Second period comeback not enough as Stingrays knocked out of Challenge Cup

Belfast Giants 5-4 Hull Stingrays (8-5 on agg.)

More soon...

FBB Three Stars

1. Jereme Tendler

2. Jason Silverthorn

3. Ben Bowns

First EIHL shutout for Bowns ends Rays winless streak

Hull Stingrays 1-0 Edinburgh Capitals

A perfect home defence tonight helped the Hull Stingrays end an eight game losing skid - their longest of the season so far - as Ben Bowns turned away 24 shots and Jereme Tendler scored the game winning goal in a narrow 1-0 win over the Edinburgh Capitals.

Tendler's game winning goal came 11.33 into the first period on the powerplay and the Rays fired 40 further shots on Tomas Hiadlovsky in the Capitals net but the Canadian's marker would prove to be the difference.

Jason Silverthorn and Curtis Leinweber dropped the gloves as the closing buzzer sounded to end the losing streak, while also giving Bowns his first shutout in the British top flight.

Stingrays leave it late to secure first Erhardt point in overtime loss

Cardiff Devils 2-1 Hull Stingrays (OT)

The Hull Stingrays tonight left it late to secure their first point against an Erhardt Conference side in the league this season, sending the game to overtime before going down 2-1 to the Cardiff Devils in South Wales.

After being flat out denied the chance to drop the gloves against the Sheffield Steelers 24 hours earlier, Ryan Hand got it out of his system early this evening - fighting Jesse Gimblett in an even contest after 6.15.

Sylvain Cloutier's side could boast two wins from two games against the Welsh side this season, however, it was Josh Batch who would open the scoring on the man advantage for the Devils after ten minutes.

The Rays did their best to shut up shop defensively and, with Ben Bowns in top form - turning away 35 of 37 shots - they gradually grew in confidence, outshooting the home side 11-8 in the final period.

Crucially though, after all their defensive work, Jereme Tendler popped up to scramble home his 20th of the year with around six minutes remaining. The goal would seal the Rays first non-Gardiner Conference point of the year and continues their fine form against the Devils this season with a fifth point from six available.

The Devils quickly wrapped up the points in overtime, nevertheless, leading scorer Mac Faulkner requiring just 18 seconds of the 4-on-4 action to claim the extra point for the home side.

Although the overtime defeat extends the losing streak to eight games, their pointless streak ends at precisely that number. They now head into Thursday's big fixture against an in-form and resurgent Edinburgh Capitals side with some confidence after finally reaping a reward for their efforts over the past three games.

Stingrays defeated in physical, hard fought Yorkshire derby

Hull Stingrays 2-4 Sheffield Steelers

The Hull Stingrays tonight improved considerably from a disastrous 3-1 first period deficit but couldn't force the issue in a niggly, physical and hard fought Yorkshire derby against the Sheffield Steelers - eventually losing out by four goals to two.

Buoyed by the return of forward Cale Tanaka, the Stingrays entered the match at full strength for the first time in nearly eight weeks.

In an up-tempo start to the game that would set the tone, the Rays came out strongly - matching the Steelers in the physical stakes. A great duel in the corner between Shane Lovdahl and Tylor Michel typifying the mantra in opening stages and that of the remainder of the fixture.

A tripping penalty on Tom Squires 4.23 in allowed the Steelers to take the lead and, more importantly, take control of the first period. With the former Steelers forward sitting his minor penalty, Matt Stephenson one-timed a shot home via the post past a sprawling Ben Bowns to give Ryan Finnerty's side a 1-0 lead.

The home side responded with their own powerplay goal - a rarity in itself - four minutes later. Matty Davies feeding Dominic Osman who squeezed his shot low under John Decaro for a Stingrays powerplay goal just 22 seconds in to a tripping penalty on Jonathan Phillips.

Despite the goal, the visitors re-assumed their dominance less than two minutes later. New signing Simon Ferguson showing his strength with the puck behind the net before off-loading to Drew Fata - who fired home.

Jeff Legue then further compounded a poor 15 minutes for the Stingrays, skating in unmarked late on to create a 3-on-2, giving his side a 3-1 lead going into the middle period on the ensuing finish.

Having dominated down low with their strength on the puck in the opening period, the Steelers were given the opportunity to put the game out of sight 47 seconds into the second period as Kurtis Dulle received a tripping minor penalty.

The fourth and decisive goal didn't arrive quite yet - although a huge and legal hit from Fata on Matty Davies did, leaving the Stingrays leading British scorer heading to the dressing room.

He wasn't the only Stingray to require medical treatment at the time with Davies, Tanaka and Jason Silverthorn all making their way to receive treatment at one point in the second period, leaving defenceman Jeff Smith temporarily filling in up front.

The home side noticeably stepped up their play though and they got the goal they deserved 12.47 in. Osman adding his second powerplay goal of the night with a fairly scrappy but pin point finish to narrow the deficit to 3-2.

Indeed, the Steelers had netminder DeCaro to thank for their lead heading into the final stanza as he denied both Dulle and Lovdahl - who were both alone in front with time and space to pick their spots - with huge saves late on.

Davies returned to the line-up at the start of the third, returning the Rays to full-strength and they again came out strongly at the beginning of the period.

The Rays again struggled to find the goal they deserved and they soon found themselves down 4-2 with Ashley Tait netting a crucial and costly powerplay goal on 47.55.

Nevertheless, the Stingrays attacked straight from the ensuing face-off and lovely work on the boards from Janis Ozolins gave the puck to Silverthorn who in turn fed Tendler - who rang a shot off the bar.

Osman then had two great chances to seal his hat-trick and get the Rays back into the game. First, he was denied one-on-one by DeCaro after being put through by Davies, before - close in on DeCaro - he batted a puck out of mid-air, over the Steelers netminder and agonisingly onto the roof of the goal - though, had it gone in, this would likely have been ruled out for a borderline high-stick.

A chippy, niggly, bordering on dirty but, nevertheless, thoroughly entertaining Yorkshire derby from both sides, things threatened to boil over on numerous occasions, not least with 43 seconds to go.

Having - understandably, given the Steelers were two-goals up - flat out rejected invitations from Stingrays enforcer Ryan Hand to fight on numerous occasions earlier in the match - defenceman Chris Frank took it upon himself to drop the gloves with Silverthorn in a scuffle late on following a check to the head on a Steeler by Kurtis Dulle.

Osman and Jason Hewitt - who was unusually quiet throughout the 60 minutes - also dropped the gloves at the time, however, it was Frank's decision to fight Silverthorn that incensed the Cloutier, Hand and the Rays bench the most.

The Rays coach immediately ordered Hand onto the ice to, presumably, dish out retribution, only for referee Michael Hicks - who generally struggled to control the game throughout - to force Hand to leave the game with a ten-minute misconduct penalty. While it's questionable what fan-favourite Hand actually did to receive the penalty, the call was probably Hick's best, most sensible call of the night and almost certainly prevented all hell needlessly breaking loose in the remaining seconds of the 4-2 Stingrays defeat.

While, on balance the Steelers deserved the two points, the Stingrays - first period aside - could have snatched something from the game had chances from Tendler, Osman, Lovdahl and Dulle found the twine at crucial moments.

Nevertheless, following a fairly demoralising six game losing streak, the Stingrays can hold their heads high after this defeat having dug in and stuck together as a team after a poor first period.

The Stingrays will hope to end their, now, seven game losing skid this side of Christmas with what is sure to be another physical encounter - this time in South Wales against the Cardiff Devils.

Post-Christmas, they take on Edinburgh at home on Thursday before a doubled up league and Challenge Cup Quarter Final Second Leg in Belfast next Saturday.

FBB Three Stars

1. Dominic Osman

2. Cale Tanaka

3. Shane Lovdahl

Two goal lead for Giants as Stingrays Challenge Cup Quarter Final moves to Belfast

Hull Stingrays 1-3 Belfast Giants (Challenge Cup Quarter Final 1st Leg)

The Hull Stingrays kept their dreams of making the Challenge Cup Semi-Finals alive by the slimmest of margins tonight as they were defeated 3-1 by the Belfast Giants in the first leg of the Quarter Finals at the Hull Arena.

More to follow...

FBB Three Stars

1. Kurtis Dulle

2. Sam Towner

3. Shane Lovdahl

Panthers power past persistent Stingrays

Hull Stingrays 1-3 Nottingham Panthers

A 54 save effort from netminder Ben Bowns was not enough to help the Hull Stingrays to an unlikely victory over the Nottingham Panthers tonight at the Hull Arena as Corey Neilson's side powered themselves past Sylvain Cloutier's resilient side by three goals to one.

The Stingrays failed where fellow Gardiner Conference side the Edinburgh Capitals had earlier in the week triumphed by two goals to one, with a goal in each period sealing a thoroughly deserved performance by the visitors.

In truth though, it was a valiant effort from the Rays - who did all they could to overthrow the power, pace and depth of the big-spending league leaders.

Contrary to their first period against the Stingrays a week ago - after which they trailed 3-1 - Nottingham came out strongly firing 21 shots on Bowns in the Rays net.

While the Neilson's side were in the ascendancy for large part of the first period, the home side did have chances to open the scoring Jereme Tendler and Janis Ozolins guilty of missing the net and firing straight at Nottingham keeper Kowalski when presented with opportunities two-on-one.

