The Excel Hull Stingrays claimed their fifith point in five games with an overtime loss to the Newcastle Vipers.
The Stingrays had much of the play in the first period with just a Slava Koulikov goal, which trickled past Vipers netminder Andrew Verner, to show for their most dominant period.
Thanks to some inconsistent refereeing by from referee Tom Darnell, both sides received opportunities to get on the scoresheet however it was the Stingrays that struck first as Matt Reynolds sent through Konstantin Kalmikov for a breakaway goal on the penalty kill, their second shorthanded goal in two games.
However the Vipers quickly struck back following Kalmikov's shorthanded attempt to open their account for the night on the same powerplay.
Jeff Glowa regained the Stingrays two goal lead towards the end of the second period slotting home his 22nd of the season.
Unfortunately for the Stingrays the Vipers fightback began with a David Longstaff goal with just eight minutes remaining before a goal from Jeff Hutchins leveled the scores with just four minutes left.
It took just 28 seconds of the ensuing overtime for Longstaff to bag his second of the evening, in an impressive performance, and for the Vipers to go back to Tyneside with both points. Despite edging the game in terms of play the Stingrays were left with just one point, increasing their lead over bottom placed Basingstoke whilst shortening the gap between themselves and Edinburgh in eight to just four points.
Best Moment- A lovely team move by the Stingrays in the first period, which included an unbelievable Konstantin Kalmikov deke, nearly finished by Lee Mitchell. Encouraging home debuts by Antti Turunen and Richie Thornton.
Worst Moment- David Longstaff's first of the game which well and truely gave Newcastle the momentum. David Longstaff's second of the game which sealed the extra point for the Vipers.
F Block Blog MOM
Stingrays- Konstantin Kalmikov (1+0)- His skill and rasping shots give the Stingrays a chance to win week in week out, all of which were in evidence tonight.
Newcastle- Rob Rankin (1+0)- The kind of hardworking performance that is severley lacking from the Stingrays Jamie Thompson, capped off with a goal against his former employer.
Stingrays Verdict: (6/10) The Stingrays should have had the victory sewn up with a lot more than eight minutes to go, an efficient powerplay and penalty kill gave the Stingrays a deserved lead after two periods. However eight minutes in the third period was all that Newcastle required to steal the points. Antti Turunen and Richie Thornton had good home debuts and provided the team with some much needed depth on defence. Up front the Stingrays worked hard but squandered too many chances, chances which could have increased the lead to an unassailable three goals. Unfortunately the team switched off and allowed Newcastle the goal that gave them all the momentum to take the two points.
Strachan's Verdict: "We made a crucial error with a one-goal lead in the last five minutes of a game on a powerplay. What are ‘D’ doing dumping the puck and chasing it? I don’t care if it’s a powerplay, we were winning. All you have to do is dump it in and let the forwards chase it.
"We dump it in and chase it and their goalie, who can play the puck, stops it and shoots it down for a breakaway. But it’s a point and every point helps us. There are a lot of games left and we need to get points out of every weekend."
SOG: 42-32PIM: 12-14
