The Excel Hull Stingrays tonight failed to end the dominance the Coventry Blaze has had over them this season at the Hull Arena as they went down by seven goals to two in the sides final meeting of the year.
The home side, looking to close the gap between them and their ownership rivals to just three points, got off to the better start as Andrew Coburn burst through the Blaze D after a poor clearance to chip home a breakaway opportunity past Brett Jaeger on the powerplay.
Sylvain Cloutier's side continued to dominate large parts of the first, particularly during a spell in which they ran the Blaze ragged with their cycling of the puck down low, however, crucially they could not produce a goal to double their lead.
Failing to produce that second goal would prove costly in the second as the Blaze - unusually lead by Greg Chambers and Brad Cruikshank - went on to net four times as the former Basingstoke pair combined for three goals alongside Luke Fulghum's breakaway finish.
The Rays defence, which has been greatly improved since the arrival of player-assistant coach Drew Bannister, was not at its strongest even in the first when they were on top and continually gave up breakaways with poor line changes and flat footed play.
With only Ryan Lake and a couple of Stingrays putting in decent shifts, their chances of prevailing with the two points at this stage, three goals down, were limited.
Indeed, the Blaze went on to net three more times through Fulghum, Greg Owen and Dan Carlson in the third with the Stingrays only able to muster a single goal in reply through Bannister.
The performance, which over 60 minutes can only be described as poor, could not be timed worse for the Rays who for the first time this season, following a four point weekend, had a genuine chance of catching the Blaze in 6th.
A victory over their ownership rivals would have narrowed the gap between the two teams to just three points with the Stingrays possessing a vital game in hand. As it is their chances of catching the Blaze are now slim to none as they sit seven adrift with five games remaining this season including that game in hand.
This fixture, the final game between the two sides this year, proved a timely reminder for the Rays that - despite their 3-5 record against the Blaze this year - success is by no means a given. Likewise, the result also proves how far the club has come despite a torrid summer.
Rays Rating
4
FBB Three Stars
1- Ryan Lake (0+0)
2- Kurtis Dulle (0+0)
3- Jozef Sladok (0+0)