A poor hit from the Panthers Bruce Graham on Stingray Sam Towner then set the tone for a chippy game after nine minutes - leaving Towner down on the ice injured. A melee ensued and Rays defenceman Jeff Smith stepped in and dropped the gloves with Graham - apparently, and crucially, after Cloutier had already moved in to challenge the Nottingham forward. The two rangy Canadian's tangled in a length fight with Smith undoubtedly coming out on top.

The incident saw Graham thrown out for boarding and Smith, surprisingly to some, handed a game penalty for third-man in after Cloutier's apparent presence. Towner left the game injured and would later return to the bench but played no further part.

Another fight was sparked eight mintutes later as Marc Levers upended a Stingray in a big way from low down much. Shane Lovdahl confronted the British forward who went down to the ice theatrically when pushed before David Ling stepped in for Nottingham and fought Lovdahl - finishing the better of the two in another spur of the moment fight.

Shortly after, the Panthers opened the scoring - Matt Francis with a relatively tame wrist shot that beat Bowns gloves side in what was perhaps the only blemish in another brilliant performance.

Nottingham applied even more pressure in the middle period, firing 23 shots on Bowns in the Hull goal and they doubled their lead thanks to debutant Kelsey Wilson - who had no trouble scrapping the puck home from close in after 35.46 despite calls for man in the crease from the Stingrays.

For all their dominance possession wise, in the shot count and physically, the Panthers lead remained a slender one heading into the third period.

The Stingrays needed an early boost in the third period and they got one just 53 seconds in through captain Kurtis Dulle - who bulleted home a shot in off the post after a lovely backhanded set-up from Matty Davies who, yet again, chose to pass when presented with a shooting chance.

The goal created some panic in the Nottingham ranks and the Rays enjoyed their best offensive spell in the ensuing moments as they attacked the Panthers straight from off. Kowalski was, for once, flustered as the Rays created, but didn't take, two chances to equalise.

After more than 40 minutes of what seemed like unrelenting pressure and physicality from the Panthers, they added a third of the night through David Ling on the powerplay with less than 13 minutes remaining to seal a relatively narrow but more than deserved victory.

The Panthers undoubted strength in depth was a huge factor in their win, their ability to be unrelenting and the lopsided 57-24 shot count in their favour. The Stingrays - who don't have the deepest roster at the best of times - had to deal with attack after attack, hit after hit and - with Cale Tanaka already sidelined, Smith thrown out and Towner, Tom Squires and Ryan Hand all sustaining niggles throughout the night - it proved too much.

The effort, commitment and application of every one of Cloutier's side this evening cannot be questioned. That said, the man advantage, unfortunately, again fell short - failing to convert on eight attempts this evening - and that, in itself, could have potentially changed the outcome of the game or at least claimed the Rays a valuable point.

It was a valiant effort from the Stingrays though and, in particular, netminder Bowns. They can, at least, take some confidence that the scoreline - despite the Panthers absolute dominance - remained so tight until the end.

A Challenge Cup Quarter Final against the Belfast Giants now awaits the Stingrays on Monday evening before a home tie against the Sheffield Steelers follows next weekend.

FBB Three Stars

1 - Ben Bowns

2 - Martin Ondrej

3 - Matty Davies

30 minute performance not enough as Rays soundly beaten

Nottingham Panthers 8-4 Hull Stingrays

The Hull Stingrays tonight lead the league leading Nottingham Panthers 3-1 after 30 minutes but imploded in the second half of the fixture, allowing the Panthers to take control of the fixture at the National Ice Centre with seven consecutive goals, eventually losing out 8-4 to their Erhardt Conference opponents.

Without a fixture on Saturday night, the Stingrays had hoped to emulate the upsets by Edinburgh and Fife - who beat Sheffield 2-1 and Belfast 4-1 respectively 24 hours earlier - but quickly found themselves down by a goal.

It took just 29 seconds for the Rays - who had lost three consecutive Gardiner Conference fixtures in the run up to the game - to trail thanks to a goal from defenceman Jason Beckett.

They quickly rebounded though, leveling through Brit Tom Squires' third goal of the season before seizing the initiative with adding goals from Matty Davies and Sylvain Cloutier - who netted his 100th goal in the Elite League with Sam Towner bagging his first ever professional assist on the goal - to lead 3-1.

Cloutier's side lead 3-1 until 31.56 when Jonathan Weaver pulled a goal back on the powerplay before Bruce Graham equalised less than a minute later. The Panthers then lead with just 57 seconds left in the middle period, David Ling giving the home side a 4-3 lead having outshot the Rays 16-4.

Corey Neilson's side - who have recently lost NHLer Anthony Stewart, who has returned to North America - showed their class in the final period firing 25 shots on Ben Bowns in the Ray net for a total of 55, while extending their lead to 8-3 through Graham (PP), Brandon Benedict (PP), Matthew Myers and Pat Galivan.

Janis Ozolins added a last minute consolation fourth goal for the Stingrays past back up netminder Dan Green - who replaced Craig Kowalski with eight minutes to go - but the Panthers comfortably sealed two points thanks to seven goals in less than 30 minutes of play.

Sykes departs; Towner steps up

The Hull Stingrays today agreed to end the contract of British forward Chris Sykes - who requested his release in order to take up a promotion in employment away from the sport.

The 20 year old, former Great Britain international joined the Rays from hometown club the Sheffield Steeldogs alongside Ben Bowns and Janis Ozolins in the summer having recorded 28 points in 131 games in the English Premier League.

Added to provide Sylvain Cloutier's side with some British depth up front after the loss of Andy McKinney, Jack Watkins, Tristan Harper and Bobby Chamberlain during the off-season, he recorded his first and only goal for the club in a 4-3 shootout loss to Edinburgh in September.

He later added an assist, ending his 27 game spell with the club with two points, icing in his final two games for the club last weekend in Scotland having requested his release.

Cloutier told the Hull Daily Mail:

"Chris got promotion at his work, and decided he'd be better off to take his promotion and move on. It's disappointing, but I just want to thank him for joining us and giving it his best shot."

Presumably in anticipation of the move, 17 year old Hull-born forward Sam Towner stepped up onto the Rays third line with Cloutier and enforcer Ryan Hand at the weekend and largely impressed given his lack of experience at EIHL.

Andy Ward - who has recently returned to action following a concussion suffered on a hit by Sheffield Steelers forward Tom Sestito - will also join Towner in filling the role left by Sykes. Meanwhile, Cale Tanaka is also thought to be close to returning from injury further boosting the Stingrays offensive ranks.

Capital punishment ends miserable week for Stingrays

Edinburgh Capitals 6-2 Hull Stingrays

Sylvain Cloutier's Hull Stingrays tonight ended a dismal week with their third consecutive loss by way of a 6-2 defeat at Murrayfield against the Edinburgh Capitals.

Off the back of a heart wrenching last minute defeat in Glasgow against the Braehead Clan, the Stingrays traveled to the Scottish capital looking to salvage something from their first of two double headers north of the border this season.

The game got off to an end-to-end, up tempo start, however, a cross-checking minor penalty on Jeff Smith halted that free flowing play and gifted the Capitals a powerplay from which they would take full advantage, not just on this occasion but all night long.

With the Stingrays a man down, Curtis Leinweber - one of two new signings for the home side - skated into the zone on the rush and picked his spot past Bowns to score the first of three consecutive powerplay goals for the Caps and open the scoring after 4.48.

Less than two minutes later though the Rays responded, Dominic Osman continuing his rich vein of scoring form to similarly pick his spot when given time and space just above the hashmarks, leveling the score.

The sides then traded chances, with Matty Davies choosing to pass Jereme Tendler when presented with a space in the Caps defence only for the Canadian to miss fire the one timer and the Caps denied by a diving save from Bowns when presented with an all but empty net.

Penalties on Martin Cingel and Marcis Zembergs then gave the Stingrays a huge two man advantage on 12 minutes. The Rays looked dangerous on the ensuing powerplay - continually applying the pressure in the Caps zone - but couldn't find the all important chance thanks to a combination of good work from the Caps defensively and some picky shooting on the Rays behalf. Again, as with the Caps earlier powerplay goal - this would prove to be a reoccurring theme throughout the night.

In comparison to the night prior, the Stingrays had very much impressed in the opening period and ended it in the ascendancy - outshooting the Caps 11-7, that would all change though in the middle stanza.

Two powerplay goals in four minutes and 11 seconds - following a high sticking double minor on Ryan Hand and a high sticking minor penalty on Tom Squires soon after - then turned the game on its head, sucking all the life out of the Stingrays game and giving the Caps all of the momentum for the remainder of the fixture.

Leinweber - who ended the night with two goals and three assists - finished some nice work from player-coach Richard Hartmann to give the Caps a 2-1 lead before Hartmann himself netted a third at the backdoor with Bowns this time unable to stop the shot with a sprawling save on 28.31.

Martin Ondrej then pulled one back for the visitors - who, in contrast to the first period, were out shot 13-7 thanks in part to the high sticking penalties - racing into the zone, delaying his shot before squeezing the puck home short side in a lovely goal first goal of the season for the Slovakian.

It was merely a consolation though as - despite two powerplay opportunities - the Rays couldn't muster an equalising goal.

They would pay for that late in the period as, soon after a Rays powerplay had expired, Cingel and Zembergs raced up the ice two-on-one before the latter almost half-volleyed the set up pass from Cingel past Bowns for a huge 4-2 lead heading into the third period.

