23rd/24th October Weekend Preview

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Saturday 23rd October: Excel Hull Stingrays v Belfast Giants @ Hull Arena F/O 7pm

Sunday 24th October: Excel Hull Stingrays v Newcastle Vipers @ Hull Arena F/O 6pm

The Excel Hull Stingrays face a home double header against Belfast and Newcastle this weekend looking to get back on track following two contrasting defeats last week.

Having played their worst game of the young season so far in a loss against Newcastle at Whitley Bay last Saturday, the Rays returned home on Sunday and pushed the big spending Nottingham Panthers all the way to the death, eventually falling to a 3-2 loss.

This weekend sees Belfast's all conquering squad travel to Hull for their first game of the year against the Stingrays, having dominated the teams eight game series 7-1 last season. The Rays season may not hinge on their performances against the Elite League's big four but last weekend's home fixture against the Panthers proved that they are capable of competing with the big spenders if they perform well, particularly at home.

Although Belfast have recently signed reinforcements in the shape of former NHLer and regular AHLer Brad Smyth and Brit Ross Dalgleish, they may also take confidence from the fact the Giants have five key players out injured, including defenceman Richard Seeley and forward Colin Hemingway.

That means the Giants will travel to Hull with 13 outskaters, and with Mark Garside likely to return and coach Christiansen also able to suit up if required, they still possess more than enough firepower to continue their good start to the year this weekend, despite surprisingly tight victories over Dundee last week.

The Stingrays home double header continues on Sunday when the Newcastle Vipers journey south hoping to replicate last Saturday's 5-3 victory.

While Cloutier may insist it is just another important fixture in a 56 game journey, the Stingrays will be looking for revenge against a Vipers side that took full advantage of a painfully slow Rays start to win 5-3 at home last Saturday.

Former Coventry team mate Danny Stewart has built his roster from a variety of hockey backgrounds, and they proved last weekend that they are more than capable of beating the Stingrays. Finn Patrick Forsbacka and Latvian Toms Hartmanis impressed at a freezing cold Whitley Bay, however, Cloutier's side eventually got to grips with the intimidating conditions of Whitley Bay and in the end the Vipers were made to work hard for their win.

That lone loss summed up the Rays never-ending troubles on the road against a team they will be competing with for a playoff spot at the end of the season and a team that went on to lose 6-1 at fellow league rivals Edinburgh the following night.

The Rays, who will definitely be without Craig Mitchell and may be without brother Lee Mitchell this weekend, must therefore make up for that poor form away from home by winning as many of their games at Hull Arena as physically possible.

Two positive home performances out of two bodes well for the rest of the year but they must now start to turn those performances into wins, starting with a first game of the year against table topping Belfast before a revenge battle against Newcastle.

Elite League
Stingrays: 9th 4GP 1W 3L 0OTL 11GF 17GA 2PTS
Belfast: 1st 13GP 11W 1L 1OTL 54GF 35GA 23PTS
Newcastle: 7th 10GP 2W 7L 1OTL 23GF 51GA 5PTS

Form
Stingrays: L W L L L
Belfast: W W W W W
Newcastle: W L L W L

Last 3 Meetings
v Belfast
23/01/10 3-2 W H

04/02/10 4-2 L A

04/03/10 9-0 L A

v Newcastle
10/03/10 3-2 W H
14/03/10 6-3 W H

16/10/10 5-3 L A

Rays 09/10 Series
v Belfast: 8GP 2W 6L 14GF 37GA 4PTS
v Newcastle: 8GP 5W 3L 33GF 24GA 11PTS

Top Scorers
Stingrays
G: Silverthorn (3)
A: Dulle (4)
PIM: Gaisins, Sladok (11)

Belfast
G: B.Hemingway (10)
A: Shields (13)
PIM: Welch (28)

Newcastle
G: Forsbacka (7)
A: Carroll (7)
PIM: Schwarz (78)

