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)

Cloutier, Bowns and Tendler to return for 13/14

The Hull Stingrays have this evening announced the retention of three key players for the 2013/2014 Elite Ice Hockey League season.

At tonight's fans forum it was confirmed by owner Bobby McEwan that player-coach Sylvain Cloutier, starting netminder Ben Bowns and topscorer Jereme Tendler would all be returning for the second year of two-year contracts signed.

The return of Cloutier as player-coach will extend his playing career to an incredible 19th season and fifth in East Yorkshire.

While his offensive contributions have varied over the last four years from low of 24 points in 09/10 - after a year in retirement - to a high of 47 in 10/11, his effort, passion and commitment to the club remains unquestioned and unwavering both on and off-ice. Indeed, while there's absolutely no question his career is winding down, even as the club's oldest player and the league's second oldest player Cloutier - who has recorded 11 goals and 27 points in 50 games so far this season - has proved he can still play a role at EIHL level.

Though the Stingrays currently prop up the EIHL in bottom spot and, therefore, seem unlikely to reach any new milestones for the first time in four years, the difference between that bottom spot and another year of improvement is as marginal as a handful of shootout losses.

The seven defeats in seven games via the lottery of penalty shots and two overtime defeats have proved the difference for Cloutier the coach in an incredibly tight and much improved Gardiner Conference this season.

Nevertheless, while the club may not break any obvious milestones on-ice this season, reaching the end of the season is a huge success given the club's predicament this summer, and that's certainly not to say there was ever any doubt they'd reach the end of the year.

Given some of the off-ice issues that have occurred in the past, Cloutier's role in the initial signing of players like Tendler and, ultimately, the retetion of such players year-on-year are down to the man himself and for that he must also be praised.

The return of the 39 year old's passion for the club and the continuity his return brings can only be a good thing in the long run for the Stingrays.

Here's a novel idea....perhaps this off-season he'll be afforded the luxury of a full and proper summer of preparation with no uncertainty for just the second time during his stint in Hull.

While the current season rumbles on, Cloutier has already had to start thinking about re-signing the core of this season's squad - albeit from reports it may not have taken much to convince Tendler to rejoin.

The 29 year old forward currently leads the Elite League with 39 goals in 50 games and has agreed to return for his fourth season in Stingrays colours having racked up at least 125 goals and 203 points in 162 games. Tendler is fast becoming a cult hero at the club and currently requires just 17 goals to become the club's all-time leading goalscorer, taking over from club legend Jeff Glowa - who notched 137 goals in 298 appearances between 2004 and 2010.

The Canadian's goalscoring exploits are unmatched and his return is a huge boost to a club that, prior to his signature from Central Hockey League side Corpus Christi IceRayz in 2010, perennially struggled in the goalscoring column. As pure a goalscorer as you're likely to see in the Elite League, few would bet against him continuing to hit the twine again next season.

Netminder Bowns is undoubtedly another encouraging re-signing for the club.

The former Sheffield Steeldog made his Elite League debut as the Stingrays number one this season at the age of just 21 and has very rarely looked out of place - recording a 3.49 goals against average and 90.1sv.% after 46 games.

Touted as the future Great Britain number one netminder, he made his debut for the national team in Latvia on 10th February in the final Olympic qualifiers. Though he allowed two very early goals against a talented Kazakhstan side that outclassed GB in all areas, he showed astounding maturity to rebound and stop 36 of 42 shots in a 6-0 defeat - showed all the qualities that will likely seem him take over Stephen Murphy's job as number one in future.

Aside from top scorers like Tendler, the other commodity a club like the Stingrays regularly struggle to retain is up-and-coming British players. Players like Stevie Lee and Dave Phillips have all left the club in the past quite rightly seeking to improve their careers and there's no doubting the same will eventually happen with Bowns.

Nevertheless, it's a testament to his commitment and dedication that, while other club's would no doubt have been interested this summer, he wants to return to for his second season in Hull and continue his development.

With confirmation that the EIHL import limit will remain at 11 for 13/14 season, Bowns' addition means that the Stingrays will have the luxury of signing 11 outskating imports - something of an advantage over most sides in the league.

Braehead victory sets up crucial run-in for Stingrays

Hull Stingrays 3-2 Braehead Clan

The Hull Stingrays fight to qualify for the 2012/2013 Elite League Playoffs resumes after they produced a sensational first period performance and rode in-form netminder Ben Bowns to seal a hard fought and thoroughly deserved 3-2 victory over Gardiner Conference rivals the Braehead Clan.

Hoping to bounce back from a disappointing loss in Fife, the Rays traded early chances with the Clan - who failed to profit from an out-of-position Kurtis Dulle, fanning on a two-on-one before Tom Squires, Danny Wood and Sam Towner combined only to be stopped close in by Daren Machesney.

A Ryan Hand interference minor penalty gave the visitors a chance to lead, however, it was the Rays that would take the lead on the Braehead advantage as Jason Silverthorn received a long pass down the middle from Jeff Smith before breaking in and then outwaiting Machesney to slot home after 6.12 and give the Rays the perfect start.