The Stingrays would never truly recover from the six minutes of high-sticking penalties and, in truth, a poor second period. Hartmann added a fourth powerplay goal on 52.20, nudging home a loose puck sat in front of Bowns before Capitals top scorer Rene Jarolin finally got in on the action netting a sixth with less than three minutes to go to seal a 6-2 win.

The defeat sealed a torrid weekend and, indeed, week for the Rays - who now find themselves in the midst of a three game slump with two fixtures against Nottingham as well as games against Sheffield and Cardiff to follow prior to Christmas.

While Cloutier's side undoubtedly deserved something for their efforts against the Clan with a late and harsh penalty on Jason Silverthorn costly, the same cannot unfortunately be said of their defeat tonight.

Edinburgh unsurprisingly look like a revitalised side with Leinweber and Brent Patry in the line-up and the Stingrays seem to be missing the speed and intensity of Cale Tanaka - who should soon return from injury.

With that said, Sam Towner has received regular ice time in Tanaka's place and didn't look out of place and the continued goalscoring exploits of Osman and Tendler are encouraging.

Most would agree that where the Stingrays are struggling is in defence with seven conceded in midweek against the Clan and six against the Capitals tonight. Likewise, had the penalty kill and powerplay been more efficient then - much easier to say than do, of course - it seems very likely that they would be returning with a point or two that they deserve for their efforts in Scotland

Cloutier and his squad will be undoubtedly be disappointed with one victory, a shootout loss and three points  - from ten available - during their five game Gardiner Conference run. But with things likely to get harder rather than easier in the next two weeks with games against Nottingham at home (15th December) and away (9th December), the Stingrays will need all the support they can get on and off-ice.

FBB Three Stars

1. Ben Bowns

2. Matty Davies

3. Sam Towner

Stingrays robbed of point in Glasgow

Braehead Clan 4-3 Hull Stingrays 

After a slow start, the Hull Stingrays tonight put up a valiant fight but eventually fell to their second defeat in two games against the Braehead Clan - losing out to a Drew Miller game winning powerplay goal with less than 40 seconds remaining in a 4-3 defeat.

The third and final instalment of three consecutive games between the sides started with the home side dominating large periods of play and they eventually made their superior possession pay. Locked out NHLer Drew Miller with some strong play to set the puck up in the Stingrays zone on the powerplay before Robert Farmer fed Ash Goldie in front to fire the home team into the lead.

No doubt the Stingrays started slowly as they were outshot 8-4 in the opening period and deserved to trail at the first intermission, however, they would improve significantly in the final two thirds of the game.

An uncharacteristic rush on the puck in the Rays defensive zone by former Stingray Craig Mitchell then allowed Goldie to set up Jade Galbraith - who neatly deked around netminder Ben Bowns and finished into an empty net for a 2-0 lead.

The Stingrays were then sparked into life by a physical and aggressive shift from forward line consisting of Sylvain Cloutier, Sam Towner and Ryan Hand - who penned the Clan in their own zone and crafted a number of hard nosed chances.

Feeding off that momentum, Janis Ozolins rifled one past underfire Clan netminder Garrett Zemlak - after losing an edge on his skate - with seven minutes remaining in the period to narrow the deficit to one.

With 1.49 left in the second period the visitors continued their charge, equalising through Jason Silverthorn after a poor Clan change allowed the Rays to break and the Canadian to neatly jink around Zemlak and squeeze the puck in near side.

While the Clan were always dangerous offensively through player-coach Jordan Krestanovich, Miller and Goldie in particular, the perseverance of the Stingrays suddenly found them battling away for important Gardiner Conference points despite an uneasy start to the game.

The home side again took the lead 53 seconds into the third as Clan man of the match Goldie wheeled in all alone from the corner  and bagged his second of the game high over the shoulder of Bowns.

Cloutier's side continued to plug away though they levelled the game at 3-3 through Jereme Tendler - whose precise shot from an acute angle found the five-hole of Zemlak with 14 minutes to go.

Understandably, the Rays would have more than settled for a point from the trek to Glasgow and, indeed, on balance were probably worth a point.

They looked good to seal that point as time ticked below the two minute mark before coincidental penalties on Robert Farmer and Martin Ondrej saw both sides reduced to four men with 1.58 remaining.

Moments later, a harsh interference penalty on Silverthorn - who returned from possible injury on Thursday night to put in one of his best showings this season - then crucially forced the Rays to kill a 4-on-3 with 1.44 left to go. Player-coach Cloutier and the Stingrays bench were undoubtedly incredulous with, what would turn out to be a costly call made by referee Rob Cowan

A minute later and Miller scrapped the puck home to give the Glasgow side a 4-3 lead with 40 seconds to go.

The Stingrays pulled netminder Bowns - who brilliantly rebounded from one of his poorer showings in midweek - but wouldn't force another tying goal, giving the Clan two consecutive victories over the Rays and a big 3-1 lead in the sides series this season.

A trip down the M8 to Edinburgh to take on the Capitals tonight completes a five game run against Gardiner Conference sides which the Rays will be hoping to end on a high.

FBB Three Stars

1. Jason Silverthorn

2. Ben Bowns

3. Sam Towner

Match Highlights


Match Interview

Bad night at the office as Rays comfortably beaten

Hull Stingrays 2-7 Braehead Clan

In the second of the three consecutive meetings between the two sides, the Hull Stingrays were tonight soundly beaten by the Braehead Clan at Hull Arena with NHLer Drew Miller and Brit Robert Farmer helping themselves to five goals and eight points in a 7-2 win.

Tom Squires opened the scoring 11 seconds into the fixture four days earlier, however, it was the Clan that scored early this time. Detriot Red Wings forward Miller bagging the first of three goals on the night just 13 seconds into the tie giving the Scots a perfect start to the fixture.

Soon after the opener, Jason Silverthorn limped off in visible pain with an injury that would later see him leave the game for hospital following an innocuous check on a Clan defenceman.

Things then went from bad to worse for Stingrays, who had barely established themselves in the game before Ash Goldie added Braehead's second with a slapshot from the hashmarks after just five minutes.

Controversially, prior to the Clans second goal, Braehead forward Adam Walker left the game after it transpired that his name had not been listed on the official teamsheet. This was spotted by the Stingrays bench moments after his first shift and Rays captain Kurtis Dulle brought the issue to the attention of referee Michael Hicks - who promptly ordered the British forward from the game.

While no action was taken at the time, it remains to be seen what the Elite League's take on the event is with the ruling unclear - although, it must be mentioned, that at other levels of the sport in the UK the offending team would forfeit the game. Whether the issue is taken any further remains to be seen, though on this showing the Stingrays wouldn't deserve the points regardless.

Nevertheless, despite the controversy, the Stingrays were outplayed for large swathes of the first period, that was, until Jereme Tendler popped up and banked the puck in off Clan netminder Garrett Zemlak from an acute angle. The goal saved the blushes of alternate captain Dominic Osman who, moments earlier, had missed an empty net at the back stick with an awful finish on a two-on-one with Matty Davies.

The goal gave the Stingrays much need spark and, against the general run of play in the opening period, Tendler bagged his 18th of the season little over three minutes later to level the scores. With Sylvain Cloutier's side pushing forward, Matty Davies opted, as he so often does, to pass instead of rushing through a gaping hole in the Clan defence. He then fed Tendler, who's initial shot was saved, before he picked up his own rebound and jinked his way around Zemlak to fire into the empty net.

The home side started off the second period as they had the first - badly. They soon conceded a third through Farmer - who had one of his best, most focused games at Hull Arena, recording five points - neatly firing a backhanded shot high over Ben Bowns following an awful shift from defensive pairing Dulle and Jeff Smith.

Miller was then given all the time in the world in front of Bowns on the powerplay to fire a backhanded shot low under the GB keeper for a 4-2 lead heading into the third.

The Stingrays desperately need to start the third period well and they got the jump they required early on in the final stanza with some continued pressure, only for Miller to complete his hat-trick with an easy finish two minutes in that effectively ended the tie as a contest.

Rays enforcer Ryan Hand and rangy Clan debutant Martin Tuma - signed from Nottingham this week - dropped the gloves in the only notable moment of the final 40 minutes of the game as far as Rays fans were concerned. Tuma tied up Hand and got some good early upper cuts in before Hand came back into the contest - seemingly landing the decisive blow - with the Czech defenceman leaving the game with an injured hand.

Further misery was heaped on the home fans as Farmer added his second of the game and tenth of the season with a neat deke around Bowns - ending his participation in the fixture  - before Goldie rounded off the rout by beating replacement Greg Blais for a seventh with under seven minutes remaining.

The defeat is a tough one to take given the Rays now face a Scottish double header this weekend and there were very few bright sparks on show this evening. While two goals from Tendler and the performance of Martin Ondrej and Shane Lovdahl as a defensive pairing was impressive, the exactly opposite could perhaps be leveled at the Smith and Dulle partnership - which was all at sea. Injuries to Silverthorn and niggling doubts to Janis Ozolins and netminder Bowns - who went to the dressing room with the physio after being replaced this evening - will also be a concern.

Regardless, there are no doubts this was comfortably the Stingrays worst showing of the season and Cloutier and his side will be all too aware of that.

They will hope to bounce back on Saturday with the last of three consecutive fixtures against Braehead - this time in Glasgow - leveling the the series - which stands at 2-1 in favour of the Clan - in the process. On Sunday they  then travel to Edinburgh to face a Capitals side that has received a welcome boost in strength and depth this week with he signing of two import defencemen.

