Hull Stingrays 5-1 Sheffield Steelers

Match Highlights: Sheffield Steelers 6-3 Hull Stingrays

Stingrays fall to Steelers

Sheffield Steelers 6-3 Hull Stingrays

The Hull Stingrays tonight fell to their third defeat against Sheffield Steelers this season, losing out by six goals to three at a sold out Ice Sheffield.

Early goals from Stefan Meyer and Steven Goertzen gave the home side a two goal lead after just 3.18.

Nikolai Ladygin recorded his first goal since rejoining the Stingrays on the powerplay 15.39 to pull one back however Jonathan Phillips restored the Steelers two goal advantage heading into the first intermission less than 60 seconds later.

Doug Christiansen's side then took a commanding and decisive 6-1 lead following second period goals from Jeff Legue and Robert Dowd, and then an early third period goal from Meyer.

The Stingrays added two late goals through Jason Silverthorn and Jereme Tendler but it was too little too late for Sylvain Cloutier's side.

They return to action on Saturday night as they take on the Coventry Blaze at the Skydome live on Premier Sports before taking on the Fife Flyers at the Hull Arena for the first time this season.

Stingrays narrowly defeated by Steelers in final Challenge Cup Group B fixture

Hull Stingrays 1-2 Sheffield Steelers

Match Highlights: Sheffield Steelers 4-3 Hull Stingrays (CC)

Stingrays' Challenge Cup hopes dashed in narrow defeat

Sheffield Steelers 4-3 Hull Stingrays (Challenge Cup)

The Hull Stingrays chances of reaching the Challenge Cup Quarter Finals for a second consecutive year appear remote after they were tonight handed their third defeat in the competition this season, losing out 4-3 to the Sheffield Steelers at Ice Sheffield.

As they did against Cardiff on Sunday, the Stingrays opened the scored with Jereme Tendler netting his fourth goal of the season after just two minutes with assists from Martin Ondrej and Omar Pacha.

The Steelers leveled on the 15 minute mark through captain Jonathan Phillips before Maxim Lacroix gave the home side the lead 6.14 into the second period.

Tendler struck again nine minutes later with assists this time coming through Brits Bobby Chamberlain and Matty Davies, however, Stefan Meyer would score as the period was drawing to a close to give the Steelers a 3-2 lead heading into the final period.

Derek Campbell - who recorded a hat-trick on his last visit to Ice Sheffield for the Stingrays against the Steelers - equalised on the powerplay just 43 seconds into the final period via assists from Jason Silverthorn and Tendler - who recorded his third point of the night and eighth of the season.

However, it would be the Steelers that would have the final say as British forward Aaron Nell scored the game winning goal on the powerplay at 44.11.

The defeat will make it extremely difficult for the Stingrays to progress to the Quarter Final from Challenge Cup Group B following defeats against Nottingham (9-3) and Cardiff (4-3).

Sylvain Cloutier's side have still to play Nottingham, Sheffield and Coventry at the Hull Arena as well as Coventry and Cardiff away but face the daunting task of likely needing to win the vast majority of those fixtures including both games against the Coventry Blaze in order to progress.

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.

Stingrays shutout in Sheffield

Sheffield Steelers 4-0 Hull Stingrays

The Hull Stingrays came up empty handed this evening  in their search for a four point weekend against Erhardt Conference sides as they were defeated by four goals to nil against the Sheffield Steelers at the Motorpoint Arena.

A hat-trick from import forward Shawn Limpwright and a further goal from Simon Ferguson was enough to hand the Steelers the two points in the Yorkshire derby, with netminder John DeCaro helping himself to his second shutout of the weekend by denying all 17 of Stingrays shots. Returning to his hometown once again, Rays netminder Ben Bowns turned away 28 of the Steelers 32 shots.

In complete contrast to their season long series against fellow Erhardt Conference side the Cardiff Devils - which is 4-0-1 following last night's victory - the Rays record against Sheffield with one game to go is five defeats in five games.

The shutout is the Stingrays second blank of the season following October's 6-0 loss in Nottingham.

Sylvain Cloutier and his side now gear themselves up for five consecutive Gardiner Conference games starting next Saturday in Fife before a home fixture against the Braehead Clan in a week's time.

Stingrays narrowly beaten by two for fourth time in Yorkshire derby

Hull Stingrays 1-3 Sheffield Steelers

In contrast to the niggly, hard fought 4-2 defeat exactly two weeks ago, the Hull Stingrays were tonight again beaten by two goals by Yorkshire rivals the Sheffield Steelers in an altogether different contest with goals in each period giving their South Yorkshire counterparts a narrow victory.

Having handed Dmitri Rodin his second debut in Cardiff, Jeff Smith returned to the line-up in place of Slovakian defenceman Martin Ondrej while a debut was handed to Sheffield born defenceman Brett Chapman.

The last time these two sides met, the game quickly spiraled out of control in an enjoyable, up-tempo but bordering on dirty clash. A lot of this frustration may have stem from Steelers enforcer Chris Frank refusing, on a number of occasions, to drop the gloves with Rays enforcer Ryan Hand.

