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.

Koulikov Jets off

After being released by Excel Hull Stingrays coach Sylvain Cloutier, 31 year old forward Slava Koulikov has today been snapped up by the Slough Jets of the English Premier League (EPL).

Koulikov, who registered just three points in 11 games this season, was axed by Cloutier alongside import forward Matt Reynolds, with the pair paying the price for the Rays terrible start to the season, which had seen them lose nine of their opening 11 fixtures.

The Rays poor form has continued, extending that record to 13 losses in 15 games, but Koulikov has now found a new home at the Hanger with the Jets flying high, just three points off the top spot but in fifth place.

Speaking on the capture of the 'Elite League experienced' Koulikov, Jets coach Peter Russell said:

“I believe we needed another skilled forward and hence my reasoning for making the change. We have a lot of power in our team and another highly skilled guy like Slava will only make us a stronger all-round team.”

Earlier this week the Berkshire based side released former Stingrays forward James Knight to make way for Russian-born-Brit Koulikov, despite Knight recording four points in Jets two games last weekend.

Knight, in his second season away from the Stingrays, where he bagged 23 points in 109 games after being picked up from North America by former coach Rick Strachan in 06/07, has four goals and ten points to his name so far this season and is currently without a club after his release on Monday morning.

Last season he impressed many in the EPL, scoring 20 goals and adding 43 assists in 50 games with the now dormant Telford Tigers, and it is thought the big power forward will not be without a club for long.

Meanwhile, Reynolds, released at the same time as Koulikov, has signed for an, as yet, unnamed side in the French top flight.

It's curtains for Reynolds and Koulikov as Silverthorn signs

Sylvain Cloutier has today followed up on his promise to change things around if his side's fortunes failed to improve, with the signing of forward Jason Silverthorn and release of import Matt Reynolds and Russian-born-Brit Slava Koulikov.

Silverthorn, 30, had been signed to a contract in the ECHL with the Johnstown Chiefs, however, they released him last Friday after just a couple of appearances, conveniently allowing Cloutier to sign up the former Edinburgh and Cardiff forward after the Stingrays shocking start to the season, which has seen them win just two games and claim just five points in 11 matches.

After such an unexpectedly bad start to the season, something had to give, and Slava Koulikov and Matt Reynolds combined contribution of two goals and eight points in the club's opening 11 fixtures was deemed unacceptable by Sylvain Cloutier.

Koulikov, who was the only remaining original Stingray from the team's inaugural 03/04 season, was constantly linked with a departure, mainly due to his work ethic, or lack of, but after recording just three points so far this season, Cloutier has seen enough of the forward

The 31 year old did actually leave the club briefly in 07/08 for a fresh start under Steve Thornton, only to return 20 games later after Basingstoke's financial issues. Unfortunately for the Rays, he returned the same player, with an apparent lack of work ethic masking his potential to be a premium British forward, preferring instead to settle for mediocrity with his hometown Stingrays.

It will come as no surprise that his best figures goalscoring wise came in the inaugural season in 03/04, where he netted 18 times, and looked to have some fire under his belly, and in the same way his exit from the Hull Arena is also not surprising.

Following his departure, he sits behind just Jeff Glowa in the Stingrays all-time appearances chart, with 230 games under his belt, and, despite his drawbacks, he managed put up a creditable 67 goals and 119 assists in seven years with the club.

Meanwhile, Canadian forward Reynolds was also released by the determined Cloutier, after opening the season with just one goal, whilst showing none of the hard nosed grit that Cloutier expected of him in the summer.

After joining from a championship winning IHL side in Fort Wayne, Reynolds was a surprisingly big part of the team last season under Rick Strachan, recording career highs in goals (22), assists (33) and points (55) last year.

This season he has been devoid of any of the spark of last season and, although he opened the season with three points in four games, he followed that up with just one point in the next six games. For a team that is struggling to find any consistency, coach Cloutier released Reynolds and quickly replaced him with a proven forward.

Replacing him is Owen Sound, Ontario native Jason Silverthorn, who last season played forward for EIHL rivals the Cardiff Devils, scoring just under a point a game with 21 goals and 33 assists in 55 games.