FBB Three Stars

1. Jereme Tendler

2. Martin Ondrej

3. Shane Lovdahl

Match Highlights: Fife Flyers 3-2 Hull Stingrays (SO)

Stingrays hit six to sink Clan

Hull Stingrays 6-4 Braehead Clan

The Hull Stingrays tonight defeated Gardiner Conference rivals the Braehead Clan by six goals to four at Hull Arena to complete a three point weekend.

Following the narrow shootout loss to the Fife Flyers in Kirkcaldy last night, the Stingrays were hoping to bounce back in a positive fashion in what was the second installment of a five game run against conference rivals.

They got off to a perfect - if somewhat fortuitous - start as Tom Squires goal bound wrist shot from just south of the top of the circle found its way past Garrett Zemlak in the Clan goal to give the home side a lead after just 11 seconds.

The Rays enjoyed just those 11 seconds of dominance before the Scottish side came to the fore and took control of the fixture. Though the visitors had the majority of the possession and a number of chances following the games opening goal, their pressure didn't pay until the 12th minute when a Davide Nicoletti wristshot beat Ben Bowns.

They followed that up with another goal just 35 seconds later as Jade Galbraith from behind the goal set up Brock McPherson who fired home a one-timer for a 2-1 Clan lead.

A blatant holding penalty on Sam Zajac then gave the Stingrays a golden opportunity to level against the run of play heading into the first intermission. The Rays have typically struggled on the powerplay this season but, on this occasion, came up big as a Janis Ozolins chance from close in was kicked away by Zemlak only for player-coach Cloutier to follow up for his fifth of the season.

Though the game-tying goal had come against the grain and with less than a minute remaining in the period, the Rays had a chance to take an unlikely lead heading into the second period as a three-on-two was passed from Silverthorn to Ozolins and then, again, Cloutier - who was this time denied by the Clans under-fire stopper.

Despite a somewhat shaky first period, the home side dominated the exchanges in the middle stanza - outshooting their opponents 13-7.

Four minutes in Dominic Osman continued his brilliant run of form to clinically finish off a three-on-two, crafted by Matty Davies' speed, at the backpost and give the Rays a 3-2 lead with his 14th of the season. Nevertheless, the Clan quickly rebounded, equalising less than two minutes later as a Nicoletti point shot received the deftest of deflections to fly home high past Bowns.

Having created Osman's goal, Stingrays centre Davies was then given a two-plus-ten for a soft check from behind on the Clan's goalscorer Galbraith - only for the Rays to kill off the penalty with a surprisingly aggressive and effective defence.

Crucially, that penalty kill gave the Stingrays momentum going forward, and they once again took the lead just over 40 seconds later - Kurtis Dulle finding the twine behind Zemlak from the blueline for a 4-3 lead.

The contest was far from over heading into the final 20 but it was the home side that carried over their ever-improving form from the second period with Ozolins - who was again a threat whenever he was given the puck and who ended the night with four assists - going close.

The Latvians chance from close in on Clan keeper Zemlak inadvertently dislodged the blade from the Canadians left skate leaving him unable to take his place between the pipes. He was replaced by back-up Michael Will - who took home the two points for the Clan on his last visit to Hull.

Unfortunately for Braehead and their chances in the fixture, Will's first move was to drop a clanger, fumbling a speculative wristshot from Squires before losing track of the nearby rebound to allow Jason Silverthorn to prod home into an empty net behind a disorientated Will for crucial 5-3 lead.

The game still was not won though and the Clan - who attacked with purpose and vigor throughout the night -immediately replied through British forward Adam Walker to again narrow the gap to one.

With his skate fixed, Zemlak then returned to the pipes to complete an wholly unsuccessful outing for Will - who posted one save on two shots - only for the Clan number one to take, what would turn out to be, a costly slashing penalty after lashing out at a Rays forward.

Stingrays captain Dulle then completed the victory and the three point weekend on the ensuing powerplay with an awkward wristshot which may or may not have taken a deflection on its way past Zemlak.

The victory levelled up the Stingrays-Clan series at 1-1 with the two sides set to meet again at the Hull Arena on Thursday and in Glasgow on Saturday. Cloutier's side will then complete an important five game run against Gardiner Conference sides with a fixture at Murrayfield against the Edinburgh Capitals.

FBB Three Stars

1. Ben Bowns

2. Shane Lovdahl

3. Matty Davies

Shootout loss for Stingrays in Kirkcaldy

Fife Flyers 3-2 Hull Stingrays (PS)

The Hull Stingrays tonight began their run of five consecutive Gardiner Conference games with defeat in Kirkcaldy for the second time this season, losing out 3-2 on penalty shots in another tight contest between the two sides.

Markers from Jereme Tendler and Dominic Osman - who continue to rack up the goals for the Rays with their 15th and 13th of the season respectively - leveled for the Rays following goals from Steve McAlpine and Casey Haines twice gave the home side the lead.

Both sides claimed a point as the game went into overtime and then penalty shots before misses from Tendler, Osman and Janis Ozolins, combined with a converted attempt from Jason Pitton handed the Flyers the crucial extra point.

Sylvain Cloutier's side return home from Scotland this evening ahead of their second installment of Gardiner Conference action against the Braehead Clan tomorrow night at the Hull Arena.

Rays return from Scotland and weekend with two points

Edinburgh Capitals 1-3 Hull Stingrays

The Hull Stingrays tonight bounced back from a tough loss to the league leading Belfast Giants by defeating the Edinburgh Capitals for the second time this season.

Jason Silverthorn opened the scoring for the Stingrays against his former club - netting his second shorthanded goal in two games - in a one-goal first period.

Buoyed by one of the biggest crowds at Murrayfield for a number of years, Edinburgh equalised through long-time tailsman Martin Cingel, only for captain Kurtis Dulle to give the Rays their second lead of the game heading into the third and final period.

Jereme Tendler then sealed the contest in favour of the visiting Stingrays with an empty net goal with less than two minutes remaining.

Importantly,the victory gives the Rays five points out of six against the Capitals this season following a 6-3 home win and 4-3 shootout loss.

Sylvain Cloutier's face five consecutive crucial Gardiner Conference fixtures in the next two weeks.

Next weekend sees the Rays return to Scotland to face the Fife Flyers - whom they lost 4-3 against earlier this week - before home games against Braehead on the following Sunday and Thursday.

They round off the crunch period with a double header north of the border on which they take on Braehead for the third time in three games on Saturday 1st December before a return to Edinburgh on Sunday 2nd December.

WHCR 106.9FM Stingrays Fans Forum - November 2012

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Scrappy Stingrays fall just short against Giants

Hull Stingrays 2-3 Belfast Giants

The Hull Stingrays tonight fell to their second home defeat against the Belfast Giants this season, narrowly losing out to the title contenders by three goals to two in a scrappy affair at the Hull Arena.

The match-up was the Northern Irish sides first fixture for two weeks following the re-arrangement of a number of their games due to Great Britain's successful trip to Japan and pit GB's two netminders - Ben Bowns and Stephen Murphy - against each other.

The home side got off to a great start following their mid-week defeat in Fife, Matty Davies perfectly controlling a defence-splitting pass only for GB number one Murphy to deny the ensuing chance minutes in.

On his first shift enforcer Ryan Hand - who may have shed the gloves against Belfast enforcer Adam Keefe - was on the end of an innocuous shoulder from the Giants defenceman in front of the Giants net and immediately hit the floor. The Canadian appeared to feel the after-affects of the collision and immediately left the ice - he was seemingly used sparingly throughout the game and lacked the impact of recent weeks.

The Rays looked confident, with their passing, control of the game and powerplay noticeably better than it had been for large parts this season and shots raining in on Murphy - though they were surprisingly outshot 14-12 in the first period. Nevertheless, despite the positive start to the game, they failed to make their decent start to the game pay and that would later cost them.

Unsurprisingly, the league leading Giants stepped it up a notch in the middle period and the Rays struggled to cope with the speedy, determined onslaught.

Outshooting the Rays 17-9 in a dominant second stanza - the Giants opened the scoring with a simple one-time goal from Craig Peacock, who found plenty of space between Kurtis Dulle and Jeff Smith in front to fire home after a neat pass from behind the net by Noah Clarke.

Suffering a mini-collapse due to sustained Belfast pressure, the Rays then conceded again just over a minute-and-a-half later as Andrew Fournier ghosted between Martin Ondrej and Shane Lovdahl to slot past Bowns unassisted.

A third Belfast goal then materialised on 32.57, as Robby Sandrock bulleted a trademark slapshot home on the powerplay for a sound and well-deserved three goal lead for the visitors.

However, with the storm seemingly weathered, Jereme Tendler's speculative long-range wristshot beat Murphy to finally give Sylvain Cloutier's side the goal they so deserved in the first period two minutes heading into the second intermission - giving them hope heading into the third.

Doug Christiansen's side continued their dominance at the beginning of the final stanza but the Stingrays somehow still found themselves well within a shot of snatching a point with ten minutes to play - despite a somewhat scrappy showing overall.

With 7.53 to play Jason Silverthorn took the initiative and slotted home a shorthanded goal moments after Dominic Osman had rung the post on the break. The comeback was, seemingly, on.