Things were to get even better for the Stingrays 50 seconds later as Dominic Osman fired a perfect, defence splitting pass to Matty Davies - who miscontrolled the puck and was forced to take the puck down low into the corner. The Stingrays standout Brit then combined brilliantly behind the net with player-coach Sylvain Cloutier, circling the puck before feeding a pass for Osman to nudge home and double the lead past a sprawling Machesney.

The Rays had caught the Clan cold and were completely controlling the game five-on-five, putting in one of the best 20 minutes of the season in the process with veterans Silverthorn, Osman and captain Kurtis Dulle leading the charge.

Though they were in the ascendancy at even strength, their penalty killing unit was called upon three times in the first period and somewhat slowed their progress. Indeed, the Clan pulled one back on the man advantage, Ash Goldie benefiting from a scramble in front of Bowns to record the first of two Clan goals, and indeed the first of two Clan powerplay goals, on 9.55.

Robert Farmer and Stingrays defenceman Smith took roughing penalties immediately following the Clans first goal and, if anything, that helped the home side regain their two goal lead seconds later.

With both sides restricted to four outskaters, defenceman Dulle exploited the extra space available - going on a brilliant solo skate straight from the ensuing face-off at centre ice before sending a pass to the Elite League's top goalscorer Jereme Tendler - who used his extra-long reach to backhand a shot perfectly into the Clan goal.

Bowns turned away 13 shots in the Rays net during the first period but none bigger than his glovesave of a Jade Galbraith slapshot when the former Elite League topscorer was given time and space in front to pick his spot.

Dulle - who continued his recent up-turn in form with a brilliant performance and, had it not been for Bowns' performance, could have conceivably wound up man of the match - was inches away from further extending the lead with moments to go in the period, ringing a shot of the post.

The main talking point in a penalty strewn and goalless middle stanza - which saw Tendler and Clan standout forward Matt Schepke trade unsuccessful breakaways - was a tussle between Rays enforcer Ryan Hand and his Braehead counterpart Craig Cescon.

The entertaining fight materialised behind play and seemingly out of nowhere - likely due to Cescon's earlier hit on Osman and Hand's willingness to fight - and appeared to open up the game in favour of the Clan, though they wouldn't take advantage of the opportunity before the period ended.

Cloutier's side largely batten downed the hatches in the third period, relying on a non-stop defensive work ethic and Bowns to deny the Clan on a number of occasions.

Adam Walker - who was rarely used on the night - spurned perhaps their best chance, missing a one-timer completely on a two-on-one break with the Stingrays keeper sprawling across his goal.

A seismic Dmitri Rodin hip-check on an on-rushing Steve Birnstill then flipped the Clan defenceman in the air and got the somewhat sparse home crowd on their feet momentarily, however, the Clan responded by finally netting the goal they had threatened earlier as former coach Jordan Krestanovich shot home on the powerplay.

The visitors further pressurised the Stingrays in the final moments, pulling Machesney - who improved for the Clan as the night wore on - before a Rodin hooking penalty gave them a 6-on-4 advantage in the dying moments, however, the Stingrays held out for a huge, much needed 3-2 win.

The victory - the Stingrays third home win in a row - retains the club's hopes, albeit somewhat fading hopes, of qualifying for the end of season playoffs and came with a whole host of good performances across the board.

Martin Ondrej put in one of his best, most complete performances in a Stingrays jersey this evening and continues his season-on-season transformation, meanwhile Bowns and Dulle, as already mentioned, played big parts in helping them home.

Osman, Silverthorn and even Smith - all of whom have been possibly harshly criticised in recent weeks - also played big parts in the win putting in the type of veteran performance expected of them at this stage of the season.

The Stingrays chances of qualifying by finishing top of the Gardiner Conference are now remote, if mathematically impossible. Though the Rays - now in joint second in the conference - are just one point off Braehead and Fife in first, they have just four games remaining against conference rivals and have played more games than Dundee, Fife and Braehead - who will all pick up points against each other.

Gardiner Conference

1. Braehead 26GP 30PTS

1. Fife 26GP 30PTS

2. Dundee 24GP 29PTS

2. Edinburgh 28GP 29PTS

2. Stingrays 28GP 29PTS

The best hope of playoff qualification for Cloutier's side now appears to be finishing eighth or higher in the Elite League itself. They currently sit bottom of the EIHL four points from eighth placed Braehead, five points from seventh placed Edinburgh having playing one game fewer than both sides but two games more than ninth placed Dundee on 38 points.

Elite League

6. Fife 45GP 42PTS

7. Edinburgh 45GP 40PTS

8. Braehead 45GP 39PTS

9. Dundee 42GP 38PTS

10. Hull 44GP 35PTS

An extremely good run-in would possibly be enough to see the Stingrays qualify for the playoffs against-all-odds and, while that may seem unlikely, the Rays do have eight games remaining- more than all of their rivals apart from Dundee - including five at Hull Arena.

The Stingrays move on to face three consecutive Gardiner Conference fixtures, taking on Braehead in Scotland next Saturday, Fife in Hull on Sunday and then Dundee in Hull the following Saturday in the third of three must-win games.

As the saying goes, "it ain't over until the fat lady sings".

FBB Three Stars

1 - Ben Bowns

2 - Martin Ondrej

3 - Kurtis Dullle