Hull Stingrays 3-6 Sheffield Steelers
The Hull Stingrays tonight fell to 1-2 in Challenge Cup Group B as they were powerless to prevent a 6-3 loss to Yorkshire rivals and league leaders the Sheffield Steelers at the Hull Arena.
In the club's first meeting since that memorable EIHL Playoff Quarter Final at Ice Sheffield, the visitors rested number one netminder John Decaro, instead starting British back-up Geoff Woolhouse - and it was he who was indirectly responsible for the Stingrays taking the lead very early on.
Chaos in the Steelers backline behind Woolhouse's net and then terrible indecision around it somehow saw Jereme Tendler credited with a goal that found its way home after just 21 seconds.
The Challenge Cup victory aside, Sylvain Cloutier's side seems to have struggled on the powerplay all season long and the Rays then spurned two early man advantage opportunities before a horrible giveaway in their own zone saw former NHLer Steven Goertzen level after 14.23.
Nevertheless, despite that relatively rank powerplay, the Rays were able to capitalise on a Jonathan Phillips hooking penalty as time ticked down on the first. Cale Tanaka reacting quickest to a loose puck to fire a one-timer past Woolhouse and restore a somewhat fortuitous lead for the home side - who looked second best for periods against a well drilled Steelers unit.
The South Yorkshire side improved even more in the second period using their speed, strength, slick passing and, more to the point, relentless pressing and forechecking to force the Rays D into errors.
They levelled 1.31 into the second after captain Kurtis Dulle unluckily fanned on a clearance right on front of netminder Ben Bowns and the Steelers Colin Shields - who decisively fired past the keeper.
Further pressure a minute later then saw Tomas Valecko pressed into the corner and lose the puck, allowing the Steelers to gain possession and Phillips to take advantage of some desperate Stingrays defending by slotting home. The Rays were now clearly flagging defensively and the Steelers were happy to press on, scoring a fourth through Tylor Michel on a powerplay goal that also saw the Steelers pull Woolhouse for the extra skater with a delayed penalty called on Dulle.
The first and only chink in the armour of netminder Bowns so far this season then followed on 37.41 as Sheffield extended their lead to 5-2 through Jeff Legue - who squeezed the puck home short side while advancing at speed despite the British netminder covering his front post. The minor blemish is just that however, as Bowns has been outstanding for the Rays and has more than proved his worth in the opening month of the Elite League season.
After a difficult second period the Stingrays started the third well, topscorer Tendler narrowly missing the re-direct at the backpost on a Dominic Osman shot-turned-pass to pull the deficit back to two.
Osman - who recorded a hat-trick in last weekend's home fixture against Edinburgh to open up his account for the season - then did pull one back, powering a shot off the bar and in after some hard work and brilliant set up play from Janis Ozolins - who worked tirelessly all night.
While the Rays performance did improve as the third progressed, the Steelers had made their mark on the game with a dominant second period and added a sixth goal through Michel late on to seal a deserved 6-3 win.
The Stingrays - who tonight appeared to be without Matty Davies for the majority of the game and Ryan Hand for large periods - will be disappointed with the fashion of the loss - particularly given their performances against Nottingham and Cardiff in the Challenge Cup. However, the Steelers are clearly one of the best sides in the league and made it incredibly difficult for the Stingrays to play tonight - particularly offensively.
Of the defeat, coach Cloutier said:
The Hull Stingrays tonight fell to 1-2 in Challenge Cup Group B as they were powerless to prevent a 6-3 loss to Yorkshire rivals and league leaders the Sheffield Steelers at the Hull Arena.
In the club's first meeting since that memorable EIHL Playoff Quarter Final at Ice Sheffield, the visitors rested number one netminder John Decaro, instead starting British back-up Geoff Woolhouse - and it was he who was indirectly responsible for the Stingrays taking the lead very early on.
Chaos in the Steelers backline behind Woolhouse's net and then terrible indecision around it somehow saw Jereme Tendler credited with a goal that found its way home after just 21 seconds.
The Challenge Cup victory aside, Sylvain Cloutier's side seems to have struggled on the powerplay all season long and the Rays then spurned two early man advantage opportunities before a horrible giveaway in their own zone saw former NHLer Steven Goertzen level after 14.23.
Nevertheless, despite that relatively rank powerplay, the Rays were able to capitalise on a Jonathan Phillips hooking penalty as time ticked down on the first. Cale Tanaka reacting quickest to a loose puck to fire a one-timer past Woolhouse and restore a somewhat fortuitous lead for the home side - who looked second best for periods against a well drilled Steelers unit.
The South Yorkshire side improved even more in the second period using their speed, strength, slick passing and, more to the point, relentless pressing and forechecking to force the Rays D into errors.
They levelled 1.31 into the second after captain Kurtis Dulle unluckily fanned on a clearance right on front of netminder Ben Bowns and the Steelers Colin Shields - who decisively fired past the keeper.
Further pressure a minute later then saw Tomas Valecko pressed into the corner and lose the puck, allowing the Steelers to gain possession and Phillips to take advantage of some desperate Stingrays defending by slotting home. The Rays were now clearly flagging defensively and the Steelers were happy to press on, scoring a fourth through Tylor Michel on a powerplay goal that also saw the Steelers pull Woolhouse for the extra skater with a delayed penalty called on Dulle.
The first and only chink in the armour of netminder Bowns so far this season then followed on 37.41 as Sheffield extended their lead to 5-2 through Jeff Legue - who squeezed the puck home short side while advancing at speed despite the British netminder covering his front post. The minor blemish is just that however, as Bowns has been outstanding for the Rays and has more than proved his worth in the opening month of the Elite League season.
After a difficult second period the Stingrays started the third well, topscorer Tendler narrowly missing the re-direct at the backpost on a Dominic Osman shot-turned-pass to pull the deficit back to two.
Osman - who recorded a hat-trick in last weekend's home fixture against Edinburgh to open up his account for the season - then did pull one back, powering a shot off the bar and in after some hard work and brilliant set up play from Janis Ozolins - who worked tirelessly all night.
While the Rays performance did improve as the third progressed, the Steelers had made their mark on the game with a dominant second period and added a sixth goal through Michel late on to seal a deserved 6-3 win.
The Stingrays - who tonight appeared to be without Matty Davies for the majority of the game and Ryan Hand for large periods - will be disappointed with the fashion of the loss - particularly given their performances against Nottingham and Cardiff in the Challenge Cup. However, the Steelers are clearly one of the best sides in the league and made it incredibly difficult for the Stingrays to play tonight - particularly offensively.
Of the defeat, coach Cloutier said:
"We got off to a great start, we had a little collapse in the second and I thought we picked it up again in the third. Take the second period away - we did not play well and it hurt us - I thought we did a decent jpb. I don't think it was a 6-3 game, we competed and battled with them. But we will regroup and get ready for the weekend."Cloutier and his side return to Challenge Cup action on Saturday - travelling to Coventry to take on the Blaze - before returning to the league with a home fixture against Braehead on Sunday.
FBB Three Stars
1 - Janis Ozolins
2 - Ben Bowns
3 - Cale Tanaka