Unfortunately, the Rays fragmented offence - in part due to the Giants shutdown of Janis Ozolins - couldn't muster an equalising goal as they squandered a late powerplay before failing to challenge the Giants goal with Bowns pulled in favour of an extra outskater. Their biggest and best chance for a leveller came through Cloutier but the player-coach could only fire agonisingly wide just seconds before the buzzer to hand the Giants the victory.

The Stingrays - who encouragingly ran Belfast very close despite not being at their best - travel to Edinburgh tomorrow night to take on the Capitals in front of what is expected to be a big crowd at Murrayfield.

FBB Three Stars

1. Ben Bowns

2. Matty Davies

3. Jason Silverthorn

Stingrays drop game against Gardiner rivals

Fife Flyers 4-3 Hull Stingrays

Leading 2-0 in the season long series, the Hull Stingrays last night dropped a game to their Gardiner Conference rivals the Fife Flyers by way of a 4-3 loss in Kirkcaldy.

Blaze gain quick revenge

Coventry Blaze 2-1 Hull Stingrays

In the second of a double header weekend against the Coventry Blaze, the Hull Stingrays - without topscorer Janis Ozolins, netminder Ben Bowns, Brit Andy Ward and injured import Cale Tanaka - couldn't quite muster the offence to beat the Blaze as they went down 2-1 in the Elite League.

As had been the case the night prior, the visiting side - this time the Stingrays - outshot the home side - the Blaze - in the opening period but found themselves trailing thanks to goals from Sam Smith and Shea Guthrie in a penalty strewn period for Sylvain Cloutier's side which saw them kill four Coventry powerplay attempts.

The long-awaited bout between enforcers Ryan Hand and Benn Olson finally materialised immediately after Smith's opening goal two minutes in with both receiving five minute majors for their troubles.

Dominic Osman netted his third powerplay goal in two games in 8.12 into the second period to edge the Rays back into the contest. However, in a low scoring affair, the Rays couldn't find the extra offence to force the issue as they had the night before in Hull with two third period powerplay goals losing out by 2-1.

While likely disappointed to have won in the Challenge Cup and lost in the league, player-coach Cloutier should be pleased with his sides work this weekend - particularly given they were missing Ozolins on top of Tanaka, Bowns and Ward tonight.

The biggest positive from the weekend was the performance of netminder Greg Blais on his Elite League debut in place of Bowns.

The Canadian made 83 saves over the two games against the Blaze, conceding just three goals - giving him a save percentage of 95.4%. His more than solid showing has proved that, should the Rays need a replacement between the pipes - as they may do in February when Bowns may again be involved in Great Britain's final Olympic Qualifier - they have a more than able deputy in the former EPL keeper.

Greg arrives in a Blais of glory

Hull Stingrays 4-2 Coventry Blaze

A 46 save performance from debutant netminder Greg Blais and two third period powerplay goals from Dominic Osman tonight helped the Hull Stingrays to a 4-2 win over the Coventry Blaze in the Challenge Cup.

With both sides already qualified from the group stage of the competition - the Rays in fourth - and their names already in the hat for the Quarter Finals the game was effectively marked a dead rubber. As a result all the pre-game build-up evolved around Rays enforcer Ryan Hand and his Coventry counterpart Benn Olson and whether or, more likely, how many times they'd drop the gloves.

That much anticipated fight never materialised  though as Olson - clearly under strict instruction not to drop the gloves following his involvedment in brawls with Cardiff and Belfast in recent weeks - rejected Hand's invitation to drop the gloves numerous times on the two players opening shift and throughout the game.

With that out of the way, the Blaze got the better start to the game as they started the game with the kind of energy that would be evident throughout, dominating the opening moments albeit with some scrappy, disjointed play as the adrenaline took effect particularly on the Rays.

The Rays - who appeared to play more physically than they had the in whole of the 12/13 season so far put together - gradually grew into the opening period and yet another moment of pure skill from that man Janis Ozolins saw them take the lead 4.23 in. Breaking into the offensive zone, the Latvian tantalisingly dangled the puck on his stick moving it to his skate and then back to his stick while jinking around a number of Blaze players before slotting home past netminder Peter Hirsch. The goal is another to add to Ozolins growing highlight reel and begs the question how many more tricks does he have in his locker?

Penalty trouble was an issue for the home side all night long, however, they used the man disadvantage to their advantage six minutes after their opener. Jereme Tendler with his 11th of the season and yet another textbook shorthanded goal having intercepted a pass between two Coventry blueliners in the Blaze offensive zone before out-waiting keeper Hirsch.

Despite out shooting the home side 14-7, the Blaze were two goals down heading into the second.

They eventually made their superior puck possession time pay in the second period but not before Rays netminder Blais made two fantastic saves on the Blaze and forward Dustin Cameron.

Cameron found himself home alone yards in front of the keeper, only to see his goalbound one-timer somehow diverted wide by Blais. The danger wasn't over for the Rays though and, as their penalty kill struggled to settle defensively, Cameron was somehow again left home alone in front of Blais. Instead of one-timing a shot, the Blaze winger opted to receive the pass and deke the keeper, only for Blais - floored by the deke and initial chances around the net - to stone him with an upside-down sprawling kick save - or something to that effect. Yes, it is that hard to describe but it was that jaw-dropping.

Nevertheless, with Cameron still looking to the Heavens, the Blaze pulled one back thanks to NHLer Matt Beleskey - who dived to keep the puck in the zone before impressively getting to his feet and rifling a shot low past the persistent Blais on the powerplay to show his true class.

Less than three minutes later, the locked-out Anaheim Ducks forward drew the Blaze level with his second powerplay goal of the evening - a booming, pinpoint slapshot high into the Rays net as a string of second penalty's proved costly. Nevertheless, but for Blais - who turned away 17 shots in the second period alone - it could have been a lot worse for the home side and they moved into the final period possibly believing that they had weathered the storm.

The Rays improved in the third period and a hugely costly five-on-three powerplay - thanks to penalties on Steven Chalmers for interference and Beleskey for roughing - proved the difference. Controlling the puck in the zone well, Matty Davies fed Dominic Osman at the backstick - who squeezed his one-time shot low past Hirsch for what would turn out to be the game winning goal.

Fast forward four minutes and 47 seconds and Osman again fired home in a near replica move - though this time into a significantly more open net - to seal a clinical 4-2 Stingrays win in front of a big crowd at the Hull Arena.

The victory extends the Rays win streak to four games and gives Sylvain Cloutier's side five wins from their last six fixtures - ending their Challenge Cup Group B campaign on a winning note. While disappointing that tonight's game was effectively a dead rubber, the win continues important momentum for the club and extends a win streak that has yet to see them truly play to their full potential.

Impressively, the Rays now have three players (Osman, Ozolins and Tendler) in double figures for goals and in the league's top 15 goalscorers - something no other side can claim. Likewise, the man of the match performance from Blais was massive and, at the very least, reassuring that the Rays have his quality on the bench or sidelines should starting netminder Bowns ever be unavailable. His double save on Cameron from close are surely two of the best saves ever seen at the Hull Arena.

A return fixture tomorrow night in Coventry is next on the schedule for the Rays who's record against the Blaze this season is now one win and one shootout defeat.

FBB Three Stars 

1. Greg Blais

2. Janis Ozolins

3. Domnic Osman

Squires move becomes permanent; Tanaka out for 6-8 weeks

The English Premier League's Sheffield Steeldogs have confirmed that British forward Tom Squires has moved to join the Hull Stingrays on a permanent basis following the recently signed two-way contract.

Former Sheffield Steelers forward Squires signed the two-way deal on Wednesday and made his debut in the crucial Challenge Cup victory over the Cardiff Devils on Thursday - bagging the all-important game winning goal to send the Rays to the Quarter Finals.

The 21 year old - who recorded 20 points in 52 games with the Steelers last season - then made a surprise second appearance for the Stingrays last night - despite his parent club the Steeldogs taking on the Manchester Phoenix in the EPL - adding an assist in a 3-2 win over the Fife Flyers.

The Sheffield based EPL side have had a torrid start to the season winning just three of their 14 regular season fixtures with Squires registering just two assists in 11 games. Their poor start to the campaign was compounded last night as they - minus Squires - went down 9-1 to northern rivals the Manchester Phoenix.

Following the loss the Steeldogs released a frank statement on their fortunes named "No stone will go unturned" before a further statement on Squires release read:

The Bradfield Brewery Sheffield Steeldogs would like to wish Tom Squires all the best in his move to Hull Stingrays' Elite League Team for the remainder of the season. 

It was great to see Tom back in a Steeldogs shirt, but Tom was given an opportunity to play for Hull in recent weeks and Hull have requested Tom's services for the remainder of season. 

We would never stand in the way of any Sheffield player's progression and the Sheffield Steeldogs wish Tom all the best for the future.

The loss of netminder Ben Bowns and 55 goal scorer Janis Ozolins to the Stingrays in the summer appears to have had a huge impact on the club and, despite the addition of forward Derek Campbell and defenceman Dmitri Rodin - two members of the Rays successful 11/12 squad - the Steeldogs find themselves down in 9th place.

Of the signing Stingrays player-coach Sylvain Cloutier - who it is believe expressed an interest in taking Squires on a full-time deal to Steeldogs head coach Andre Payette following his impressive first two appearances in Rays colours - said:

“We are extremely pleased to be able to have Tom with us now for the rest of the season. I have liked Tom for a long time and he has played well in both games for us, getting a big goal in Cardiff. He is a good, young British player who will make a contribution to the team. He has experience of playing in the Elite League with Sheffield Steelers and he proved he can play at the top level. It gives us a bit more depth to the line-up too.”

