Ondrej to return for third season

Photo courtesy Dean Woolley

It was announced prior to the Hull Stingrays victorious final game of the 12/13 season last night that Slovakian defenceman Martin Ondrej has re-signed for a third season with the club.

The hard hitting 6'1 blueliner has become a staple of the Stingrays blueline this season as one of the club's most consistent performers, posting two goals, 13 assists and 60 penalty minutes in 45 games after replacing countryman Tomas Valecko early in the season.

Originally signed from Italian second division side Milano Rossoblu in 2011, Ondrej took time to settle in Hull last season and struggled, particularly positionally, early in his first season in the country. He eventually found his form towards the tail end of the 11/12 campaign and produced some of his best hockey when it mattered most in the EIHL Playoffs as the Rays made the semi-finals for the first time.

Despite interest from Sylvain Cloutier last summer, Ondrej initially opted to remain in his hometown Presov in Slovakia due to personal reasons icing in seven games.

The release of Valecko after a disappointing spell in which he recorded just four points in 12 games then opened the door for the 29 year old to make his return in October.

Upon re-joining the club Ondrej started where he left off at the end of 11/12 season and immediately shored up a leaky defence that would go on to have one of the club's best seasons statistically. The 185 goals conceded in 52 games this season is the Rays second best showing in the Elite League after the club's debut campaign in which they conceded 11 fewer in 54 games during 06/07 under Rick Strachan.

Ondrej was close to, if not the club's best, most consistent defenceman last season and the difference between the first half of his first season and second half of his second season is night and day

Renowned for his big hits and a good outlet pass from defence, Ondrej will return for his third season in Hull during 13/14 and Cloutier is hoping he will continue his upturn in form:

"Marty has been great for us this year. He rebounded from last season. He knew this was his chance to prove himself and he has done that. Now we need him to build on this season and get even better next year. He is a key part of this club and he is going to help us move forward. We have a good core back already and we are going to work hard this summer to make sure we bring the right guys in."

Ondrej joins player-coach Cloutier, netminder Ben Bowns, topscorer Jereme Tendler, Matty Davies and Jason Silverthon on the Rays roster for 13/14

Stingrays end season with convincing victory over the Blaze

Hull Stingrays 4-1 Coventry Blaze

Arthur Foster photo

The Hull Stingrays tonight closed out the 12/13 Elite Ice Hockey League campaign - their tenth anniversary season - in the best possible fashion with a comfortable 4-1 victory over the playoff-bound Coventry Blaze.

Enforcer Ryan Hand returned to the line-up for the Rays following a one-game suspension, however, defenceman Martin Ondrej sat out due to a niggle picked up in the narrow loss to Sheffield last night.

The somewhat surprising news of the night came during the player introductions as it was announced that the Slovakian blueliner had signed a contract to return to Hull for a third season in 13/14 becoming the sixth player already announced by the club.

In front of a big crowd for the final game of the season - including a good following from Coventry - both sides took their time to get into the game, possibly due to the fact neither had anything riding on the game with the Blaze confirmed in fourth place in the Elite League and the Stingrays in tenth spot.

With Hand back in the line-up but Coventry enforcer Benn Olson not in the line-up it was left to former Stingrays Derek Campbell to decline the Stingrays fans favourite a fight with a fight not forthcoming early in the game, as has been the case for the entire season against the Blaze at the Hull Arena.

It was tussle, albeit an unexpected one, that brought the game to life though as Matty Davies reacted to a challenge from a Coventry player, taking the fight to Blaze captain Shea Guthrie in the corner.

Just over two minutes later the Stingrays lead through Jason Silverthorn after some great work along the boards by Tom Squires on James Griffin eventually saw a blocked shot fall to the Canadian - who beat Blaze netminder Peter Hirsch glove side.

The biggest hit of the night then followed as Dmitri Rodin - who tonight may have played his final game before retiring - crushed Steven Chalmers with a hit that saw the Brit limp off the ice with a leg injury.

With nothing to play for as far as the league standings would go, both sides were giving plenty of ice-time to their young British players, who are potentially the future of their clubs. For the Stingrays that saw Scott Robson receive his first regular shift of the season at home - following last night's game - alongside captain
Kurtis Dulle.

