakest Viper sides to have visited the Hull Arena in the Elite League, despite their distinct lack of Andre Payette, Rob Wilson and goons, which should have technically improved their abilities.
The Stingrays still managed to go behind to the Vipers thanks to a Tommy Sandahl mistake and yet another shorthanded goal against.
However, once again, the goalscorers hit the twine as they are paid to do, with Kalmikov netting a double and Huppe scoring another, while George Halkidis logged up mammoth amounts of ice time in defence and Stephen Burns scored his second man-of-the-match award in two days.
As Sylvain Cloutier admitted post-game, the Stingrays have played a lot better in the last week and lost in two games against Nottingham and Coventry, so to gain the two points will be a huge relief for the side, especially since it gives him four wins in six games.
Cloutier's Comments
The Excel Hull Stingrays tonight made difficult work of an under par Newcastle Vipers outfit at the Hull Arena, eventually prevailing over the Tyneside based club by five goals to three to continue their mid-season transformation, in doing so, Sylvain Cloutier's side made it four wins from six Elite League outings.
The Stingrays started in unusually spirited form, controlling much of the play and easily entering the Vipers zone time after time. Despite their dominance with the puck, the Stingrays failed to pepper shots on stand in keeper Kevin Reiter but they did eventually open the scoring through player/assistant coach Curtis Huppe, who fired home after some close passing with Jeff Glowa and Matty Davies fortuitously worked to breach the Vipers defence.
However, fewer than 60 seconds after the opening goal, Stingrays netminder Tommy Sandahl failed to glove a routine wrist shot, dropping the puck at his feet allowing Matus Petriko to poke home and level the scores.
The Vipers, having been largely controlled from opening face-off, now smelt blood and headed straight for Sandahl's goal from the restart with Jason Tejchma unlucky to hit the bar and not send the Vipers into the lead.
Five minutes later the Stingrays were deservedly back in the lead under somewhat lucky circumstances. As the Rays dumped the puck in keeper Reiter went behind the net to collect the puck only to be met by his own defenceman, lots of confusion later and the puck found its way into the net with Lee Esders, happy to add another notch on his seasons goalscoring tally.
The Vipers would respond again though, this time Tejchma was not so unlucky, netting a rasping wrist shot in off the post on the penalty kill, to hit the third shorthanded goal against the Rays in two games, but, more importantly, to send the teams level heading into the second.
The first half of the second was largely quiet, with the Vipers improving enough to muster some sort of a challenge.
Indeed, they took a 3-2 lead on 29 minutes as defenceman Mark Gouett netted a rebound with Tommy Sandahl still searching for the puck and five minutes later they would the bar again, this time from the stick of Ryan Mahrle.
The Stingrays then finally took control of the game on the scoreboard thanks to the clinical finishing of Konstantin Kalmikov, who, despite not looking 100%, again came good at the right time.
First, the Ukrainian expertly diverted a powerful Jason Silverthorn pass from the corner to bullet in short one timer, before a Vipers give away with less than 60 seconds left on the clock gave the Rays a 2-on-1, with Kalmikov preferring to shoot past Kevin Reiter than pass to Lee Esders at the back stick.
With the Stingrays finally deservedly in the lead, the third period was all about maintaining that lead and securing the two points, although a disallowed Mike Berry goal, which was ruled to have hit the bar, and an injury to Jeff Glowa's left leg made that task a little harder than it should have been.
Lee Mitchell then added an empty net goal after beating the Vipers D to the puck to seal a 5-3 win.
Next weekend, the Stingray face a re-match with Newcastle in Whitley Bay on Saturday night before returning home to play the Nottingham Panthers for the third time in four weeks, as the Rays hope to continue their good run of form post-Christmas.
Match Highlights
Stingrays Stats
Goalscorers: Kalmikov x 2, L.Mitchell, Huppe, Esders
Sandahl: 41 shots, 3 goals against
SOG: 41-30
PIM: 10-8
Good
Another two points on the road to turning the season around. A far from ideal performance still producing a win. Goalscorers scoring goals.
Bad
Making very difficult work of a pretty poor Newcastle side. A couple of the team failing to put in 60 minutes. The Vipers first goal, a bit of a clanger from Sandahl.
F Block Blog MOM
Stingrays: Konstantin Kalmikov (2+0) The Ukrainian looked lethargic and frustrated early in the game, perhaps showing signs of an illness, however, he put in a typically determined shift, persevering to hit a crucial double to once again prove his immense worth to Sylvain Cloutier's side.
Newcastle: Jason Tejchma (1+0) Tejchma netted a shorthanded goal in off the post from just inside the face off circle that no one expected to hit the twine and to unexpectedly put the Vipers level again. He and Mike Berry spearheaded the Vipers attack, however for much of the game that offensive threat was weakened.
Stingrays Verdict: 6/10
The Stingrays did enough...just. First impressions in the first period were that this appeared to be one of the weakest Viper sides to have visited the Hull Arena in the Elite League, despite their distinct lack of Andre Payette, Rob Wilson and goons, which should have technically improved their abilities.
