The Excel Hull Stingrays tonight toppled Elite League leaders the Sheffield Steelers at the Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield for just the second ever time, edging the South Yorkshire outfit by four goals to three to confirm their qualification for the EIHL Playoff Quarter Finals.
Having already beaten the Stingrays three times Ice Sheffield this season, this matchup was the first between the sides at the Arena, and coming off the back of such a tightly fought pointless weekend last week Sylvain Cloutier's side were clearly ready to take on a Sheffield team that only narrowly beat Dundee on Thursday.
Nevertheless, it was Ben Simon's side that took control of the game early on after a very slow start from the visitors, who saw Aivars Gaisins binned early on for hooking having been caught out of position. That penalty allowed the Steelers to open the scoring on the man advantage as Jeff Legue clinically fired past Christian Boucher for a deserved lead having caught the Stingrays flat footed from the off.
It was a similar story right throughout a penalty strewn first period that the Steelers largely controlled, however, on 6.28 a Derek Campbell elbow on Ryan Lake handed the league's worst powerplay a chance to level to scores.
Despite a fairly disjointed first attempt, the Stingrays managed to equal on that first powerplay, netting thanks through a Lee Mitchell rebound attempt, much to the delight of the Scot - who put in a man of the match performance on his first full 60 minute return to lineup.
Naturally in a special team's dominated period the Stingrays only further chance came shorthanded as Mitchell and Finn Matti Uusivirta scrapped their way down the ice to create a big chance before Jereme Tendler and Andrew Coburn combined two-on-one to force a big save from Steelers keeper Ervins Mustukovs.
The league leading Steelers then hit the post through Tom Squires before player-coach Ben Simon put them ahead with another powerplay goal after 15 minutes, cooling slotting the puck under and past Boucher on a breakaway to give his side the lead heading into the middle stanza.
More goals on the special teams followed as first Legue capitalised on a slip from Boucher to net his second 4-on-4 after 4.20, before Drew Bannister got the Stingrays back into the game with a wristshot from the point on the same 4-on-4 less than a minute later.
However, Boucher would atone for that minor error late in the second, denying the Steelers on two absolutely crucial breakaway attempts to keep his side in the game heading into the final twenty.
Those two saves would prove massive 49 seconds into the third as Mitchell leveled the scores with his second of the game and the first 5-on-5 goal of the game on a rebound created after Jason Silverthorn - who put in a good performance after recent criticism of his offensive form - aggressively drove at the Steelers net.
The Stingrays were then presented with another chance shorthanded later in the game, this time to take the lead, as blueliner Trevor Read found himself in the unfamiliar breakaway position. However, after being caught by the last Steelers defenceman, support arrived to create a 3-on-1 which Mustukovs brilliantly saved.
In a fairly frantic, end-to-end third period, Ukrainian forward Konstantin Kalmikov then struck a fatal blow to the Steelers, smashing home a one-timer like the Kalmikov of old on a powerplay given to the Stingrays after a dangerous retaliatory slash from Rod Sarich on Lee Esders.
Miraculously, the goal - which gave the Stingrays a massive lead with less than ten minutes to play - was the Stingrays second powerplay marker in just three attempts, giving their much publicised poor powerplay unit a much needed boost as it ultimately struck to give the club just their second ever win in Sheffield over the Steelers.
The win, confirmed despite a late powerplay and a despite the Steelers pulling Mustukovs, guarantees the Stingrays qualification for the Elite League playoff quarter finals for the second successive season, although it is the first time they will have qualified outright after last seasons qualification was guaranteed from the outset.
Cloutier's bouyant side now return home to face fellow title contenders the Belfast Giants at the Hull Arena tomorrow night.
Rays Rating
8
FBB Man of the Match
Lee Mitchell (2+1)