Meanwhile Squires said that he was happy to be returning to the Elite League full-time adding that the deal was a "mutual thing":

“I am really happy to have made the move permanently. It is the league I want to play in and it was nice to get the two-way deal in the first place. It was a mutual thing with Steeldogs. They were great letting me go on the two-way and Clouts was happy with how I played in the two games so the timing was ideal. It is good to see Hull doing well. Whenever I played there it was always a tough place to go and get points. They have a good group of guys and they are all playing for each other. I hope to produce some points. Clouts has shown a lot of faith in me and I hope to repay that faith by helping the team in any way I can.”

The move for Squires coincidentally comes at the perfect time from a depth perspective for the Stingrays as they also confirmed today that Canadian forward Cale Tanaka - who has surprised pre-season doubters by scoring 11 points in 17 games - will be out for six to eight weeks with a ruptured AC shoulder joint.

“Obviously it is a blow because he has been one of our key players this season. He brings energy and speed to the line-up and has been playing really well for us," said Cloutier.

Scrappy win sends Stingrays top of Gardiner Conference

Hull Stingrays 3-2 Fife Flyers

The Hull Stingrays tonight reached top spot in the Gardiner Conference thanks to a scrappy but hard-fought 3-2 victory over conference rivals the Fife Flyers - their second win over the Scottish side in just over a week - in front of a healthy crowd of over 1100.

The Rays surprisingly handed a home-debut to British forward Tom Squires - Thursday's two-way signing from the Sheffield Steeldogs - who was cleared to play despite his parent club facing the Manchester Phoenix in the English Premier League this evening.

It was Squires and fellow former Steeldog Janis Ozolins who combined well for the games first opportunity after two minutes, forcing Bryan Pitton to make a smart glove save.

Contrary to a week earlier when the visitors came out flying, it was the home side who dominated large periods of the opening stanza. However, on this occasion, penalty trouble - including two minor penalties on Dominic Osman and one a-piece on Matty Davies and Ryan Hand - prevented the Rays from truly utilising and building off their early momentum as Fife had done last week with team's closing out a fairly dour first period in a stalemate.

An injury to Cale Tanaka forced Sylvain Cloutier to re-shuffle his offensive lines and the result was an incoherent second period - though admittedly that was more of a continuation from both sides than a result of the line-changes.

Against the run of play, the Flyers then took the lead after 32.23 - Jeff Caister firing a low slapshot through a crowd and past Ben Bowns for the first goal of the game.

The goal brought some life to the fixture and, just over two minutes later, the Rays misfiring offence launched a spritely counter-attack whcih saw Dominic Osman bag a much needed goal to level the scores albeit in somewhat controversial fashion if you're from Kirkcaldy, to level the scores.

With Osman breaking down the wing, Rays centre Davies was knocked to the floor by a Fife player off the puck. Seeing this, referee Keiran O'Hallloran raised his arm to call the penalty and, incorrectly given the Rays still had possession of the puck, blew the whistle just as Osman's shot found its way home. After initial confusion, the correct decision was eventually reached as the goal - a wristshot from the top of the circle - was given.

A disappointing, largely uninspiring opening two periods left the game finely poised heading into the final 20 minutes.

Nevertheless, the game continued in a similar fashion for the opening stages of the final period, that was until the puck fell perfectly to the stick of Rays topscorer Janis Ozolins - who slotted home nine minutes in for a 2-1 Stingrays lead following a frantic scramble in front of the Flyers net to finally awaken the big but quiet home following.

Four minutes later, player-coach Clouter recorded his second goal in two home games thanks to a perfect pass on a two-on-one from an unusually off-key Jereme Tendler for a crucial 3-1 lead.

Flyers forward Jason Pitton then deftly re-directed a floating point shot from Flyers standout Caister past Bowns four minutes later to once again make it a one goal game.

Having appeared confident following two quick goals and 3-1 lead, the Rays retreated into their own end and spent much of the final five minutes defending their own goal as the Flyers piled on the pressure looking for an equaliser that - despite their pressure - never  looked like arriving.

Todd Dutiaume's side never truly troubled the Rays in what turned out to be a scrappy, largely uninspiring match-up - although at 0-0 and 1-1 it was anyone's game - and, despite outshooting the Rays 17-7 in the final 20, the Rays saw out their second one goal win over the Flyers this season.

It was by no means vintage stuff from the Rays and it was a struggle to pick out three standout performers from the victorious side, however, they scraped out a victory which not only improves them to 2-0 against Fife this season but also sends them top of the Gardiner Conference with a 4-2-3 record.

In fact, the Rays have struggled to put up a 60 minutes performance in any of their last three games and yet they have come away, top of their conference, in the Challenge Cup Quarter Finals and with a three game win streak to boot.

Of the victory Cloutier said:

"It is a big win. It was a close game but we found a way in the third period to break them. They got back in the game but we found a way to get the two points. There are going to be nights when you play a great game and get nothing. Tonight it was ugly but we got the win. We are now top of the conference which is nice and we want to keep going and keep taking points. There is no reason why we cannot be one or two in our group."

With Ben Bowns travelling to Japan with the Great Britain senior side early next week for the Olympic pre-qualifying tournament, the challenge to extend that streak looks a big one.

Canadian Greg Blais - signed specifically to replace Bowns during his absence - will fill in between the pipes next weekend (and possibly the following Tuesday in Fife depending on Bowns' fitness when he returns) in what will surely be a physical double header against the Coventry Blaze

The temporary addition of Blais increases the Rays to 12 imports, one more than is allowed under EIHL rules, meaning one import classified player will have to sit out.

The injury to Tanaka - believed to be a possible broken collarbone - makes Cloutier's decision over who to sit easier, with the player-coach otherwise thought likely to have sat and coached from the bench during Bowns' absence.

On the Tanaka injury Cloutier added:

"He is one of our key players and has done a great job for us this season. We don’t want to lose him so hopefully he will be OK. He has a lot of talent, has good skill and can skate. He is one of my key guys and I can count on him every night. Hopefully we will get some good news with Cale because everything is going our way right now. But if he is out for a few weeks then we need other guys to step up and take their chance. It will be an opportunity for [Chris] Sykes and [Sam] Towner and Wardo [Andy Ward] who is hoping to be back practicing with us this week."

FBB Three Stars

1. Janis Ozolins

2. Martin Ondrej

3. Ben Bowns

Stingrays hold on for Quarter Final qualification...just

Cardiff Devils 3-4 Hull Stingrays

Having lead 4-1, the Hull Stingrays tonight held on for a huge 4-3 win over a depleted Cardiff Devils outfit in the Challenge Cup - mathematically booking their place in the Challenge Cup Quarter Finals for the first time in their history with their first away victory of the season.

The visitors - for whom Tom Squires made his debut on a two-way deal from the Sheffield Steeldogs - took a fortuitous lead, Silverthorn opening the scoring with a speculative wrist shot from the halfway line which somehow beat Phil Osaer in the Cardiff net 6.48 in.

A quick feed on a Devils line change then allowed Matty Davies to race in, feeding a backpost pass to  Jereme Tendler - who slotted home with his tenth goal of the year.

11 minutes later, Cale Tanaka robbed the puck off Cardiff defenceman Josh Batch and slotted home for his fifth of the season and a surprise 3-0 lead heading into the second period.

The Rays started the second as they had finished the third and debutant Tom Squires added a fourth four minutes in. However, the visitors made hard work of their lead and the Devils comeback was soon on, as Chris Blight kickstarted the fightback with a powerplay goal on 27.50 following a Janis Ozolins penalty.

The Devils gained further momentum with another powerplay, reducing the deficit to 4-2 through player-coach Gerad Adams as Ryan Hand sat out thanks to a roughing penalty. Stingrays player-coach Sylvain Cloutier responded by calling a time-out to halt the tide against his side and, perhaps crucially for the Stingrays hopes in both the game and competition, they withheld the Devils offence and rode out the second period two goals ahead.

The expected early third period deluge from Cardiff followed and soon paid off as Ozolins sat his second minor penalty of the evening to allow Mac Faulkner to convert a third powerplay goal of the evening for the Devils and make it a one goal game. At this stage the home side were putting the Stingrays under huge pressure.

The turning point of the comeback however, came on 52.40 as the Rays - having failed to snub out three of four penalty kills so far - killed a two minute penalty on defenceman Martin Ondrej. The huge kill, combined with a minor penalty on the Devils Kenton Smith halted the momentum and would eventually prove telling.

Cardiff again piled on the pressure in the dying moments, pulling netminder Phil Osaer but Stingrays keeper Ben Bowns once again came up big to help the Rays to their third win in four games and second in two games against the Devils this season - following their 7-5 Challenge Cup triumph earlier in the season.

The victory eliminates the Devils from the Challenge Cup and sees the Stingrays mathematically through to the Quarter Final as, with one game remaining, the Devils can't topple the Rays points total nor regulation wins total (the decider and tie-breaker respectively) in Challenge Cup Group B.

Qualifying for the next round in fourth place, the Stingrays will face the top seed of Challenge Cup Group A - which is currently wide open with Braehead leading (8GP 9PTS), Belfast second (5GP 8PTS), Dundee third (7GP 8PTS) and Fife fourth (8GP 8PTS).

Regardless of their opponents, Cloutier and the Rays will take great heart in qualifying from such a tough group. Even if they only required two wins over Cardiff and an overtime loss against Coventry, the performances, particularly early in the season, at times deserved more. 

