Coventry Blaze 4-2 Excel Hull Stingrays
Sylvain Cloutier returned to a club where he was captain and fan favourite two years ago, but was unable to prevent his new side, the Excel Hull Stingrays, from losing their third game in a row against the Coventry Blaze.
The Stingrays took a surprise lead in the Skydome with Konstantin Kalmikov bagging his sixth of the season in the first period before the Blaze took control of a fairly even game, with goals from Jonathan Weaver, Greg Chambers and Joe Henry giving them a 3-1 lead.
Youngster Matty Davies sealed an impressive weekend, recording his third point in two games, as he pulled the score back to 3-2 with less than seven minutes remaining, however it was left to Dan Carlson to seal a 4-2 Blaze win, putting the Rays pointless after two games in the Challenge Cup and on a three game losing streak.
Cloutier's side have now failed to score more than of two goals in fourth of their five fixtures this season, with the over reliance on Kalmikov, who has scored half of the team's goals, becoming a worrying trend.
Next weekend the Stingrays return to Cardiff, without Curtis Huppe and Adam Knight due to suspension and probably Ryan Jorde and Lee Mitchell because of injury, for a league match up against the Devils, before they travel home to face the league leading Nottingham Panthers in the Challenge Cup on Sunday. However, before that, the Rays face a mid-week trip to Northern Ireland to take on the Belfast Giants, who edged out the Stingrays on the opening day of the season.
PIM: 20-12
SOG: 43-26