Prior to last season, Silverthorn had previous EIHL campaign's with the Devils, where he scored 57 points in 54 games, and the Edinburgh Capitals, in 06/07, when he scoring 39 points in 35 games.

As a prolific point scorer in the Elite League, he should be a more than adequate replacement for Reynolds, who was failing to replicate his form of last season, and, although the move shows Cloutier's desire for the team to improve, if we're to be critical, the decision to bring in a forward that also looks out of form, after his release from the ECHL, looks doubtful.

Nevertheless, a club statement outlined the delight at the signing and the, hopeful, improvement of the side following recent moves:

“We are delighted to be bringing in a player of Jason’s calibre. He knows the league very well, he scores goals, he can play on defence if called upon and he is very good on the special teams. We believe the signing of Jason Silverthorn and that of James Sanford last week has made us a better and stronger team and hopefully we can look forward to more success on the ice.”

Silverthorn is scheduled to immediately step into the side, making his debut on Saturday against Coventry before returning for his home debut on Sunday against the Belfast Giants.

The release of Koulikov leaves the Stingrays with little flexibility should the team lose a player to injury. However, once Pavel Gomenyuk and Lee Mitchell return to full fitness, Matty Davies has already proven that he can easily hold down a regular shift in the Elite League and, although he may not have the size, he has the speed and skill to continue on the Rays third line.

*Cardiff photos courtesy Official Cardiff Devils website

Stingray news

Say it quietly......Stingrays return to full strength

Import forward Matt Reynolds and Jamie Thompson look set to return to the Excel Hull Stingrays lineup for this weekend's games against the Cardiff Devils and Sheffield Steelers after five and four week layoffs respectively.

Thompson, who had scored eight goals in 26 games, suffered a neck injury against the Sheffield Steelers some weeks ago whilst Reynolds, who led the Stingrays in points and goals before his injury, broke a finger in the same game. They will both return to full training this week and should they not suffer any re-occurrences , will play in back to back games against Cardiff and Sheffield.

The games this weekend should see the Stingrays return to full strength for the first time since the opening day of the season.

Rick Strachan said:

"Thompson and Reynolds should be ready for full practice this week. We’ve missed them. Matt was our top scorer when he got injured and he plays on our special teams and powerplay."

We will then have a full bench and it is something we are looking forward to. It will take a lot of responsibility of the shoulders of some of our young kids who have been carrying this team. Guys like Jeff Glowa and Konstantin Kalmikov have also been going every second shift for a month and those guys are dead tired and they need a rest."

All Stars Prepare

The Elite League's inaugural All Star game will face off on Thursday night at the Coventry Skydome with four Excel Hull Stingrays in the lineup. And whilst players like Steve Slonina, Matt Reynolds and Konstantin Kalmikov have been at the heart of the Stingrays push for their first ever playoff berth, the Elite League have implemented a two import and two Brit rule from each team, meaning many of the Stingrays 'stars' will miss out.

The result of the rule has seen Brits Slava Koulikov and Lee Mitchell selected alongside the ever brilliant Jeff Glowa and Curtis Cruickshank and all four will lineup on Thursday alongside the rest of the Southern All Stars.

Auctions, Auctions, Auctions...

The auctions for the Stingrays Valentine's Day shirts, used in their 4-3 loss against the Manchester Phoenix, are beginning to come to an end. Currently Lee Esders and Jeff Glowa are the highest priced shirts at £78.01, with Slava Koulikov in second with a price of £77. However there are still shirt's available in the auction including James Cooke's #18 shirt, Aaron Wilson's #23, Pavel Gomenyuk's #40 and Richie Thornton's unworn #6 shirt. The eBay site can be found here.

There is a similar auction for the game worn All Star jerseys to be used on Thursday in the EIHL's first All Star game. The eBay site for this auction can be found here. It contains All Star jerseys for the Stingrays Jeff Glowa, Slava Koulikov, Curtis Cruickshank and Lee Mitchell.

Kerr To Sit Season

With the return to action of import forwards Jamie Thompson and Matt Reynolds comes bad news for defenceman Stuart Kerr, out since November.

With Thompson and Reynolds the Stingrays have 11 fit imports, out of an allowed 11 under EIHL rules, and Kerr, who has played just 24 games for the Stingrays, recording six assists, will be forced to sit for the remainder of the season unless the Stingrays suffer yet more injuries.