Hand - clearly, again, up for the challenge from the off - gave Frank no choice on this occasion. Offering the Steelers man the fight prior to the opening face-off, and then again when the puck was dropped, he eventually dropped the gloves with the Canadian 17 seconds in, with the pair providing an entertaining duel which Hand edged - taking an instigator penalty for his insistence - and which energised the opening period.

With that out of the way, and the Steelers unsuccessful on the ensuing man advantage, the game took an all too familiar tone with the intensity and physicality of a playoff game. That intensity unfortunately didn't convert into free-flowing hockey - with the shot count just 5-3 in the Steelers favour after one period - but, nevertheless, made for an entertaining start to the game for both sets of fans.

Aside from a lovely move from centre-ice between Janis Ozolins, Cale Tanaka and Matty Davies - which eventually saw Steelers keeper John DeCaro deny the Rays close in - the home side appeared to struggle to test the Steelers going forward - an recurring theme throughout the game.

The Steelers on the other hand took the lead through a pinpoint finish in-off the pipework from forward Tylor Michel on the powerplay, giving them a 1-0 first period lead.

The intensity level of the game plummeted from playoff hockey to low-key regular season hockey in the second period with all the animosity from the previous game and previous period seemingly forgotten.

Jereme Tendler - who had seven goals in four games heading in to the fixture - was the presented with a huge chance, all-alone in front for the home side on the powerplay only for DeCaro to stonewall him.

Ryan Finnerty's side then doubled their lead on 28.09, sapping the energy out of the Hull Arena as Shawn Limpwright luckily deflecting home a Mark Thomas slapshot past Ben Bowns with his shin pad.

The Rays struggled to maintain offensive pressure in the Steelers zone throughout the game but eventually upped their offensive game enough to force this in the third period - firing 19 shots on the visitors net.

Jonathan Phillips completed the Steelers scoring for the night on 46.42 for a 3-0 lead after which the Steelers seemed shut down their offence for the night - focusing all their efforts on snuffing out any comeback from the Stingrays.

The intensity and atmosphere understandably dropped further following Sheffield's third goal, however, in-form Tendler managed to scramble home a consolation goal through DeCaro's five-hole on 53.49 on the powerplay for his eighth goal in five games.

Sylvain Cloutier's side - who were all game long led by the determination and hard work of Jason Silverthorn and seemed reliant on a goal from Tendler -  plied further pressure on the Steelers - who were now passing through the motions - but couldn't force a second goal past a resolute Sheffield defence with DeCaro in particularly good form.

As has been the case during the last month or so, the effort and much of the commitment was once again forthcoming. Likewise, during their last five defeats - which have all been by one or two goals - there is a fine line between no points and two points in this season's Elite League and that is a line the Rays, unfortunately, can't consistently cross.

Still, the Rays have five points from five games and now face a run of, somewhat, more favourable fixtures with six out of their next seven games this month coming against Gardiner Conference sides.

FBB Three Stars

1. Jason Silverthorn

2. Jereme Tendler

3. Ryan Hand

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

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.

Match Highlights: Hull Stingrays 3-6 Sheffield Steelers (CC)

Steelers hand Stingrays Challenge Cup defeat

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:

"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

Match highlights: Excel Hull Stingrays 3-2 Sheffield Steelers

Match Highlights: Sheffield Steelers 2-1 Excel Hull Stingrays

Another narrow defeat as Stingrays bow out of Challenge Cup

Sheffield Steelers 2 - 1 Excel Hull Stingrays

The Excel Hull Stingrays tonight bowed out of the 11/12 Elite League Challenge Cup with a 0-6-2 record, going down to a fourth narrow defeat in four games by three goals to two against the Sheffield Steelers at Ice Sheffield.

The Stingrays - who were all but out of the competition prior to the last two weeks of Group B fixtures - fell behind to a first period goal from Colt King before R G Flath doubled the South Yorkshire sides lead in the second period.

Sylvain Cloutier's side once again made a game of it against their top five opposition though, new addition Andy McKinney scoring his first goal for the club in just his second full-time appearance - having previously iced for the club against Braehead on a two-way contact from EPL side Telford Tigers.

Though that goal gave the Rays a glimmer of hope that they could record their first win of the 11/12 cup campaign in their final attempt, the Steelers took control of the final period - firing 13 shots on netminder Christian Boucher for totals of 30-23 - and eked out a narrow 2-1 win.

While they may be thankful another fruitless Challenge Cup campaign is over, a pair of narrow, one-goal losses to Sheffield and ties against both Cardiff and Coventry - as well as a unlucky tight loss to Belfast in the league the week - is perhaps proof enough that the club is getting to a competitive base from which it can build.

It is somewhat unfortunate then that, given their recent balance, Cloutier must now release an import - having delayed his decision for more than a week.

That decision is expected imminently, ahead of a week which is just as important - if not more so - than the week which initially prompted the calls for change and the subsequent signing of defenceman Kurtis Dulle.