The 17 year old was massive surprise, putting in a brilliant performance for someone of that age, as he was to a lesser extent in his last real outing in pre-season.

Indeed, fellow youngster Sam Towner - who has benefited from ice-time, albeit small amounts, throughout season - set up Hand, who ably deked Hirsch only to disappointingly hit the bottom of the post when presented with a largely open goal. His time to end the season on a high would eventually come though.

Hirsch was again called in to action after 14 minutes as the Elite League's top scorer Jereme Tendler was put through on a breakaway only for the Danish netminder to stop Tendler with a lovely toe save down low.

Five minutes later and Tendler was again put through, only to this time be denied a goalscoring opportunity by a blatant hook by Mike Bayrack for which referee Tom Darnell awarded a penalty shot.

Third time lucky and the Stingrays number 27 made no mistake - faking a shot before reverting to backhand his shot in to a gaping goal for his 43rd and final goal of the season.



With effectively nothing to play for this weekend, the Blaze - coached tonight by next season's head coach Mattias Soderstrom - seemed happy to sit back and go through the motions for large parts of the game - none more so than the beginning of the second and third periods.

In each of the final two periods the Rays came out strongly, controlling the puck and possession and they deservedly extended their lead to 3-0 because of this in the second period with Coventry defenceman James Griffin - who made a couple of mistakes throughout the game but was impressive for someone so young and relatively inexperienced - slipping up before a neat combination of Davies and Sylvain Cloutier saw Dulle knock his 12th goal of the season home.

Somewhat harshly on Stingrays netminder Ben Bowns, his bid for a deserved second shutout of his debut Elite League campaign was denied on 49 minutes as a relatively tame Greg Leeb shot slipped through the GB international for what was one of very few sloppy goals conceded by the standout keeper this season.

Though a shutout would have put a cherry on top of the Stingrays cake for their final game of the season, a further goal from Davies - who knocked home from shot range a deflected point shot that wriggled through Hirsch's pads - and Hand's long awaited bout with Campbell would ice the victory.

Davies goal on 54 minutes was his 48th point of the season - comfortably a career best and a Stingrays best for a Brit in the Elite League - making him the top flight's fifth top British point scorer this season, capping quite the season for the 23 year old from Hull.

The final hurrah for the Stingrays 12/13 season was Hand's 13th and final fight of the season, against Campbell - who reluctantly dropped the gloves after the Rays enforcer's insistence and persistent questioning with less than a minute remaining.

The fight - unsurprisingly just his second of the season against the Blaze after their resistance to dropping the gloves with him despite being the league's most physical side - was a tame effort with Hand trying his best to to free an arm. Though neither party truly offloaded any devastating punches, Hand scored the victory with intent and a number of punches that may, or may not have connected.

A roar erupted around the Hull Arena for the final time this season as Hand stepped into the penalty box for the last time and with his name, once again, ringing out from the stands.

The final buzzer marked the end of the season and also, likely, the career's of Shane Lovdahl - who recently announced his intention to retire at the end of 12/13 - and, maybe also, 38 year old defenceman Rodin - who ceremonious touched centre ice on the final buzzer, possibly signalling the end of his 23 year career - while there may be others who also decide to call it a day.

The Stingrays ended the season with the league's top scorer (43 - Jereme Tendler), the league's 13th top scorer (25 - Dominic Osman) and the league's 5th highest pointscoring Brit (48 - Matty Davies).

Unfortunately, the only statistic that ultimately matters is that, despite all the promise and some brilliant performances, the Rays finished bottom of the Elite League, third in the Gardiner Conference and out of the playoffs - even if the gap between the playoffs and the Stingrays was incredibly marginal.

Elite Ice Hockey League 2012/2013 - Final Standings

 Gardiner Conference 2012/2013 - Final Standings

Regardless, the general feeling amongst the club's loyal fanbase is that it's been a thoroughly entertaining season in the blue and yellow of the Hull Stingrays, if not up there with one of the best in the club's ten year history.

At the end of the day, and season, the only fact that truly matters is that the Stingrays made it through their tenth season of existence under a new and local owner, Bobby McEwan, with no serious or obvious financial issues, with their pride in tact and with nothing but a potentially great future.

