Stingrays switch Caps for Blaze in pre-season shuffle; Towner, Bonner named in GB U20 squad

The Hull Stingrays will now prepare for the 2013/2014 Elite Ice Hockey League season with a meeting against their Gardiner Conference rivals the Edinburgh Capitals after the Coventry Blaze withdrew from two warm-up games prior in late August and early September.

The club had been scheduled to meet the Blaze away from home on Wednesday 28th August and at home a week later on Wednesday 4th September.

However, Coventry's commitment to play in a three-team tournament alongside the Cardiff Devils and Danish side Esbjerg on Sunday 1st September and Wednesday 4th September clashed with those arrangements meaning the cancellation of their games with the Rays.

The Rays moved swiftly to fill the resulting gap in their pre-season with the addition of the Caps as pre-season opponents. They will now face home games on Wednesday 28th August (Edinburgh Capitals) and Wednesday 4th September (Sheffield Steeldogs), with their away games coming on Thursday 29th August (Sheffield Steeldogs) and Sunday 1st September (Edinburgh Capitals).

Pre-season 2013

Wed 28th August - Edinburgh Capitals (H)

Thu 29th August - Sheffield Steeldogs (A)

Sun 1st September - Edinburgh Capitals (A)

Wed 4th September - Sheffield Steeldogs (H)

Meanwhile, Stingrays young British forwards Lee Bonner and Sam Towner have been selected to a Great Britain Under-20's development squad for the upcoming Alexei Cherepanov Tournament in Lithuania.

The tournament - named in memory of former New York Rangers first round draft pick Alexei Cherepanov, who passed away at the age of just 19 after collpasing while playing in the Kontinental Hockey League in 2008 - will see Great Britain U20's take on their national counterparts from Lithuania, Poland and Belarus as well as junior sides Omsk Hawks and Kapitan Stupino in Elektrenai, Lithuania in late August.

Towner, 18, will join the side after spending a 52 game rookie campaign with the Stingrays in the Elite League during a season in which he made his national team debut with the GB Under-18's in Estonia - recording a goal in five games.

On his selection, Towner told the Hull Daily Mail:

“At the end of last season I went away with GB under-18s to Estonia, and that was good experience.The GB under-20s in Lithuania will be another experience and that should put me in good stead for the new Elite League season.”

Bonner's involvement with Great Britain will be his first in national team set up at the age of just 16, having signed his first deal with the Stingrays earlier this summer.

The Hull born forward - who recorded 18 goals and 29 points in 13 games at under-18 level last season - is highly thought of by Stingrays head coach Sylvain Cloutier and owner and coach Bobby McEwan - who have monitored his progress over a number of years at Hull Arena.

GB Under-20 coach Pete Russell has selected a development squad for the tournament and has said he will be using it as a chance to get new players involved in the national team set up and exposure to international hockey. 

The pair will join up with the Under-20's for their games between 23rd August and 28th August before returning to Hull part-way through their pre-season training camp.

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.

Mitchell selected; Tendler nominated

The Excel Hull Stingrays have today received a double dose of good news in the final week of the season with the announcements that leading scorer Jereme Tendler has been shortlisted for the Elite League Newcomer of the Year award and that Lee Mitchell has once again been named in the initial Great Britain squad for the upcoming World Championships and friendlies against the Netherlands.

27 year old Tendler - who last night netted his fourth hat-trick of the year against Edinburgh - has enjoyed a phenomenal debut year in the UK, scoring a Stingrays all-time high 48 goals - including an EIHL record 11 shorthanded goals - while adding 28 assists for 76 points, also a franchise high.

He faces tough competition from Cardiff Devils pair Jon Pelle and Craig Weller. American Pelle, also in his first year in the country, tops Tendler with a league high 54 goals this season, while Weller, a former NHLer that can play both up front and in defence, gave the Devils a legitimate league MVP that has since propelled them into title contention.

Meanwhile Mitchell, who added a goal and two assists in last night's 8-0 win, has been named to the GB initial 34 man squad for the third year in a row, with that roster set to be cut to 26 for the pair of friendlies, to be played in Nottingham and Hull, before again being reduced to 23 for the World Championships in Ukraine during April. After another injury hit start to the year, the Scottish born forward is now back to full health and has totaled an impressive nine goals and ten assists in just 24 games this season.

He is the only Stingrays representative in the 34 man roster although former defencemen David and Kevin Phillips have been selected after season's spent in North America and Braehead respectively.

Mitchell to link up with GB

Excel Hull Stingrays forward Lee Mitchell has been named in the Great Britain squad to face the Netherlands in a pair of friendlies this weekend ahead of the annual World Championships.