Stingrays add Squires on two-way

The Hull Stingrays have signed former Sheffield Steelers forward Tom Squires on a two-way contract from English Premier League side Sheffield Steeldogs.

The British winger rejected the Stingrays in the summer to join hometown club the Steeldogs having recorded 14 goals and 34 points in 98 games with the Steelers. Nevertheless, despite dropping down from the EIHL, the Sheffield born forward has so far struggled offensively in the EPL, recording just two assists in 11 games in the second tier.

Rays player-coach Sylvain Cloutier has moved to add Squires in order to boost the Rays numbers following the concussion sustained by Andy Ward in a hit by Sheffield Steelers former NHL forward Tom Sestito which has ruled the Brit out of the lineup.

Cloutier said:

"With Andy Ward out injured I wanted to add some depth to the line-up. Tom is someone I wanted to sign in the summer but he went to the Steeldogs. But I spoke to him and asked if he wanted to come and play on a two-way deal. He has that experience of playing in the Elite League for the Steelers and has shown he can play at that level. He has good skill and he will get his chance in Cardiff tonight. It is a good opportunity for him and I expect him to take advantage of that."

Former Great Britain junior international Squires will make his debut for the club in tonight's crunch Challenge Cup clash with the Cardiff Devils and will be available to ice for the Rays when the Steeldogs are without a game.

A win for the Stingrays in regulation in South Wales tonight will see them qualify outright for the Quarter Finals of the cup competition for the first time in their history. Their last foray into a cup competition quarter finals came automatically as they were defeated 8-3 on aggregate by the Manchester Phoenix in the Knockout Cup. 

Ozolins the catalyst as Rays defeat Flyers

Hull Stingrays 5-4 Fife Flyers

Latvian forward Janis Ozolins again put in a match winning performance, notching a goal and two assists, as the Hull Stingrays beat Gardiner Conference rivals the Fife Flyers in their only fixture of the weekend.

The Stingrays saw captain Kurtis Dulle return to the ice having been hospitalised with an illness in the past week, however, Andy Ward sat out - still feeling the effects of the big hit from Sheffield Steelers forward Tom Sestito.

Fife - despite the long journey down from Kirkcaldy - got off to a flier, penning the Rays in their own end for a large portion of the opening minutes. That early pressure paid off after just two minutes, player-coach Todd Dutiaume slotting home his first of the season on a two-on-one that manifest itself after Martin Ondrej found himself caught high as the Rays lost the puck.

The Slovakian blueliner replaced Tomas Valecko just under two weeks ago and put in a very good performance over the 60 minutes but again found himself caught out as he did on occasion last season and as Valecko did during the early part of this season to the cost of the club.

The Stingrays then squandered their first powerplay opportunity, failing to test the Flyers before a quick counter attack saw Ben Bowns deny Zach Carriveau only for Dutiaume - who had come straight out of the penalty box - to fire the rebound home in a largely unguarded net.

Struggling to get to grips with the Flyers in the opening minutes, the Stingrays made Dutiaume look like a world beater in the opening period, however, they struck back against the run of play after 8.50.

Ozolins - who earlier crafted a beautiful move which very nearly created an opening chance for the Rays - inevitably netting the home sides first goal, utilising his pace alongside Jason Silverthorn on a two-on-one to slot home into a largely empty net with Bryan Pitton seemingly out of position at his front post.

The Scottish side again regained control of the game soon after the Rays opening goal though, as Jereme Tendler allowed a puck slide through to a non-existent defenceman on the blueline in the offensive zone. The puck continued on to a Derek Keller and, with the Stingrays defence out of position, the Flyers countered, eventually scoring through Steve Gunn for a deserved 3-1 lead.

Having dug themselves a hole at 2-0 and 3-1 in the first period, Sylvain Cloutier's side needed a big improvement in the second period to turn the game around and that's exactly what they got, peppering Pitton's net with 17 shots while restricting the Flyers to just three shots. In goalscoring terms that shot advantage allowed the Stingrays to level the scores.

Defenceman Shane Lovdahl had an early second period powerplay goal, which would have been his first for the club, chalked off because of a man in the crease, though this only served to spur his side on.

A great defensive shift from Ondrej then saw his Fife defensive counter-part Carriveau caught forward and Ozolins breaking forward on the ensuing two-on-one break with Tendler - who made up for his earlier error by pinpointing a shot past Pitton to narrow the lead to one goal.

Six minutes later, the Rays powerplay - which slowly but surely improved over the 60 minutes - came into effect albeit on a relatively weak shot from Stingrays captain Dulle that somehow found its way home and was bizarrely officially awarded to forward Dominic Osman.

Flyers netminder Pitton then produced a wonderful double save, stoning the Rays on the first shot before a miraculous sprawling save to again deny the home side the lead.

All was to play for in the third period at 3-3 and the Stingrays got the perfect start, Tendler intercepting a pass from the opening face and racing in to record his second of the game shorthanded and, more importantly, give the Rays their first lead of the game with just six seconds gone.

Latvian Ozolins then had two great chances to seal the game in favour of the home side only to be denied by the pipework and Pitton on two separate occasions.

Stingrays netminder Bowns came up huge with several big scrambling saves from close in with five minutes to go, however, the Rays D failed to retain and clear the puck time and time again and the Flyers eventually scrambled the puck home through Caisey Haines to equalise and, seemingly, send the game towards overtime.

With the game quickly heading towards overtime, Ozolins was again involved, feeding the puck to Jason Silverthorn before a cross ice pass and low one-timer from Cloutier somehow found its way home at the near post for the game winning goal.

There was still time for Tendler to be denied the hat-trick, hitting the ironwork from way out on the empty net but Cloutier's rare goal sealed a big win for the Stingrays in the Gardiner Conference. Their second home win in two games edges them into seventh in the league and second in the conference.

FBB Three Stars

1. Janis Ozolins

2. Cale Tanaka

3. Martin Ondrej

Bowns to backstop GB in Olympic Qualifiers

Hull Stingrays starting netminder Ben Bowns has been called into the Great Britain senior squad by national team coach Tony Hand for the upcoming Olympic Qualifiers in Japan.

Steelers gain Ice Sheffield revenge

Sheffield Steelers 4-2 Hull Stingrays

The Hull Stingrays tonight returned to Ice Sheffield to take on the Steelers for the first time since their massive EIHL Playoff Quarter Final Second Leg victory last season but fell by four goals to two to their Yorkshire rivals in their sixth fixture of this season's Challenge Cup campaign.

The Steelers started back up Geoff Woolhouse in place of number one John DeCaro and he turned away all seven Stingrays shots in the first allowing Jeff Legue to give the home side a 1-0 lead having fired nine shots on Sheffield-born Ben Bowns.

A worrying sight then followed as Brit Andy Ward was stretched off the ice following a check to the head from the Steelers NHL signing Tom Sestito. Rays enforcer Ryan Hand stepped in immediately following the high hit and dropped the gloves with the American enforcer. Sestito was then thrown out with a match penalty for the high hit and Hand also received a ten minute fighting misconduct having instigating the fight.

The status of Ward is unclear at this point, however, reports from Ice Sheffield suggested an ambulance was called for the head injury sustained on the high hit.

The hit understandably riled Sylvain Cloutier's side and Hand, Jeff Smith, Dominic Osman and Cale Tanaka would all take roughing penalties before the 60 minutes was up. The Steelers doubled their lead after ten minutes through GB forward Colin Shields before the Stingrays final notched their first goal of the game.

A goalscorer, if somewhat fortuitously, in the historical Playoff Semi-Final victory, Matty Davies netted another marker at Ice Sheffield to pull one back for the Rays shorthanded after 16 minutes.

Despite being outshot 26-12 in the first two periods, Janis Ozolins - who has been a revelation in the EIHL as he was in the EPL - then leveled the scores for the Stingrays on his old Sheffield Steeldogs stomping ground two minutes into the final stanza with his third goal in two games and ninth of the year.

The home side then broke the miniature come back through defenceman Matt Stephenson - who bagged what turned out to be the game winning goal on 53.02 before Rod Sarich added a fourth in the closing stages.

The defeat leaves the Stingrays on three points from six games and still desperate for points from their final two Challenge Cup fixtures - which come at home to the Coventry Blaze and away to the Cardiff Devils - to qualify for the Quarter Final stage of the competition.

Stingrays victorious

Hull Stingrays 4-3 Dundee Stars

The Hull Stingrays tonight ended an seven game losing skid with a first victory in four games this season over Gardiner Conderence rivals the Dundee Stars by way of a 4-3 triumph at the Hull Arena.

More soon...

Ondrej makes surprise return to Hull

The Hull Stingrays have moved swiftly to replace outgoing Slovakian defenceman Tomas Valecko, surprisingly re-signing fellow countryman Martin Ondrej.

The 28 year old blueliner re-joins the Stingrays after recording two goals and 13 assists alongside 71 penalty minutes in 50 regular season games during 11/12 on the way to helping the club to the EIHL Playoff Semi-Finals.

He had rejected a second season with the Rays in the summer due to personal matters, instead opting to re-join hometown side HC Presov in the Slovakian second tier - where he recorded an assist in seven games - however, he has now agreed to a second season with the club following the recent roster change.

While the Slovakian was one of the early candidates to be released last season prior to captain Joshua Mizerek making way, he upped his game considerably post-Christmas and ended the year on something of a high with three of his best performances coming in the final week of the regular season and first week of the playoffs.