Between The Pipes
Stingrays: Boucher (6GP 87.8sv% 4.33GAA)
Belfast: Murphy (12GP 90.9sv% 2.63GAA)
Newcastle: Effinger (10GP 85sv% 5.03GAA)

Absentees
Stingrays: Craig Mitchell (broken arm), Lee Mitchell (doubt; knee)
Belfast: Jeff Mason (wrist), Richard Seeley (knee), Colin Hemingway (unspecified injury) Mark Garside (doubt; lower body), Brandon Benedict (leg)
Newcastle: Full Strength

Predictions
Stingrays 2-4 Belfast
Stingrays 5-3 Newcastle

Match Highlights: Excel Hull Stingrays 2-3 Nottingham Panthers

Panthers edge Rays in tightly fought battle

Excel Hull Stingrays 2-3 Nottingham Panthers

The Excel Hull Stingrays pushed the Nottingham Panthers all the way tonight at the Hull Arena but the home side couldn't quite do enough to overturn the Panthers in a 3-2 defeat.

Coming off the back of a defeat in the North East to Newcastle, the Rays, who were without both Lee and Craig Mitchell, faced a massive task against a visiting Nottingham side that trounced Dundee 12-2 the night before at the NIC.

However, as unlikely as it may have seemed given those circumstance, the home side produced a very good performance that was easily worth an Elite League point.

For once the Rays began as they meant to go on, testing Nottingham netminder Craig Kowalski suspiciously easily early on and they continue to that right throughout the game very rarely easing up on the forecheck.

In front of another very healthy home crowd, boosted by good numbers from Nottingham, the Rays then took the lead as Matty Davies netted for the second time this weekend on the powerplay firing through Kowalski's five hole.

In recent games the Stingrays have conceded at crucial times and that was once again the case tonight as Billy Ryan coasted through an improved Rays defence to net the equaliser past Christian Boucher 39 seconds before the end of the second.

A second period powerplay strike from Ian McDonald, who redirected a Corey Neilson shot from the blueline, five minutes after the break then gave the Panthers the lead, only for Jason Silverthorn to quickly fire home his third of the year to register the Rays second powerplay marker of the game.

The next goal would be the Panthers own second powerplay goal of the game nearly seven minutes into the third period, Jade Galbraith netting from the blueline on the man advantage for what would be the eventual game winning goal.

Having been severely tested right throughout the game by a Rays side almost unrecognisable from the side that took to the ice 24 hours earlier at Whitley Bay, the Panthers then shut down, defensively sitting four players on the blueline in order to protect their slender lead.

That tactic made it difficult for a tiring Stingrays to level the game at three and, although the Rays had a late six on four having pulled Boucher, in the end they didn't quite have enough to find a way past Kowalski.

The relief on the faces of Corey Neilson and his men after the buzzer was plain to see and that is testament to the improved showing that the Rays put in, particularly defensively where Sylvain Cloutier's side put in a real shift, limiting arguably the most offensive side in the league to just 29 shots and three goals.

Kris Grundmanis and Andrew Coburn were perfect examples of that sterling defensive effort with both launching their bodies in front of a number of shots during Panthers powerplays, however, the Rays standout performance came from netminder Boucher, who was once again in fine form making a number of brilliant saves, particularly one breakaway glove save which rightly received a long applause from the home faithful.

Up front the Rays yet again outshot their opponent but unfortunately could not find the net regularly enough or  during even strength play action, something that may be of concern.

After a very mixed but ultimately pointless weekend, Cloutier and his side will now have to regroup ahead of a home double header next week. That double header begins on Saturday against table toppers Belfast, who have failed to win just one of their 11 league games this year, before Newcastle come to the Hull Arena, having lost 6-1 in Edinburgh tonight, with the Rays looking for revenge for their 5-3 defeat this weekend

Rays rating: 7.5
Stingray goalscorers: Davies, Silverthorn
Nottingham goalscorers: Galbraith, McDonald, Ryan
SOG: 40-29
PIM: 14-18
FBB Three Stars 1: Boucher (29 shots, 26 saves) 2: Silverthorn (1+0) 3: Coburn (0+1)

Whitley Bay loss condemns Rays to third defeat of year

Newcastle Vipers 5-3 Excel Hull Stingrays

The Excel Hull Stingrays were tonight condemned to their third defeat in four games away from the Hull Arena this season as they left Whitley Bay with a 5-3 loss to Elite League rivals the Newcastle Vipers.