Here's to another 10 years!

Go Stingrays!

FBB Three Stars

1. Scott Robson

2. Tom Squires

3. Dmitri Rodin

Eliminated Stingrays narrowly defeated at Ice Sheffield; Clan claim first Gardiner Conference

Sheffield Steelers 4-3 Hull Stingrays

In complete contrast to their visit to Ice Sheffield almost exactly a year ago when they shocked the Sheffield Steelers to qualify for the EIHL Playoff Semi-Finals for the first time, the Hull Stingrays traveled to South Yorkshire tonight already officially eliminated from playoff contention but put in a spirited display in a 4-3 defeat.

The Braehead Clan's victory over the Dundee Stars last night confirmed that the Hull Stingrays would not be extending their campaign beyond the regular season for the first time in three years, nevertheless, Sylvain Cloutier's side put up a good fight in defeat tonight despite falling behind early.

The Rays - who were without suspended enforcer Ryan Hand - found themselves behind after just 47 seconds thanks to a Jeff Legue marker. They responded almost immediately however Jereme Tendler netting a 42nd goal of the season 33 seconds later.

Matty Davies then gave the Stingrays a seventh minute lead in front of a sold out away following before Sheffield hit back later in the first to regain the lead through defenceman Danny Meyers and import forward Simon Ferguson.

What turned out to be the game winning goal from Shawn Limpwright followed four minutes into the second extending the Steelers lead to 4-2 before Stingrays captain Kurtis Dulle reduced the deficit to one goal with a powerplay goal on 36.16.

The Rays were unable to force an equaliser in the final twenty minutes giving the Steelers a 4-3 victory and completing a 6-0 season whitewash over the Stingrays in the process.

Elsewhere in the Gardiner Conference this evening, the Braehead Clan were confirmed as inaugural Gardiner Conference champions despite a heavy defeat to the Fife Flyers.

The Kirkcaldy side's win sealed their first ever EIHL playoff berth and they join the Edinburgh Capitals in the playoffs after their 3-2 win over the Dundee Stars confirmed that they, and not the Stars, would be progressing to the post-season.

The Stingrays end a disappointing but, at the same time, encouraging 12/13 Elite League campaign with a home fixture to the Coventry Blaze tomorrow evening.

Tendler scoops second awards night treble in three years

Forward Jereme Tendler scooped his second Hull Stingrays end of season awards treble in three years at tonight's 12/13 awards evening.

The Canadian - who has bagged 41 goals and 66 points in 56 games this season - picked up Forward of the Year, Players' Player of the Year and, the big prize, Supporters Player of the Year at tonight's award evening held at Jazz Bar.

Meanwhile resurgent forward Matty Davies picked up Most Improved Player of the Year after a breakout year, captain Kurtis Dulle was named Defenceman of the Year - having turned around his play in the last couple of months - and Ryan Hand was named Fans Favourite.

Finally, Sylvain Cloutier named rangy defenceman Jeff Smith as Coaches Player of the Year.

Dundee extinguish Stingrays playoff hopes with 5-0 whitewash

Dundee Stars 5-0 Hull Stingrays

The Hull Stingrays chances of qualifying for the Elite League Playoff Quarter Finals for the fourth consecutive season were tonight all but extinguished completely in a chippy 5-0 defeat to conference rivals the Dundee Stars in Scotland.

Altercations involving the Stingrays Dominic Osman, Ben Bowns - who was thrown out during the second intermission - Sylvain Cloutier and Ryan Hand marred the fixture which the Stars won, unsurprisingly, thanks to five powerplay goals through Billy Bagron (2), Mike Wirrl (2) and Matt Baxter.

First regulation defeat against Devils so costly for Stingrays

Hull Stingrays 2-4 Cardiff Devils

The Hull Stingrays tonight suffered a costly first regulation defeat this season against the Cardiff Devils by way of a 4-2 loss at the Hull Arena.

Heading into the fixture, Sylvain Cloutier's side could boast an impressive 4-0-1 record against the Welsh side this campaign and they desperately needed to improve that record to 5-0-1 if they wanted to boost their chances of making the Elite League post-season.