Ironically, Ondrej - like Mizerek - was accused on occasion of being caught out positionally, particularly when challenged at the offensive blueline, a trait also directed at Valecko during his short stay with the Rays.

Ondrej's play in his own defensive zone was noticeably better than that of the player he has just replaced though and Cloutier's confidence in his latest addition is undoubted and largely unrivaled. It can only be assumed that this will be the case amongst his new teammates too.

The Rays boss first attempted to sign the Presov native during the festive period of 10/11 but came away empty handed as he opted to join Italian side Milano Rossoblu. After coaching the defenceman last season, Cloutier has again showed his confidence in the blueliner, turning to him to shore up a defensive corps that he believed required changing, despite concerns over the club's offence.

Of the re-signing, the Rays player-coach said:

"...We have kept in touch and he now cannot wait to get back to Hull. He really enjoyed his time here before. Martin is a good guy in the dressing room. He was very consistent last season, he competes, he keeps things simple and does what you tell him. He is a battler and I am glad he is back on board."

The move was seemingly at hand well before last weekend's defeats - which extended the Rays losing streak to eight consecutive games and put the club bottom of the Elite League - as Ondrej will arrive in the country shortly ahead of a week of training and this weekend's games against the Dundee Stars at home and the Sheffield Steelers in South Yorkshire.

Saturday's home fixture is particularly important given the Rays 0-3 record against conference rivals the Stars so far this season. Should the Stars take yet another victory - two of which have come by one goal, the other of which was decided by two goals including an empty netter - they will have all but sealed the pivotal season long series which will see the sides meet eight times in 12/13, leaving the club with an uphill struggle in the Gardiner Conference.

Meanwhile, the chances of released defenceman Valecko returning to former club Edinburgh Capitals as rumoured has shortened significantly after the Scottish side announced the extension of another Slovakian defenceman's short-term contract. Former Telford Tiger Juraj Senko has agreed a deal that will see him remain with the Caps until the end of 12/13.

Valecko pays the price for Rays poor form

Defenceman Tomas Valecko has today been released with immediate effect as a direct result of the Hull Stingrays recent poor run of form - which has seen them lose eight consecutive games.

The Slovakian joined the club in the summer from EIHL rivals Edinburgh Capitals - having scored six goals and 18 assists in 48 games - as a replacement for the big shot and calming influence of the highly experienced Dmitri Rodin.

Unfortunately for the 27 year old, he failed to fill the considerable skates left by the Estonian despite a flurry of goals early in the season. Much like Joshua Mizerek - who was released during the first half of last season - Valecko was often caught out positionally when attempting to rush the puck high in the offensive zone leaving the Rays, and particularly Ben Bowns in goal, vulnerable to a swift counter-attack.

Had the club not gone eight games without a victory then it may have been that Valecko may have remained on the roster, however, the nature of the losing streak - which crucially includes four losses to Gardiner Conference sides - forced Sylvain Cloutier's hand.

The Stingrays player-coach explained the decision in an official press release:

"I felt it was time to make a change and shake things up. we have been close in most of the games but we need to start winning. I feel there is a weakness at the back and it is an area we need to strengthen. I would like to thank Tomas for his time with us and wish him nothing but the best for the future."

Optimistic speculation might immediately link the Stingrays with an NHL calibre player given the ongoing NHL lockout - which has seen the start of the 12/13 NHL season delayed due to disagreements between club owners and players over the Collective Bargaining Agreement. 

So far the Nottingham Panthers, Sheffield Steelers and Coventry Blaze have pounced on NHL forwards Anthony Stewart, Tom Sesitito and Matt Beleksey respectively, however, it seems highly unlikely, not to mention highly risky, that Cloutier and McEwan will follow suit given the costly summer takeover and potential wages and insurance costs involved.

That's not to say the Rays won't indirectly benefit from the NHL lockout given the ripple effect that will naturally see NHLers displacing players from the AHL, ECHL and European leagues.

Though the Rays have released Valecko - a defenceman, and on-paper that is perhaps where they appear weakest, the stats show the club are also having a particularly torrid time offensively having scored just three goals in four games - despite the relative number of scoring options available on the top two lines.

The versatility of Ryan Hand - who can play both defence and forward - gives Cloutier the freedom to go out and sign the best player available regardless of position, and for many that should be a forward, however, Cloutier directly states in the press release that "there is a weakness at the back and it is an area we need to strengthen", suggesting it will be a like for like switch on defence.

Whether it is a defenceman or forward remains to be seen, however, with another fixture against Dundee next weekend and then three games against Fife in the following weeks, time is not necessarily a luxury the Rays can afford.

Shootout loss not enough to end Stingrays losing streak

Dundee Stars 2-1 Hull Stingrays (PS)

The Hull Stingrays were once again narrowly defeated by Gardiner Conference rivals the Dundee Stars on Sunday night, going down 2-1 on penalty shots for the third time in three shootout attempts.

Sylvain Cloutier's side took the lead through Jereme Tendler's seventh goal of the year, only for the Stars to hit back through Doug Krantz in a second period which the peppered Ben Bowns in the Rays goal with 17 shots.

Bowns would go on to save 42 of 43 shots as the game went into penalty shots - where the Rays fell for the third time in three games thanks to Sami Ryhanen and Mike Wirll goals.

The Rays have now lost all three of their meetings with Dundee by two goals or less, with the only two goal winning margin thanks to an empty net goal from Ryhanen a little over a week ago at home.

More concerning perhaps is that their record in the Gardiner Conference now drops to 1 win, 2 regulation time losses and three shootout losses in six games - with the only success coming at home by way of a 6-3 win at home over the Edinburgh Capitals in their last victory on 22nd September.

Losing steak hits seven as Rays shutout by Panthers

Nottingham Panthers 6-0 Hull Stingrays

The Hull Stingrays fell to their eighth defeat in eight games and heaviest defeat of the season at the National Ice Centre on Saturday night, losing 6-0 to the Nottingham Panthers in a dual Challenge Cup and league fixture.

Despite starting well, the Rays mustered just 17 shots on netminder Craig Kowalski in the 60 minutes and went down to goals from six different Panthers.

David Clarke opened the scoring in the first before goals from Gui Lepine - who also twice dropped the gloves with Rays enforcer Ryan Hand - Matt Francis, David Ling and Jason Beckett in the second. Bruce Graham ended the scoring at 6-0 a minute into the final stanza to seal comfortably to biggest winning margin in a closely fought start to the Elite League season.

Match Highlights: Hull Stingrays 1-4 Belfast Giants

Match Highlights: Hull Stingrays 2-3 Dundee Stars

Big effort from the Stingrays but Giants show their dominance

Hull Stingrays 1-4 Belfast Giants
by Mark Bateman

After a torrid time against the Dundee Stars just 24 hours earlier, the Hull Stingrays were looking to get back on track on home ice but faced fearsome opposition in the shape of last season’s Elite League Champions, Belfast Giants.

It was the Giants first visit to Hull Arena this season and Doug Christensen has again put together a roster that is the envy of most coaches. His men have already gone about establishing themselves at the top of the Rapid Solicitors Elite League standings, overall, and would prove a real challenge for Sylvain Cloutier’s side.

Following a delayed face off, caused by former Stingray Dave Phillips shattering the plexi glass, Hull started brightly and set about Belfast with energy and purpose and it wasn’t long before Great Britain goalie and Giants number one, Stephen Murphy, was called into service, as the Rays offence started to create the opportunities that had been absent from their game the previous night.

With ten minutes on the clock, a pinpoint pace found Cale Tanaka who went one-on-one with Murphy only to see his rasping shot cannon back off the crossbar. The Canadian was not to be denied however and two minutes later saw a deflected effort bounce off the hapless Murphy and into the net.

The goal had the arena rocking and with six minutes left to play, enforcer Ryan Hand and Giants captain Adam Keefe dropped the gloves, for the first time in the match, with the Belfast player maybe getting the upper hand in this contest.

Cloutier has stressed the need for his Stingrays side to play for 60 minutes but again this didn’t happen and the Giants came out the traps flying in the second period and made quick work of putting the Rays to the sword.

Markers from Andrew Fouriner, less than 30 seconds into the second period, Will Colbert, on the power play, and a top shelf finish from Darryl Lloyd put the Giants in the driving seat. The Rays fans did have something to cheer about however, when Hand and Keefe went for round two, this time Hand emerged victorious.

A lacklustre third period saw Belfast lose the services of Gregory Stewart, after an ill-fated attempt to fight Jeff Smith resulted in a nasty head wound. But the Giants showed their class and managed to extend their lead with Noah Clarke scoring a five-on-three power play goal with 10 minutes left on the clock.

Lloyd picked up the MoM award for Belfast and Ryan Hand walked away with the Stingrays’ Mom.

All-in-all it was a familiar story for Stingrays, too many penalties and the same problem of not being able to play for a full 60 minutes again saw them come away with nothing.

Positives are there to be taken however, with Ben Bowns again showing his quality between the pipes and in Tanaka the Rays have a forward who show great innovation.

It was an improved display with creativity and fighting spirit, both of which will set the side up well for their away double header next weekend with the Nottingham Panthers on Saturday before facing the Stars at Dundee Ice Arena on Sunday.

FBB Three Stars

1. Ryan Hand

2. Cale Tanaka

3. Ben Bowns