The Kirkcaldy born Scot, who this season registered 14 goals and 21 assists in just 46 games, after missing the start of the season though a knee injury, made his debut for GB at the Euro Hockey Challenge tournament in 2008 in France, however, he has since missed out on the full squad for the World Championships through injury.

Having been named in the squad to face the Netherlands this weekend, the Brit will now be looking to build on a very positive season with a good performance this weekend, which, in turn, may earn him his first full GB cap in Slovenia at the upcoming World Championships.

Elsewhere, former Stingrays defencemen Kevin Phillips and Stevie Lee have also been named in the squad to face the Netherlands at the Trent FM Arena on Saturday (7pm) and Ice Sheffield on Sunday (4pm).

The full Great Britain line-up for this weekend is:

Stephen Murphy, Stevie Lyle, Nathan Craze, Jonathan Weaver, Ben O’Connor, Danny Meyers, Mark Richardson, Steve Lee, Kevin Phillips, Greg Chambers, Colin Shields, Craig Peacock, David Clarke, Matt Myers, Marc Levers, Jason Hewitt, Robert Dowd, Lee Mitchell, Phil Hill, Russell Cowley, Jonathan Phillips, Mark Garside, Matt Towe

GB call-up Mitchell scoops awards double

Lee Mitchell and Ukrainian forward Konstantin Kalmikov each claimed two awards at the Excel Hull Stingrays end of season awards evening on Monday night, however, the double was particularly sweet for the 22 year old Scot after he was once again announced in the provisional Great Britain squad for upcoming friendlies and the World Championships in Slovenia.

Mitchell, who this season recorded 14 goals and 18 assists in 42 games, two short of his career best, and appeared in his second consecutive Elite League All Star game, despite starting the season 14 games late due to a knee injury, picked up the players and coaches player of the year award on the same night in which he was named in Paul Thompson's provisional 31 man squad for a double header against the Netherlands in April.

He will be hoping that near best career figures, that would have certainly been career best figures had a knee injury not scuppered the early part of his season, will be enough to get him into the full Great Britain squad for World Championship games against Slovenia, Croatia, Korea, Hungary and Poland after years of teetering on the brink. Joining him in the provisional squad are former Stingrays defencemen Dave Phillips, now in the AHL, brother Kevin Phillips, at Belfast, and young prodigy Stevie Lee, in Nottingham.

Stingrays coach Sylvain Cloutier sung the former Fife forwards praises after a season in which he levelled his career best in goals and could potentially make his first full World Championships appearance:

"He's a coach's dream. Anything you ask him to do, he will do it, whether that's playing on the first, second or third lines, the powerplay or penalty kill, he gets his head down and does it. Lee does all the little things right. He's been a go-to guy for us and he's been outstanding for us since he came back from injury."

Meanwhile, Kalmikov deservedly picked up two of the fans voted awards for best forward and player of the year after he recorded career highs in goals (36), assists (29) and points (65) with just four penalty minutes picked despite the former Ukrainian international being an ever-present in the Stingrays roster.

Naturally, Cloutier was forthcoming in his praise for his top scorer:

"...he has been a force for us and has scored some big goals. He is strong in both ends of the rink and is a disciplined player who never complains. He is a great guy to have on the team and I am very pleased for him."

Elsewhere, Adam Knight, nicknamed 'The Dark Knight' by supporters, picked up the fans favourite award following an entertaining season in which he fought 17 times against the likes of Sean McMorrow and Brad Voth, big hitting Stephen Burns picked up defenceman of the year and youngster Matty Davies picked up most improved player after a season in which he recorded four goals and 12 assists in his debut Elite League season.

Davies and Mitchell selected to GB U20's

The Excel Hull Stingrays Craig Mitchell and Matty Davies have been selected to ice for Great Britain Under 20's at the upcoming U20's World Championship Division II B.

Forward Davies, who has so far accumulated three goals and five assists in 21 games, has been a standout player for the Rays in his first season in the EIHL, while blueliner Mitchell, in his second season as a pro, has been one of the team's more solid defencemen, recording three assists in 19 games.

The pair will certainly miss Stingrays away fixtures against Nottingham (13th December) and Cardiff (18th December), while they are also unlikely to feature in the Rays home fixture against Nottingham on the December 19, the day after their final U20 fixture against Hungary.

The tournament, in which Britain will be expected to, at the very least, medal, sees them face China, Spain, Korea, Mexico and hosts Hungary.

It is expected that Sylvain Cloutier will call up players from the English National League's Kingston Jets to fill the void left by their temporary absence.