However, a double from Ben Davies and further goals from Stuart MacRae gave the Devils a 3-2 lead after Stingrays strikes from Dominic Osman and Jereme Tendler.

Chris Blight completed Cardiff's first regulation victory over the Stingrays this season with an empty net goal with ten seconds remaining.

Davies re-signs for 13/14

The Hull Stingrays have today announced the re-signing of standout British forward Matty Davies for the 2013/2014 Elite League campaign.

The 23 year old diminutive centre has had a breakout season with the Stingrays accumulating seven goals, 36 assists and 43 points in 55 games so far during his fourth year in the Elite League.

That points total puts the Hull native 5th amongst British players in the Elite League in points and has also catapulted him into Great Britain national team contention with coach Tony Hand naming him as a reserve for GB's Olympic Qualification tournament in Latvia.

Having posted totals of 10, 20 and 17 points in each of the last three years - in between which was sandwiched a minor fallout with coach Sylvain Cloutier in 2010 - Davies' rise to prominence has been meteoric this season as he has played a big part in the club's success.

Despite his lack of physical presence at 5'6, Davies has been a regular on the scoresheet thanks to his combination of speed, skill and playmaking abilities - creating a formidable partnership with American forward Dominic Osman.

The retention of British players like Davies, GB netminder Ben Bowns and the rumoured re-signing of Sheffield born forwards Tom Squires and Danny Wood is key for the Stingrays in a league in which British players and British depth is often seen as the key to success.

This re-signing - particularly after such an impressive career year - is therefore something of a coup for the Rays and Cloutier with experienced up-and-coming British players in high demand.

On re-signing Davies admitted that it "wasn't a tough decision" to re-sign for the 2013/2014 season with the club heading in the right direction:

"...As I've always said I wanted to play for Stingrays. It's not just because I'm local and it means something to me, I just like where the club has come from since Sylvain joined it. I think we have progressed every season and a lot of people understand that. It's been hard this season because Bobby McEwan is in his first year as owner, but I think it looks promising for the future. I just want to keep building my own career and keep helping the club to build."

Cloutier has evidently made a lightning quick start to recruitment for next season, ensuring the core of his squad are signed up as early as possible. Of his latest addition, the Rays player-coach said:

"Matty's one of our key core guys and wears the Stingrays' shirt with pride, so he was one of the priorities to get signed up. He has developed well as a player and can put numbers up for us, and we expect him to do that again next season. We've been together here for four years and he's comfortable with me as a coach so it was an easy decision to invite him back again.

Silverthorn two-year deal revealed

The Hull Daily Mail has today revealed that Hull Stingrays forward Jason Silverthorn signed a two-year contract with the club last summer and will therefore return next season for his fifth Elite League campaign in the city.

The 33 year old has been a key part of the Rays offence in each of the last four seasons after replacing the departing forward Matt Reynolds early in the 09/10 season, accumulating 91 goals and 230 points in 210 games along the way.

One of the most consistent and experienced performers, his confirmed second season will see him join fellow returnees Ben Bowns and line-mate Jereme Tendler on Stingrays 2013/2014 roster so far, again under the tutelage of player-coach Sylvain Cloutier.

Despite speculation linking the Stingrays coach to the vacant role at former club Coventry Blaze, the 38 year old is committed to the second year of his two year deal - which was confirmed in late February - and he has already begun building his squad for next season:

"No one from Coventry has contact me. I am under contract to coach here. My home is in Hull. As far as I am concerned, I've already started to build the Stingrays for next season and that's what I'm doing right now."

Cloutier also revealed to the Mail that defenceman Shane Lovdahl is likely to retire from the sport in the off-season, possibly alongside Dmitri Rodin - who it is believed would like to take up a position coaching - and that Martin Ondrej could be set for a third season in Hull next year.

Four game win streak ends in gutsy defeat to title chasing Nottingham

Hull Stingrays 1-3 Nottingham Panthers

A gusty defensive performance from the Hull Stingrays this evening was not enough to prevent the title chasing Nottingham Panthers ending their four game win streak in a 3-1 victory in front of one of the biggest crowds of the season at the Hull Arena.