Sylvain Cloutier's side got off to the worst possible start, Latvian Toms Hartmanis managing to work his way around the outside of fellow Latvian Kris Grundmanis to fire past Boucher for the Vipers first after just 56 seconds.

That start got the Rays off on the completely wrong foot in the intimidating and tight surroundings of Whitley Bay and it would taken them much of the first period to finally find their feet.

In that time the Vipers would go on to punish the Rays with powerplay goals from Kyle Sibley and Patrik Forsbacka in the first period before Trevor Read, who was part of a Stingrays blueline that at times had issues at the back, stuffed past Newcastle keeper Charlie Effinger on 17 minutes to net his first for the club on a 2-on-1 opportunity.

Jason Silverthorn, who at times seemed the only player capable of easily gaining the zone, then appeared to get the visitors right back in the game with a second powerplay goal of the game that beat Effinger high to reduce the deficit to one.

However, much like Wednesday night against the Steelers, the Rays poor concentration allowed a quick response from their opponents as Dean Holland's goal killed of any momentum they had gained from an improved early second period showing.

The Vipers, largely thanks to poor Rays defence and a solid showing from netminder Effinger, deserved their lead, despite the Stingrays twice hitting the post, and they further extended that advantage three minutes into the third with Forsbacka gratefully netting his second of the game and fifth of the year to all but end the Stingrays resistance.

While the game was effectively ended as a tie with that goal, the Stingrays improved right throughout the game and as the third wore on a mini Rays revival began as the Vipers looked to sit back and take the points.

A third powerplay goal of the night followed for the Rays as Matty Davies netted his own first of the year after hard work from rookie Andrew Coburn set him up at the back post but that would be it for the night.

The Rays continued to push forward but the killer edge that they lacked all game long failed to materialise and, with their defence failing to keep out a stringy Newcastle side well drilled and used to playing at Whitley Bay, the Vipers claimed just their second win of the year.

Cloutier's side now face a massive ask to claim anything from this weekend with a fixture at the Hull Arena tomorrow night against a high flying Nottingham Panthers side that last night gave Dundee a lesson in hockey, demolishing the Stars 12-2.

Rays rating: 5
Stingray scorers: Read, Silverthorn, Davies
Newcastle scorers: Hartmanis, Sibley, Forsbacka (2), Holland
SOG: 30-38
PIM: 21-13
FBB MOM: Jason Silverthorn (1+1)

16th/17th October Weekend Preview

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Saturday 16th October: Newcastle Vipers (7th) v Excel Hull Stingrays (8th) @ Whitley Bay Ice Rink F/O 7pm

Sunday 17th October: Excel Hull Stingrays (8th) v Nottingham Panthers (3rd) @ Hull Arena F/O 6pm

Having lost in midweek the Excel Hull Stingrays return to league action this weekend with fixtures against two teams also suffering from a poor run of form in recent weeks.

On Saturday the Rays travel to the intimidating Whitley Bay Ice Rink in the North East to take on a Newcastle Vipers side that has been built nearly completely from scratch this summer. Player-coach Danny Stewart, former team mate of Rays coach Sylvain Cloutier, was the man that brought in that nearly completely new squad, replacing Rob Wilson as coach, but he has so far found changing the Vipers fortunes difficult with just one win in eight games so far this year.

They will be hoping to kick start their year this weekend at home to the Stingrays but will be without forward Jaroslaw Rzeszutko, who will be out for at least another five weeks with a broken wrist. The Polish international is one of three European forwards that has stood out so far this year in a team whose make up is largely young North American's.

The fixture at the Bay, like last weekend's Scottish double header, will be particularly important for the Rays as a yard stick for the year ahead with Cloutier's side expected to be in close competition with the Vipers as well as Dundee, Edinburgh and Braehead in the season ahead.

