26th/27th September Weekend Preview

vSaturday 26th September: Cardiff Devils (6th) v Excel Hull Stingrays (8th) @ Cardiff Bay Arena, F/O 7pm

Sunday 27th September: Excel Hull Stingrays (8th) v Nottingham Panthers (1st) @ Hull Arena, F/O 6pm

Form
Stingrays: W L L L L
Cardiff: L L W L L
Nottingham: W W L W W

Last 3 Meetings
v Cardiff
21/03/09 2-5 L H
12/09/09 4-2 W H
13/09/09 5-2 L A

v Nottingham
08/02/09 1-5 L H
01/03/09 6-4 W H
30/08/09 4-3 W H

Season Series
v Cardiff: 1-1, 6 GF, 7 GA
v Nottingham: First Meeting

Players to Watch
Stingrays: Sylvain Cloutier (GP6 0+1) It is unfair to single out one player after just six games of a season, however, although Sylvain Cloutier has been leading the way with his physical style of play, his single assist from six games suggest he is a player struggling to re-discover form after a year of watching from the bench. The off-ice implications of his job on the play on the ice will obviousy huge, but with Adam Knight and Curtis Huppe out, and with only Konstantin Kalmikov regularly hitting the twine, he probably needs to have more of an impact on the score sheet if the Rays are to hit form.

Cardiff: Wes Jarvis (6GP 6+1) The rangy Canadian defenceman, who, prior to moving to the UK was noted for his solid defensive play, has scored at goal-a-game rate in the Devils first six games this season. After a turbulent year in Basingstoke in 07/08, he joined the Devils last season and had a career year with 19 goals and 37 points in 64 games. Last weekend he had a pair of two goal games as the Devils split a weekend against the Sheffield Steelers and he currently leads the team in goals.

Nottingham: Jade Galbraith (6GP 6+6) Galbraith fought off several demons during the summer and has returned to Nottinghamshire with a new lease of life after being heavily criticized last season. The Alberta native is in scintillating form for the Panthers having scored seven points in two Nottingham wins last weekend, taking his points tally to a league leading 12 in six games.

Between the Pipes
Stingrays: Tommy Sandahl (6GP, 5 GAA, 89.8 sv%) The Swede produced a good performance during mid-week in Belfast, turning away 34 of the Giants 39 shots on net. Unfortunately once again the Stingrays lack of discipline, after suspensions to Huppe and Knight, and injuries to Ryan Jorde and Lee Mitchell succuppered the Rays chances of taking the game to the Giants, however, in Sandahl, coach Sylvain Cloutier knows they have a netminder that will, once at full strength, win some games for the team.

Cardiff: Stevie Lyle (6GP, 4 GAA, 85 sv%) Lyle has suffered from a less than impressive start to the season stat wise. The Devils, marked as the EIHL's dark horse side this season, currently sit in a disappointing sixth place, with Lyle towards the bottom of the EIHL's netminding stats. Both Lyle and the Welsh sides defence will have to improve if they are to fulfill that label as the unlikely tip for the top.

Nottingham: Kevin St-Pierre (6GP, 2.33 GAA, 92.4 sv %) After a couple of worrying performances early on, the French-Canadian has sent the Panthers to the top of the table with just one loss to his name. Helped by a largely solid D, the tall netminder will need to stand and be counted if the NIC side are to break their long wait for a league title.

Absentees
Stingrays: Ryan Jorde (broken arm), Lee Mitchell (doubt; knee), Curtis Huppe (suspended), Adam Knight (suspended)
Cardiff: Jason Stone (doubt), Brad Voth (suspended), Mark Richardson (doubt)
Nottingham: Cameron Mann (doubt; illness)

News
- This weekend will mark the end of bans to the Devils Brad Voth and Stingrays Curtis Huppe and Adam Knight following respective five game bans.

- Hocktoberfest kicks off next weekend as the Rays travel to the one day, knockout cup competition to face the home Sheffield Steelers in the short version of the day. The EIHL schedule will take a day out of the calender for this one off tournament which sees all eight EIHL sides ice in seven games during just a single day of competition with the Hocktoberfest winner being crowned after the 7pm final.

Predicitons
Cardiff 3-2 Stingrays
Stingrays 2-5 Nottingham