Elsewhere, former Stingray Stevie Lee, who has this season seen regular ice time with the Nottingham Panthers, recording just one assist in 24 games, has been named captain of the squad.

Stingray News

Stingrays shine as GB U20 beat Scims

Excel Hull Stingray pair Craig Mitchell and Matty Davies were selected and appeared for the Great Britain Under 20's last night against EPL side Sheffield Scimitars.

Davies, who has been a bright spot in the Stingrays season so far, recording three goals and eight points in 19 games, recorded the game winning penalty shot as the U20's beat Sheffield 4-3, while Craig Mitchell played a big part on the blueline.

Rays head towards full strength...no this is not a test

The Excel Hull Stingrays may, just may, ice this weekend with theoretically, a full strength squad, following the news that forward Jason Silverthorn and defenceman James Hutchinson will return to training this week and will most likely make a return to full action during this weekends home double header against table toppers Nottingham and Coventry.

Their return would leave the team with three lines of both defence and forwards, as well as a full compliment of imports for the first time since the opening weekend of the season and even then they were without Lee Mitchell

The Rays have been plagued by injuries ever since they joined the Elite League, and despite a change in coaching, this season has been no different, with no less than seven of the Stingrays squad being hit with by the injury curse.

Mitchell was the first to be struck down, missing the opening ten weeks of the season after picking up a knee injury during summer preparations, however, the Brit finally reappeared last weekend; this weekend will see just Pavel Gomenyuk (fractured rib) sitting on the sidelines.

The injury list has been long and varied for Sylvain Cloutier's side. A concussion, a fractured rib, a broken arm, a broken hand, two broken cheekbones, a serious knee injury, sinusitis and a number of other minor injuries have all been sustained this term, however, coach, squad and fanbase will be hoping the worst is now over.

Once Ukrainian Gomenyuk returns the team will be back up to 11 imports with just ten allowed to ice during each EIHL game. Cloutier will then be left with the tough, but welcome, choice of ditching one import should the team remain at full strength. Their performances over the next few weeks could be key as to who goes, with defencemen under particular scrutiny given the Rays poor defensive record and the surplus which Gomenyuk's return will find them in.

New boys make an impact offensively

Statistically, new signings James Sanford, George Halkidis and, to a lesser extent due to his injury, Jason Silverthorn have made a positive impact on what was a frail Stingrys side that relied far too heavily on a small number of players.

Sanford, while initially struggling to get to grips with the the style of play in the league, has lived up to his name as a powerplay quarterback, notching an impressive eight assists in ten games, while alongside him, George Halkidis has brought an experienced, calm and collected mentality to the team's blueline, adding a similarly impressive two goals and two assists from six games as a Stingray.

Up front, Silverthorn bagged a goal and assist on debut against Coventry before a puck released from Sanford's stick inadvertently broke his jaw in the same game. Nevertheless, with Silverthorn once again icing this weekend, the positive feelings, headed by the new blood, look to be making a welcome return to the Hull Arena.

Burns and Knight chip in

After coming under some criticism during the opening quarter of the season, defenceman Stephen Burns and Adam Knight have hit a purple patch of form during the last two weeks. While goals and points are not the only important factor, the pair have been both hitting the twine and putting in good performances over the last two weeks.

Knight, banned for five games on the opening weekend of the season, lost that offensive spark which impressed fans and coach alike in the Rays pre-season games, but recent weeks have seen the tough Canadian return to form, scoring in the late loss to Newcastle before adding a goal and an assist in the next game against Edinburgh. His importance to the team was never in doubt, and now, thanks to his recent form, neither are his abilities on the ice.

Meanwhile, Burns, who is admittedly the Rays only real stay-at-home import defenceman, netted twice in the loss to Coventry, taking his season total to three goals and two assists in 19 games, and has turned around a period of form that had some questioning his abilities in front of Tommy Sandahl.

Reynolds lands in Dijon

Last week it was revealed that former Stingrays forward Matt Reynolds had signed in France with Ducs De Dijon in the Ligue Magnus, the French top flight.

28 year old Reynolds enjoyed a successful first season in Britain last term, scoring 22 goals and 55 points in 51 games, however, he struggled to re-find that form in his second year in the country, this time under Sylvain Cloutier, recording just five points and one goal in 11 games.

Dijon are currently sitting top of the Ligue Magnus table, one point ahead of Morzine-Avoriaz, with four wins from five games.

Mitchell misses out on GB

Lee Mitchell will miss out on a World Championships performance with Great Britain for the second time, after he was only named as a reserve for the squad.