The Rays then travel home to face a Nottingham Panthers side struggling for form after starting the year on fire. Player-coach Corey Neilson's side won their opening five fixtures, beating fellow title contenders Belfast and Coventry twice, however, they then went on to draw one and lose three of their next four. That brutal run for the Panthers came to an end on Wednesday when they got revenge for Braehead defeating them at the NIC at the end of September by defeating the Scots 5-2 north of the border.

In that game new signing Angel Nikolov registered a goal and three assists after arriving not long before the Panthers travelled to the game and he may be joined this weekend by former AHL forward Rob Bellamy, who is awaiting VISA clearance before coming to the UK, to boost the NIC sides numbers and quality.

They look to have one of the most offensive sides in the league with names like Beauregard, Clarke, Galbraith and new names McDonald, Sproat and Ryan, while former Stingray Stevie Lee returns home again. Needless to say the Rays will have to cut out mistakes that cost them dear on Wednesday in Sheffield if they are to gain anything from Sunday's fixture.

Unfortunately for both sides, Guillaume Lepine, who signed for the Rays in the summer only to leave for Nottingham following Mike and Sue Pack's departure, will not ice and add more spice to the fixture after receiving a ban in a defeat to fierce rivals Sheffield last week.

Nevertheless, the two sides and their supporters will renew their developing rivalry after some fierce battles in the last few seasons with a another healthy attendance expected at the Hull Arena.

Prior to that though the Rays will travel to Newcastle needing points to boost their league campaign ahead of the tough Nottingham fixture in which it would be a surprise to see the home side come away with the spoils.

Elite League
Stingrays: 8TH 2GP 1W 1L 0OTL GF GA 2PTS
Newcastle: 7TH 8GP 1W 6L 1OTL GF GA 3PTS
Nottingham: 3RD 9GP 6W 3L 0OTL GF GA12PTS

Form
Stingrays: D L W L
Newcastle: L L W L L
Nottingham: D L L L W

Last 3 Meetings
v Newcastle
06/03/10 1-7 W A
10/03/10 3-2 W H
14/03/10 6-3 W H

v Nottingham
10/01/10 3-6 L H
06/02/10 9-1 L A
07/03/10 6-7 L H

09/10 Series
v Newcastle: 8GP 5W 3L 33GF 24GA 11PTS
v Nottingham: 9GP 1W 8L 25GF 46GA 4PTS

Top Scorers
Stingrays
G: Kalmikov (3)
A: Dulle (4)
P: Kalmikov, Dulle (5)

Newcastle
G: Forsbacka, Hartmanis, Rzeszutko (3)
A: Speer, Carroll, Mahovsky (4)
P: Carroll, Mahovsky (6)

Nottingham
G: Clarke (10)
A: Zion (8)
P: Beauregard (13)

Between The Pipes
Stingrays: Christian Boucher (4GP 4.50GAA 87.6sv%)
Newcastle: Charlie Effinger (8GP 5.00GAA 85.8sv%)
Nottingham: Craig Kowalski (10GP 3.69GAA 90.5sv%)

Absentees
Stingrays: Craig Mitchell (broken arm)
Newcastle: Jaroslaw Rzeszutko (broken wrist)
Nottingham: Jonathan Zion (groin), Guillaume Lepine (suspension), Marc Levers (groin), Rob Bellamy (doubt; VISA issues)

Predictions
Newcastle 3-4 Stingrays
Stingrays 2-5 Nottingham

Clinical Sheffield seal Challenge Cup win

Sheffield Steelers 6-3 Excel Hull Stingrays

The Sheffield Steelers inflicted the Excel Hull Stingrays second defeat of the year as they clinically snatched both Challenge Cup points on offer at Ice Sheffield tonight in a 6-3 win.

In a scrappy first period that largely summed up the game, the Stingrays took the lead after seven minutes. Rookie Andrew Coburn netted his second powerplay goal of the year after a big rebound from Steelers netminder Ervins Mustukovs gave him a chance he could not miss.

