Coventry Blaze 5-6 Excel Hull Stingrays
The Excel Hull Stingrays tonight came out on the right side of an 11 goal thriller beating ownership rivals the Coventry Blaze by six goals to five at the Skydome Arena in Coventry, despite being outshot 50-31.
Coming off the back of defeats in Cardiff and Belfast, the Stingrays entered the fixture hoping to end a three game losing skid but conceded an early powerplay goal through Brad Cruikshank after just 105 seconds. The Blaze - who scored all five of their goals on the special teams - doubled their lead after 6.44 thanks to a Luke Fulghum shorthanded goal. However, the visiting Rays struck clinically and regularly early in the second as even strength goals from Lee Esders, Matti Uusivirta and Kurtis Dulle put them level following a Dan Carlson goal 3.59 into the middle stanza.
Robert Farmer put the Blaze back in control after 31 minutes but Sylvain Cloutier's Stingrays - without their coach, Craig Mitchell and Drew Bannister - took the game by the scruff of the neck in the final period, netting through Lee Mitchell, Jereme Tendler and Dulle again, with the latter two both on the powerplay, to all but confirm victory.
A late Jonathan Weaver goal gave the home side hope in the two sides penultimate meeting of the year but the Stingrays managed to hold out for a vital 6-5 win ahead of a trip home to face Newcastle tomorrow night.