The Stingrays still managed to go behind to the Vipers thanks to a Tommy Sandahl mistake and yet another shorthanded goal against.
However, once again, the goalscorers hit the twine as they are paid to do, with Kalmikov netting a double and Huppe scoring another, while George Halkidis logged up mammoth amounts of ice time in defence and Stephen Burns scored his second man-of-the-match award in two days.
As Sylvain Cloutier admitted post-game, the Stingrays have played a lot better in the last week and lost in two games against Nottingham and Coventry, so to gain the two points will be a huge relief for the side, especially since it gives him four wins in six games.
Cloutier's Comments
"I'm pleased we won last night, but disappointed with some of the goals we gave up. But we found a way to win and battled back to get the points. We probably played better against Nottingham and Coventry than we did against Newcastle and had nothing to show for it, but that's the way games go sometimes. I am not happy we lost on Saturday, but I thought we played a really good game and the score does not show that. We created a lot of chances but ran into a hot goalie."
Saturday 2 January 2010
Shorthanded goals costly for Stingrays
Nottingham Panthers 4-1 Excel Hull Stingrays
The Nottingham Panthers gained revenge for the Excel Hull Stingrays inflicting a shock 5-4 defeat on the title challengers two weeks ago by coasting to a relatively simply 4-1 victory over Sylvain Cloutier's men tonight at the NIC.
The home side fired themselves into a comfortable 3-0 goal lead after 25 minutes thanks to goals from Kevin Bergin, on the powerplay, Johan Molin, shorthanded, and Cameron Mann, but Adam Knight would respond six minutes later with his fourth goal of the season to give the Rays hope of gaining at least a point.
However, Sean McAslan would net the Panthers second shorthanded goal of the game on the Stingrays eighth powerplay chance of the night with less than eight minutes left in the third to seal revenge for the costly defeat in late-December.
SOG: 36-33
PIM: 16-20
The Nottingham Panthers gained revenge for the Excel Hull Stingrays inflicting a shock 5-4 defeat on the title challengers two weeks ago by coasting to a relatively simply 4-1 victory over Sylvain Cloutier's men tonight at the NIC.
The home side fired themselves into a comfortable 3-0 goal lead after 25 minutes thanks to goals from Kevin Bergin, on the powerplay, Johan Molin, shorthanded, and Cameron Mann, but Adam Knight would respond six minutes later with his fourth goal of the season to give the Rays hope of gaining at least a point.
However, Sean McAslan would net the Panthers second shorthanded goal of the game on the Stingrays eighth powerplay chance of the night with less than eight minutes left in the third to seal revenge for the costly defeat in late-December.
SOG: 36-33
PIM: 16-20
Friday 1 January 2010
2nd/3rd January 2010 Weekend Preview
V
Saturday 2nd January: Nottingham Panthers (2nd) v Excel Hull Stingrays (8th) @ Trent FM Arena, F/O 7pmSunday 3rd January: Excel Hull Stingrays (8th) v Newcastle Vipers (5th) @ Hull Arena, F/O 6pm
Form
Stingrays: L W W W L
Nottingham: W L W W W
Newcastle: L L W L L
Last 3 Meetings
v Nottingham
10/10/09 3-2 OTL A
13/12/09 4-3 SOL A
20/12/09 5-4 W H
v Newcastle
25/01/09 4-2 W H
07/02/09 2-1 W H
01/11/09 2-1 L A
Season Series
v Nottingham: 1-3, 4 points, 13 GF, 14 GA
v Newcastle: 0-1, 0 points, 1 GF, 2 GA
Players to Watch
Stingrays: George Halkidis (20GP 3+6 10PIM) The Canadian defenceman has points in his last three games, including a crucial goal in the Stingrays 5-3 triumph over Edinburgh last weekend. Since he joined the team he has become a calming influence at the back, gradually helping to reduce the number of sloppy goals that the Rays concede.
Nottingham: Cameron Mann (31GP 19+13 46PIM) After having to endure some frustrating early form in the Elite League, the former NHLer seems to have now hit peak form. With nine goals in eight games, including a hat-trick in the Panthers comprehensive 5-0 win over Cardiff last weekend, he is now starting to show some of the class that had him rated in pre-season as a player capable of dominating this league.
Newcastle: Jason Tejchma (37GP 18+13 16PIM) Tejchma lead the way for the Vipers in the early part of the season as the Tyneside club streaked towards the top of the league. The second quarter of the season has not been quite so kind to them, but with Tejchma on form, with a goal and two assists in the Vipers last three, they could yet surprise the top four.
Between the Pipes
Stingrays: Tommy Sandahl (33GP 4.25GAA 89.6sv.%)
Nottingham: Kevin St-Pierre (36GP 2.91GAA 91.9sv.%)
Newcastle: Kevin Reiter (10GP 3.43GAA 89.6sv.%)
Absentees
Stingrays: Sylvain Cloutier (knee), James Hutchinson (hand)
Nottingham: Full Strength
Newcastle: Full Strength
Predictions
Nottingham 4-2 Stingrays
Stingrays 3-2 Newcastle
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