The Steelers, who were outworked by the visitors at times, then levelled through Neil Clark with the tough guy's pinpoint shot flying past a presumably unsighted Christian Boucher in the Rays net.

They then took a killer lead just 14 seconds before the end of the first on a typically quick Steelers counter attack that saw Brit Jason Hewitt capitalise. During the move the Steelers outworked the Rays behind the net just seconds after the away side had hit the post at the other end and Hewitt capitalised in front of Boucher to net his sides second.

Into the second and with the Steelers beginning to find their A game the Rays began struggle somewhat noticeably making more mistakes in their own zone, which was generally a concern throughout the game. Nevertheless, Jereme Tendler scored past Mustukovs from a very acute angle to surprisingly tie the score at two on 32 minutes.

But Sheffield would once again quickly come back to take the lead this time through Jeff Legue, who made no mistake with his finish after a catastrophic mishit clearance from defenceman Kris Grundmanis fell to one of the Elite League's most clinical forwards right in front of the Stingrays net.

Legue then extended his sides lead to 4-2 95 seconds after the start of the third before the Rays responded, again on the powerplay and again after a big rebound from Mustukovs, this time through Jason Silverthorn, who typified the Rays hard work at both ends of the ice.

At this stage the Stingrays were chasing a game that by all accounts they deserved to be level in but the Steelers continued to make the most of their chances, Joey Talbot getting his regular goal against the Stingrays before Christian Boucher, who was again pretty solid, failed to glove an Ashley Tait shot 15 seconds before the end to give the scoreline an unfair 6-3 slant in favour of the Steelers.

Once again this season the Stingrays out shot their opposition but this time came away with nothing to show for it. Lead from the back by Kurtis Dulle, the Stingrays matched the Steelers in most areas and, although Mustukovs may not have been required to make many spectacular saves to deny the Rays, the visitors deserved something from the game with mistakes and incredibly clinical Steelers finishing making up for a healthy chuck of the six goals against.

Sylvain Cloutier's side now move on to an away league fixture against Newcastle on Saturday before returning home to take on the Nottingham Panthers, again in league play.

Rays rating: 7
Stingray scorers: Coburn, Tendler, Silverthorn
Sheffield scorers: Clark, Hewitt, Legue (2), Tait, Talbot
SOG: 28-35
PIM: 22-0
FBB MOM: Kurtis Dulle (0+1)

13th October Midweek Preview

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Wednesday 13th October: Sheffield Steelers v Excel Hull Stingrays @ Ice Sheffield, F/O 7.30pm

The Excel Hull Stingrays return to action on Wednesday night with their second Challenge Cup fixture of the year, this time against Yorkshire rivals the Sheffield Steelers at Ice Sheffield.

Having claimed an encouraging point against Cardiff in their first game of the year the Rays will be hoping to build from that against a Steelers side that are edging closer to mathematical elimination from the group stage of the tournament, having been defeated by Coventry and lost one and drawn one against the same Devils side that the Rays tied on opening day.

New player-coach and former NHLer Ben Simon has built strong roster that has so far this season claimed nine wins from 12 games including eight out of nine in the league.

Like the Stingrays, who lost to Braehead but triumphed over Edinburgh, last weekend was a mixed one for the South Yorkshire side, beating fierce rivals Nottingham 4-1 before going down to title favourites Belfast on Sunday.

Like the Stingrays, who lost defenceman Craig Mitchell to a broken arm, the weekend and game against the Panthers, who come to the Hull Arena this Sunday, did not come without sacrifice with key forward Rob Globke and British defenceman Mark Thomas sustaining injuries that will see them sit out tonight alongside the banned Derek Campbell.

The Steelers loss may be the Rays gain but Sylvain Cloutier's side should not be fooled by Globke's absence because they still possess impressive firepower including returnees Joey Talbot and Jeff Legue,who have combined for 19 goals and 45 points in 24 games during their sides rise to second in the league.

