Coventry Blaze 6-3 Excel Hull Stingrays
The Excel Hull Stingrays shipped more than five goals for the third successive game of the season tonight, going down by six goals to three against ownership rivals Coventry Blaze in a match-up that also saw three fights.
The two sides entered the fixture on the back of opposing opening weekend's - in which Paul Thompson's men easily beat newcomers Fife twice and the Stingrays dropped their matches with Belfast and Sheffield - having faced each other a month ago in pre-season and tonight they played out a tightly fought encounter.
Coventry's Owen Fussey was the first person to get his name on the scoresheet, firing into a virtually empty net at the back door on a 5-on-3 powerplay to give the home team the lead as Rays indiscipline cost them dear, as it did seven days earlier.
They fought back however, scoring a powerplay goal of their own moments later, Frantisek Bakrlik one-timing home in front of Blaze keeper Peter Hirsch.
Seconds after the restart Rays power forward Derek Campbell and Blaze tough guy Bryan Jurynec then dropped the gloves in the first of three fights on the night, trading punches in an even but entertaining fight.
The first notable activity of the second period saw Brits Tristan Harper and Robert Farmer drop the gloves, in a marginal fight in which Harper managed to connect with few punches.
After hitting the post on a shorthanded breakaway earlier in the game and also spurning two other early second period chances, Jereme Tendler netted his second of the season on the powerplay to give the Rays the lead with Hirsch sprawling, only for Shea Guthrie to reply and level the scores minutes later.
The Rays ended the second period on top, pressuring the home side into their own zone but would later come to regret not taking their chances and making that pressure count as the Blaze came back strongly in the third period.
Luke Fulghum gave Coventry the lead early in the first with their second powerplay goal of the game before Matty Davies quickly equalised with his first of the year, prodding home from close in for the Rays third man advantage goal of the night after being set up by player-coach Sylvain Cloutier behind the net.
Though momentum at that point was in favour of the Stingrays, the Blaze regained the lead through Fussey's second on 49 minutes and he completed his hat-trick later on after an Aaron Nell goal and Bakrlik and former Stingray Dave Phillips dropped the gloves, sealing the scoreline very harshly in favour of the Blaze at 6-3.
The two sides meet again tomorrow night in Hull for the fourth fixture between the two sides of 11/12.
The Excel Hull Stingrays shipped more than five goals for the third successive game of the season tonight, going down by six goals to three against ownership rivals Coventry Blaze in a match-up that also saw three fights.
The two sides entered the fixture on the back of opposing opening weekend's - in which Paul Thompson's men easily beat newcomers Fife twice and the Stingrays dropped their matches with Belfast and Sheffield - having faced each other a month ago in pre-season and tonight they played out a tightly fought encounter.
Coventry's Owen Fussey was the first person to get his name on the scoresheet, firing into a virtually empty net at the back door on a 5-on-3 powerplay to give the home team the lead as Rays indiscipline cost them dear, as it did seven days earlier.
They fought back however, scoring a powerplay goal of their own moments later, Frantisek Bakrlik one-timing home in front of Blaze keeper Peter Hirsch.
Seconds after the restart Rays power forward Derek Campbell and Blaze tough guy Bryan Jurynec then dropped the gloves in the first of three fights on the night, trading punches in an even but entertaining fight.
The first notable activity of the second period saw Brits Tristan Harper and Robert Farmer drop the gloves, in a marginal fight in which Harper managed to connect with few punches.
After hitting the post on a shorthanded breakaway earlier in the game and also spurning two other early second period chances, Jereme Tendler netted his second of the season on the powerplay to give the Rays the lead with Hirsch sprawling, only for Shea Guthrie to reply and level the scores minutes later.
The Rays ended the second period on top, pressuring the home side into their own zone but would later come to regret not taking their chances and making that pressure count as the Blaze came back strongly in the third period.
Luke Fulghum gave Coventry the lead early in the first with their second powerplay goal of the game before Matty Davies quickly equalised with his first of the year, prodding home from close in for the Rays third man advantage goal of the night after being set up by player-coach Sylvain Cloutier behind the net.
Though momentum at that point was in favour of the Stingrays, the Blaze regained the lead through Fussey's second on 49 minutes and he completed his hat-trick later on after an Aaron Nell goal and Bakrlik and former Stingray Dave Phillips dropped the gloves, sealing the scoreline very harshly in favour of the Blaze at 6-3.
The two sides meet again tomorrow night in Hull for the fourth fixture between the two sides of 11/12.