The title chasing Panthers got off to the perfect start on the night, opening the scoring after just 19 seconds as Kelsey Wilson emphatically beat Ben Bowns glove side on a two-on-one created when Kurtis Dulle got caught on the blueline by David Clarke.

Though there were no complaints at the time from the Stingrays, it appeared as though play should have been whistled dead prior to Dulle losing possession in the offensive zone as a clearance from Panthers netminder Craig Kowalski behind the net clipped the netting above the plexi-glass.

Regardless, the Panthers started the game like a freight train, dominated large swathes of the game and were deserving of their early lead. The home side in complete contrast weren't able to muster any offence in the early stages - mainly due to the Panthers suffocating presence across the ice - with their first real shot on goal coming just before the halfway mark of the period and after a fifth minute scrap between Dominic Osman and Stevie Lee.

The Rays - who were without Jason Silverthorn through injury and therefore had to shift Jeff Smith up front - worked hard to get themselves into the game - mainly because they would never be able to sustain the relentless Nottingham offence for 60 minutes - and they eventually did so following a powerplay on 9.37 via a slash from Guillaume Lepine.

They eventually grew in confidence, or perhaps regained their energy after a great Nottingham start, and their biggest chance of the game came shortly after the 15 minute mark as Sylvain Cloutier worked hard around the boards to fish to puck out to topscorer Jereme Tendler - who agonisingly fired over when presented with space in front to get a shot away.

A familiar pattern developed in a second period which the Panthers, if anything, further enhanced their grip on the game - outshooting the Stingrays 18-8. They would come up empty on this occasion though thanks to some sterling netminding from man of the match Ben Bowns as Cloutier's side continued to battle hard to maintain the deficit at just one goal and their slim hopes of snatching a point.

Martin Ondrej - who again played a punishing, solid game in defence - fired a great chance wide for the home side, having uncharacteristically skated at pace through the Panthers defence, but that would be as close as they would come in another powerful period from Corey Neilson's men.

Much to the Stingrays credit, they remained just one-goal down heading into the third period thanks to a collective effort defensively and, while there was rarely ever any doubt about the end result, they put in a gutsy performance along the way, withstanding wave after wave of attack at times.

While the floodgates didn't open as many people probably expected, the Panthers went on to notch goals two and three through David Beauregard - who fired into the empty net on a Bowns rebound after 46 minutes - and David Clarke late on.

The goals wrapped up much needed win for the Panthers - who now appear on the verge of their first league title since 1956 following their victory and Edinburgh's surprise truimph over their closest rivals Belfast in Scotland.

With just four seconds remaining on the clock, Dulle and Dominic Osman combined before stand-in forward Smith scoop home a rebound from close in to spoil Kowalski's shut out and give the Rays some thoroughly-deserved offensive joy after a night of hard-work defensively across the board.

Dundee's defeat of Fife this evening relegates the Stingrays back down to 9th in the Elite League - currently one point shy of the final playoff spot - and shortens the gap between the Stingrays in first and Dundee in second in the Gardiner Conference to just two points.

Given the number of games Braehead, Dundee, Fife and Edinburgh have to play against each other it would take an extremely fortuitous sequence of results for the Stingrays to make the playoffs despite their best efforts.

Still, regardless of the circumstances of the run in, all Cloutier and his side can do is continue putting in the type of committed performances they have this weekend in the remaining four fixtures this season.

The Stingrays now take on Cardiff at the Hull Arena next Saturday hoping to claim a fifth win from six games against the Welsh side this season before an absolute must-win game on Sunday in Dundee against a Stars side the Rays beat 5-3 last night.

Their 2012/2013 Elite League regular season campaign comes to a close the following weekend with a fixture at Ice Sheffield against the Sheffield Steelers before a final home game of the year against the Coventry Blaze.

FBB Three Stars

1. Ben Bowns

2. Martin Ondrej

3. Matty Davies

Stingrays continue playoff push with fourth consecutive win

Hull Stingrays 5-3 Dundee Stars

The Hull Stingrays tonight trailed the Dundee Stars by three goals to two in the third period but produced a spirited, determined performance with 13 minutes remaining to claim their fourth consecutive win.

