Sunday 10 July 2011

Stingrays Five of the Best...10/11

With fixtures out, just a handful of signings remaining and little over a month and a half to go until the puck drops for the 11/12 Elite League campaign, F Block Blog is here to provide Rays fans with a refresher of what it believes were last seasons five best games.

5
26/03/11 - Stingrays 1-2 Cardiff (EIHL Playoff Quarter Final Leg 1)
It was perhaps fate that the Rays were to come up against the only EIHL opposition they hadn't beaten in 10/11 in the first round of the post-season. They took on the Cardiff Devils in just their second ever playoff appearance - the first time they have qualified in their own right - and a tense, chippy game followed as the Rays worked hard to keep it close heading into the second leg. Watch out for Tylor Michel's lovely solo opening goal!


4
03/10/11 Stingrays 3-3 Cardiff Devils
At one point it didn't look like this game would ever take place. Starting late in October following owners Mike and Sue Pack's departure, the Rays opened their 10/11 season against the very same Cardiff Devils side that would cause them so many problems later on in the season. Not a classic per se, but the Rays best result against the South Wales side all season long and an important game in that it saw the sport make an unexpected top flight return to the city after a turbulent summer. See Matti Uusivirta round off a lovely move with a clinical finish for the Rays first of the year.


3
20/03/11 Stingrays 6-1 Nottingham
The Rays saved some of their best for last as they thrashed top side Nottingham on the final weekend of the season. The Panthers - with former Rays head coach Rick Strachan at the helm - entered the weekend with little to play for and started backup Dan Green. Backup or not, the home side outplayed the big spending Nottingham outfit in all areas and deservedly came out on top.



2
04/12/10 Stingrays 7-2 Sheffield
The Steelers took a commanding 2-0 lead early on but the Stingrays came back very strongly and ran out easy winners, condemning the Steelers to their biggest ever Yorkshire derby defeat.


1
21/11/10 Stingrays 3-2 Belfast (OT)
2-0 down in the third, the Rays came back to snatch the win against another of the big spending top four, with Jason Silverthorn scoring a lovely overtime effort to seal the unlikely win.