Despite having a career year and impressing coach Rick Strachan enough to win coaches player of the year for the second time in two seasons, Mitchell has not been named in the squad after successfully coming back from a knee injury that prematurely ended his 07/08 campaign and ruled him out of the reckoning for last seasons World Championships.

The GB squad has now been named by head coach, Paul Thompson, who included EIHL winning netminder Jody Lehman for his first stint between the pipes for GB, after gaining British citizenship following five years in the country. The squad also included former Stingrays defenceman Dave Phillips, who will make his third successive appearance in a British shirt.

Great Britain will play Ukraine, Italy, Holland, Romania and hosts Poland between 11-17 April for the right to qualify for the world group which contains the likes of Canada, USA, Russia and Sweden.

Great Britain squad:
J Lehman (Sheffield), S Lyle (Belfast); S
Johnson (Belfast), D Meyers (Nottingham), B O'Connor (Coventry), D
Phillips (Belfast), M Richardson (Nottingham), M Thomas (Sheffield), G
Walton (Belfast), J Weaver (Coventry); G Chambers
(Basingstoke), D Clarke (Nottingham), R Cowley (Coventry), R Dowd
(Sheffield), J Hewitt (Sheffield), D Longstaff (Newcastle), M Myers
(Nottingham), G Owen (Briancon, France), J Phillips (Sheffield), C
Shields (Belfast), A Tait (Sheffield), T Watkins (Coventry).

Reserves - Netminders: S Murphy (Manchester - travelling reserve), N
Craze (Belfast); Defencemen: K Horne (Edinburgh), L Jamieson (Coventry);
Forwards: P Hill (Cardiff), M Levers (Nottingham), L Mitchell (Hull)

Mitchell makes first GB cut

22 year old forward Lee Mitchell has been called up to Paul Thompson's provisional 30 man Great Britain side for the upcoming World Championships.

The Stingrays forward, who has recorded a Elite League best 30 points in 53 games this season and is just three points from a career best, has been on the cusp of the squad for a number of years now after playing for GB at U18 and U20 level.

In fact Mitchell, who has been assistant captain for the Stingrays this season and received a call up to the inaugural EIHL All Star game, only missed out in last season's squads for the Euro Challenge and World Championships due to a knee operation which scuppered his chances of selection.

He has successfully returned from that knee injury this season and after a good start to the season he was named as reserve for GB's Olympic qualifiers in Poland, however the 30 man squad will be cut down to 23 before the tournament in April and Mitchell will need to continue his good form to finally make the full squad.

Great Britain will face hosts Poland, Ukraine, Italy, Holland and Romania between April 11 and 17, with the winner progressing to the World Group next year to face the likes of Canada, Russia, USA and Finland.

Former Stingrays defenceman, and product of the Kingston Junior Development system, Dave Phillips, was also selected to the squad after recording seven goals and 21 assists in 59 games with the Belfast Giants this season after moving there from Hull last summer.

Photo courtesy Arthur Foster

Stingray news.

- Stingrays defenceman, Pavel Gomenyuk, was injured in his first shift on Sunday night against the Sheffield Steelers. He is thought to have missed the majority of the game with a back injury, although it is unclear at the moment whether he will ice this weekend against Edinburgh.

- The Stingrays game against the Belfast Giants in Northern Ireland, on Sunday, has been cancelled. The match, which would have pit the Stingrays against the side they beat 6-3 last Saturday, is thought to have been cancelled by the EIHL due to international call-ups for Great Britains Olympic Qualifiers this week.

- Lee Mitchell, the Stingrays leading British pointscorer with three goals and seven assists in 18 games, is on the reserved list for Great Britains Olympic Qualifiers in Poland this week. Team GB kick off with a game against host side, Poland, on Thursday, before games against Japan and Romania for the right to qualify for the next round.

- Coach Rick Strachan has put new forward, Jamie Thompson's, pointless weekend down to fitness after the Canadian recorded just two penalty minutes in games against Sheffield and Belfast this weekend. Thompson, who came in to replace Rick Kozak, will be expected to score goals and put up points for the Stingrays, something he didn't do this weekend:

"I think Jamie has got a lot to offer the team. He was nowhere near match fitness. When he is I believe he will make a huge contribution to the team. He's a solid player, he's got some good hands and he can hit hard. He's very patient with the puck and will create a lot of offence." said Strachan.

Evidence of his goalscoring may not have been felt by the team, however Scott Basiuk certainly felt his ability to throw a hit, with a huge hit early in the first period which left a big impression on home fans.

- Jeff Glowa has walked away with the fans voted, player of the month for October. Glowa, who recorded five goals and five assists in seven games in October, walked away with the title ahead of forward Matt Reynolds and departed forward Rick Kozak.