Buoyed by the surprise return from injury of Cale Tanaka, the Stingrays got off to the perfect start thanks to the stick of Dominic Osman. The American netted the game's opening goal after just 46 seconds thanks to a sublime between the legs pass from behind the net by player-coach Sylvain Cloutier which caught Dundee netminder Nic Riopel unaware.

In their best period of the sixty minutes, Jeff Hutchins' side came back strongly and, surprise surprise, former Stingray Janis Ozolins - who was released by the Rays for failure to hit the twine - was the man to level for the Scottish side, picking his spot past friend and former teammate Ben Bowns on a swift counter-attack after six minutes.

The Stingrays - who were obviously acutely aware of the Ozolins' abilities on the puck- were having a tough time controlling their former forward early on - though they later combated his skill with the physical, niggly tactic that appeared to be his flaw when in Hull.

Nevertheless, shortly after opening the scoring for Dundee, the Latvian was again troubling the Rays defence forcing defenceman Jeff Smith to bring him down with a hook before a further roughing minor gave the Stars a four minute powerplay.

Though the visitors kept the puck in the offensive zone for the majority of the man advantage, the Stingrays penalty kill held strong and prevented the Stars taking the lead.

That was until 22 seconds after the powerplay expired when star forward Sami Ryhanen put the puck between the legs of Dmitri Rodin on the blueline before beating Bowns with what initially appeared to be a tame effort that the Stingrays keeper would perhaps want back.

Returning forward Tanaka proved to be a big influence in the middle stanza, using his speed to force Dundee to take two penalties in relatively quick succession.

Billy Bagron was the victim of the first burst of speed and, although the Rays were unable to capitalise on the this infraction, they did six minutes later when Tim Krantz fell victim to the same quick acceleration from the Canadian.

With Riopel scrambling to stop an initial Stingrays powerplay effort, the puck fell to Matty Davies - who was presented with a gaping net, which he found to level the score.

Riopel performed heroics for the Stars in the second period - denying goalscoring chances from Osman and Silverthorn - as the Stingrays outshot their opponents 20-9. Heading into the third period it looked like he may be a game-winner for Dundee although, as it would turn out, this would not be the case.

Once again, the Stingrays entered the final 20 minutes with everything to play for against a Gardiner Confernce side and they were the better side from the drop of the puck.

Despite early third period Stingrays pressure in the Dundee zone, it was the Stars that took the lead on 47.29 - Bagron pouncing again on the counter-attack, moments after Riopel denied the Rays, to silence the Hull Arena with a clinical finish on a two-on-one as the Rays defence failed to track back and pick up the extra man.

The goal was a heartbreaker for the home side, who were comfortably in control with less than 15 minutes remaining but, driven by veterans and leaders Dulle and Cloutier, the Rays persevered and picked up where they had left off prior to the goal against the run of play.

After a near match-winning performance in the first two periods, Riopel began to struggle late on, possibly partly due to the sheer possession and territory the Stingrays had gained. That culminated in a speculative point shot from Martin Ondrej - who was again a top performer for the Stingrays - producing a rebound that fell perfectly for a jubilant Cloutier to slot home, five-hole, and tie the game up at 3-3 after 51 minutes.

The momentum was now truly in the Rays favour and they led for the first time in the game two minutes later as Davies again found himself in the right place at the right time with a largely unguarded net to slot home another Riopel rebound for his second of the night.

Jason Silverthorn made it three goals in less than three minutes on 54.26, knocking home a one-timer nearly on top of Riopel after a neat feed from Jereme Tendler on a marginal two-on-one to ice the Stingrays victory.

Never the greatest spectacle in world sport, the Stingrays dug in deep in the third period when it most mattered - as they have done in the last handful of games with their playoff qualification on the line.

Leaders like player-coach Cloutier and captain Dulle have stepped it up a notch at the most important time of year and their performances - particularly Dulle's - have been a big factor in a four game win streak that gives them a fighting chance of making the playoffs.

Saying that, good performances have been plentiful across the ice and each player has played their part in the current run. Whether that is enough to thrust the Rays into the playoffs remains to be seen but whatever the outcome the whole squad can, at the very least, be proud of their efforts over the last couple of weeks.