Last year, the two sides split their eight game series at four wins a piece an surprising statistic but pleasing statistic that also saw the Rays win their first ever game at the Sheffield Arena. That record will be something Cloutier would be over the moon to replicate this season given the Steelers outstanding start to the year.

His side have had an indifferent but positive start to the year, winning one, drawing one and losing one, but he will be hoping for victory at Ice Sheffield to really kick start the club's season and Challenge Cup campaign.

Challenge Cup
Stingrays 4TH 1GP 0W 0L 1T 3GF 3GA 1PT
Sheffield 5TH 3GP 0W 2L 1T 11GF 16GA 1PT

Form
Stingrays: D L W
Sheffield: L W W L W

Last 3 Meetings
v Sheffield
28/02/10 6-2 L A
13/03/10 2-3 W A
21/03/10 7-4 W H

Stingrays 09/10 Series
v Sheffield: 8GP 4W 4L 23GF 29GA 8PTS

Key Player
Stingrays: Kurtis Dulle (3GP 1+2 0PIM)
Sheffield: Jeff Legue (12GP 10+10 10PIM)

Between the Pipes
Stingrays: Christian Boucher (3GP 4.00GAA 89.4sv.%)
Sheffield: Ervins Mustukovs (12GP 2.42GAA 92.6sv.%)

Absentees
Stingrays: Craig Mitchell (broken arm), Ryan Lake (work commitments)
Sheffield: Mark Thomas (groin), Rob Globke (concussion), Derek Campbell (suspension)

Predictions
Sheffield 5-3 Stingrays

Injury jinx hits again

The injury curse that has time and again crippled the Excel Hull Stingrays and particularly their defence has struck once more.

19 year old blueliner Craig Mitchell, who re-signed in the summer for his second year with the club, broke his hand when blocking a shot in Braehead and will now be out for four to six weeks, a cruel blow to Sylvain Cloutier and his side.

The importance of a deep squad and a six strong defence is now evident with the team's blueline options limited to five defencemen, equivalent to two lines, leaving one extra player rotating in.

Had the Rays coach been able to opt for the shorter squad which he signed for the Packs the club would now be down to just the bare minimum four players at the back with no room for error on anyone's part.

However, given that Cloutier has a deep squad and ten available forwards, of which one or two are able to revert to defence, this injury won't necessarily affect the numbers at the back, particularly if he decides to move Jason Silverthorn back there.

Either way it is a devastating blow for both the Rays and Mitchell, who had once again been handed an important role on the team for the year ahead, after they had clinched their first two points of the year in Edinburgh last night.

Two point return from Scottish weekend as Rays triumph in Edinburgh

Edinburgh Capitals 3-4 Excel Hull Stingrays

The Excel Hull Stingrays grabbed their first win of the year at the third time of trying in Edinburgh tonight, coming home with a 4-3 victory that sees them return to Hull with two out of four points available from a weekend in Scotland.

For the third consecutive game this season the Rays found themselves down by two goals, thanks to Edinburgh markers either side of the first intermission from Iain Bowie and import dangerman Alex Kim.

But once again the Rays fought back to tie the scores with captain Kurtis Dulle netting his first of the year before Matti Uusivirta scored his second of the season 60 seconds before the end of the period.

It wasn't until five minutes into the third that the visitors finally took control of the tie with Andrew Coburn  scoring his own first of the year on the powerplay and Jereme Tendler netting shorthanded just minutes later to extend the score to 4-2.

Never liking to make things easy on themselves or their fans, the Stingrays then allowed Edinburgh to pull the deficit back down to one again through Kim after 55 minutes.

The home side then had a goal disallowed in the dying minutes of the game but Sylvain Cloutier's men clung on to the victory and gratefully grabbed a much needed first two points of the campaign.

Stingray scorers: Dulle, Uusivirta, Coburn, Tendler
Edinburgh scorers: Bowie, Kim (2)
SOG: 33-42
PIM: -

Match Highlights: Breahead Clan 6-2 Excel Hull Stingrays