They face three fixtures against bottom five clubs in the next week, first travelling to Fife on Tuesday night hoping to replicate the 6-1 result from late October before returning to Scotland to play Edinburgh on Saturday night. After three weeks away Cloutier's side will then return to league action at the Hull Arena on Sunday, facing Fife for the second time in a week and fourth time this season.

Match Highlights: Excel Hull Stingrays 2 - 3 Sheffield Steelers

Steelers snatch late victory to confirm Stingrays Challenge Cup exit

Excel Hull Stingrays 2 - 3 Sheffield Steelers

The Excel Hull Stingrays tonight had their exit from the Challenge Cup confirmed as Yorkshire rivals the Sheffield Steelers struck a late winner at the Hull Arena to claim a 3-2 victory.

For large parts the Rays - who were all but mathematically out of the competition before a puck was dropped - matched their South Yorkshire counterparts as they continued their recent upturn in form, Jack Watkins handing them a 12 minute lead with his second goal in a yellow and blue jersey.

Neil Clark and Colt King replied for the Steelers in the second period to hand the visitors a 2-1 lead heading into the final period, only for Stingrays player-coach Sylvain Cloutier - on his return to the squad in place of the injured Jason Silverthorn - to level the scores at two with less than five minutes left in the game.

However, the Steelers - who are chasing Cardiff, the Stingrays opponents tomorrow night, in Challenge Cup Group B - cruelly snatched the win with ten seconds remaining, Clark netting his second of the night and the crucial game winning goal.

The result - unsurprisingly given their record of five games, five losses - knocks the Stingrays out of the competition with Cardiff travelling to Hull tomorrow, another meeting with Sheffield next week and an away game with Coventry still to come in the competition.

FBB Three Stars

1 - Jack Watkins (1+0)

2 - Kurtis Dulle (0+0)

3 - Frantisek Bakrlik (0+1)

Match Highlights: Sheffield Steelers 6-0 Excel Hull Stingrays

Stingrays shut out and hit for six in Sheffield

Sheffield Steelers 6 - 0 Excel Hull Stingrays

In their poorest showing of a disappointing season so far, the Excel Hull Stingrays were tonight embarrassingly hit for six - for the fourth time this term - and shut out - for the first time this season - by Yorkshire rivals the Sheffield Steelers.

Perennially slow starters, the Stingrays were in trouble after just one minute.

A big hit from Martin Ondrej behind his own net left Sheffield defenceman Chad Huttel seeing stars and the Slovakian heading to the bin for a clear elbow. Mike Ramsey capitalising on the ensuing powerplay, rifling in off the post for the games opening goal and a 1-0 Sheffield lead.

A mid-ice mix up from Rays forwards then turned the puck over to the Steelers, and allowed Ashley Tait to tap home and double the reigning champions lead - an assist going to Lee Esders. Esders former team failing to compete in all areas at this point.

Though the Rays showed their first signs of life following the goal on 12 minutes, the Steelers relentless and clinical play afforded the visitors no time to get into the game.

A lovely team move, which started behind their own net, saw numerous pinpoint passes up the ice and was finished off in front by Neil Clark, typical of what the Steelers were doing so right and the Stingrays doing so wrong as they extended their lead to three.

Though the Rays came out and showed some fight in the second, notably as Dominic Osman dropped the gloves with Sheffield's Matt Stephenson, there was little more to be positive about heading into the final stanza three goal's down.

Still, for the first time the Stingrays forced sustained pressure on the Steelers net at the beginning of the third but failed to capitalise on their possession before, typically, the home side rushed up the ice and bagged their fourth through Tait's second of the game.

Poor positioning from captain Joshua Mizerek as the Steelers attacked once again then allowed Ramsey to bag his second of the game after Boucher had made the initial save before player-coach Ryan Finnerty completed the rout at 6-0 with a finish on a clinical break.

The Stingrays were, it goes without saying, convincingly beaten.

At the best the defence was scrambled collapsing on top of helpless netminder Boucher - who was hung out to dry - while the offence - believed to be one of the team's strong points - was unsurprisingly shut out for the first time this season, forcing shots that hit bodies in front or missed the target completely due to a lack of creativity - an all too familiar story.

Even the man advantage, which has been very good this season, failed to turn up effectively. Mid-ice collisions with team mates, miscontrolled passes and all around lack of on-ice chemistry summed up the other main areas of concern.

Naturally, there were few positives.

Derek Campbell - clearly wanting to perform well against his former side, stood out for his work rate, though most of the time this did not translate into sustained offence. Boucher couldn't have performed much better with what was at his disposal, while Jason Silverthorn and Dmitri Rodin were the best of a bad bunch up front and at the back.

It would be easy to sweep the game under the carpet as a one off because the reigning EIHL champion Steelers were the opposition. Good as they were, there are deeper problems in the Stingrays camp, most concerning of all is the lack of cohesion throughout the ranks.

More hard work and, dare it be suggested, changes, may soon be required.

Of course, a positive performance against Nottingham, albeit in the Challenge Cup, may go a distance to erasing the memory of tonight's drubbing

Rays Rating

3

FBB Three Stars

1 - Derek Campbell (0+0)

2 - Jason Silverthorn (0+0)

3 - Christian Boucher (24 saves)