Despite rumour of Kerr being let go by the Stingrays, who are one of, if not, the lowest budget team in the league, it seems that Kerr will remain will the team as both a good will move and backup for any more injuries the team will suffer.

The signing, and impressive displays, by young Finnish defenceman Antti Turunen seem to have been the determining factor in Kerr sitting on the sidelines for the final few weeks despite allegedly returning to fitness in the last fortnight.

Caps v Devils

In their only game in hand before they, and the Stingrays, ice 11 times on the same nights in the run up to the playoffs, the Edinburgh Capitals face a Cardiff Devils on Wednesday. The Caps are ahead of the Stingrays by games between the sides after their 7-4 win against the Devils on Sunday took them level on points.

Gomenyuk another All Star...sort of

Pavel Gomenyuk, who is having a career year after scoring ten goals and 17 assists, has agreed to ice in Newcastle player-coach Rob Wilson's testimonial game.

The match will pit a Rob Wilson's All Star Select against a North East All Star select and will feature a number of players from Wilson's 20 career in Britain.

Fixture Change

The Stingrays scheduled game in Manchester on March 8 has now been moved to Thursday March 19.

Reynolds injury rocks Rays.

It has been revealed that the Stingrays top point scoring forward, Matt Reynolds, suffered a broken hand in the Stingrays 4-0 loss at home to Sheffield.

Reynolds, 27, who leads the team with 44 points from 40 games and lies second on the team in goals and assists, was diagnosed with the broken hand at Hull Royal Infirmary last night and will be out for between five and six weeks.

Whilst the injury is a devastating blow to Reynolds, the team and their hopes for a playoff spot, it does allow the Stingrays to de-register Reynolds in favour of Troy Neumeier, who will return to action next weekend.

After the signing of Antti Turunen the Stingrays had 10 imports registered of an allowed 11. Reynolds injury will allow both Stuart Kerr, who made an unsuccessful return to action in the Stingrays victory in Nottingham tonight, and Troy Neumeier to return once fit.

Should Reynolds recover in the expected time frame he would make his return on the 22th of February with a match up against the Sheffield Steelers, just a month before the end of the regular season.

Another Wednesday, another signing..

27 year old Matt Reynolds has decided to join the Excel Hull Stingrays for his 4th professional season after a career year in goals (19), assists (33) and points (52) with the Fort Wayne Comets of the IHL as they took the IHL playoffs, the Turner Cup, in 4 games against the Port Huron IceHawks.

Reynolds, who is 6 foot tall, joined the IceHawks last season after 2 seasons in the CHL with Rio Grande and Fort Worth Brahmas, and joined former Basingstoke netminer Nick Boucher on the IceHawks whilst he was joined mid season by PC Drouin who was sacked by, then, Panthers coach Mike Ellis.

Coach Rick Strachan had this to say of his new signing:

"Matt is a good player. He has great offensive capabilities, can play in both ends, he is a leader and he is also not afraid to get involved. He will be one of the guys who will be expected to contribute offensively and play on the powerplay which he is comfortable with."

Meanwhile Reynolds had this to say to BBC Humberside:

I've heard some good things about them. I hope I can do a good job for them and I’m looking forward to the challenge and playing overseas for the first time.

Although Reynolds has 20 professional fights to his name (see below) his main job will be joining Jeff Glowa in racking up the points next season for the Rays. And with 107 points in 123 games at college and 121 points in 197 games, so far, in his professional career along with extra ice time, it is expected he will flourish in the Elite League and in a Stingrays jersey.



Rick Strachan believes they will have the firepower up front for next season, something they lacked last season:

"You cannot rely on two or three guys to get you points, you need seven or eight contributing. If we can get those guys scoring 30-40 points it makes a huge difference"

With the Stingrays season preparations well under way it is now expected the Stingrays will make signing their two netminders for next season a priority. Stingrays co-owner Sue Pack is happy with the way pre-season has gone thus far:

"We have put a lot of effort into researching the players and we think we are building a team which will work together and that's 'grown up.' Mike, Strachs and I are delighted with the way our teambuilding is going.