The victory propels the Stingrays into 8th place in the Elite League and the final playoff spot, one point ahead of Dundee in tenth - who have one game in hand - and one point ahead of Braehead in ninth - who have played one more game. The Rays are now just one point short of Edinburgh and Fife in sixth and seventh having played the same number of games.

The result also maintains their position at the top of the Gardiner Conference - which they now lead by four points, albeit having played more games than all four sides with just one conference game remaining.

They take on the league leading Nottingham Panthers at a near sell-out Hull Arena tomorrow night in the second of a home double header hoping to make it a four point weekend.

FBB Three Stars

1. Kurtis Dulle
2. Matty Davies

3. Sylvain Cloutier

Match Highlights: Braehead Clan 1-2 Hull Stingrays (OT)

Lovdahl double seals perfectly timed four-point weekend

Hull Stingrays 3-1 Fife Flyers

Two powerplay goals from defenceman Shane Lovdahl and a gutsy third period defensive display tonight helped the Hull Stingrays to a 3-1 victory over Gardiner Conference rivals Fife Flyers, keeping alive their hopes of making the Elite League playoffs with a third consecutive win.

In a penalty strewn first period, the Stingrays struck first having started the better - breakaways from Jason Silverthorn and Jereme Tendler moments apart both denied by Flyers netminder Bryan Pitton - makeshift powerplay forward Lovdahl deflecting a Dominic Osman point shot high into the Fife net for just his second goal of the season.

Todd Duitaume's side responded reasonably quickly however, notching their only goal of the game on 18.10 through Bobby Chaumont - who has been a revelation in Flyers colours since his move from Braehead - benefiting from what seemed a harsh cross-checking call on Ryan Hand that, likely, wouldn't have been called had it been any other player on the ice.

Nevertheless, the sides were level heading into the second intermission and then in the second period until Lovdahl - who, prior to tonight's fixture had just one goal in 48 games - picked up a loose puck 29.45 in and beat Pitton on the powerplay for the second time as the Rays countered a shorthanded break from the Flyers to which Ben Bowns was equal.

Two minutes later and with the Stingrays again plying pressure on the Fife net, Lovdahl tangled with Flyers defenceman Zach Carriveau in front of Pitton, eventually dropping the gloves for his fourth scrap of the year.

The successful fight completed an eventful game for the American blueliner in a man of the match worthy performance, though, at the time, there was still plenty of work for Lovdahl and his teammates to do to close the game out at 2-1 heading into the final period.

Indeed, the Flyers came out strongly in the third period and were able to pen Sylvain Cloutier's side in their own end for large portions, plying pressure on the Stingrays net and eventually outshooting them 13-9 in the final stanza.

However, with captain Kurtis Dulle leading from the back in a brilliant all-round performance, Martin Ondrej again proving his worth defensively, Lovdahl enjoying himself and Bowns in fine form, the Rays held strong and - one or two hairy moments aside - claimed two more invaluable points on their quest to make the playoffs.

This weekend's victories have sent Cloutier's side to the top of the Gardiner Conference on 33 points, admittedly having played more games than every team in the conference and with just two conference games remaining.

In order to qualify for the playoffs as conference winners, the Rays must win their two remaining Gardiner Conference games against Dundee and then hope the other four sides continue to take points off each other in equal measures.

As far as the league is concerned, the Stingrays remain bottom on 39 points but wins over seventh placed Fife and eighth placed Braehead this weekend have narrowed the gap to the playoffs to just one point.

It's still a mighty hill to climb, however, the current three game win streak has done wonders for the Stingrays - who it seemed might be down and out following defeat in Fife on 23rd February.

By finally putting a winning streak together, the Rays - who were visibly tiring as tonight's game wore on after a big win in Glasgow last night - are giving themselves every chance to extend their season into the post-season, whether it's a little bit too little, too late remains to be seen.

Next Saturday's home game against Dundee is other big game in a long line of massive fixtures that will end continue until Sunday 24th March when the Rays close their season with a home game against the Coventry Blaze.

FBB Three Stars

1. Kurtis Dulle

2. Shane Lovdahl

3. Ben Bowns

Image © Keith Mould

Stingrays roll on thanks to Dulle OT winner

Braehead Clan 1-2 Hull Stingrays (OT)