The Excel Hull Stingrays lost out by the odd goal in five in their opening Elite League fixture against the Belfast Giants at the Hull Arena.
Jeff Glowa and Matt Reynolds goals for the Stingrays were not enough to snatch a hard worked first victory against a speedy Giants side that skated with into the Hull Arena with an excellent team defence and took both points.
The Stingrays, buoyed by an unbeaten pre-season, immediately lacked the physicality that was so obvious against the Panthers last week, with the Giants fast forwards getting off to the perfect start, pressuring the Rays into their own defensive end and silencing the home crowd.
That pressure and superior puck possession in the opening minutes eventually saw Pierre-Luc Faubert force a puck through Tommy Sandahl, who may have done better with a shot which squeezed through.
Giants man of the match Brandon Benedict then doubled Belfast's lead after 11 minutes, as the Rays sluggish start to the game continued. A brilliantly fast rush from defenceman Tim Cook lead the Canadian to wheel around the back of the Rays net and lay off a pass to Benedict, which the Halifax, Nova Scotia native snuck home to extend the visitors lead.
The Rays finally began to get some puck possession late in the first but still found it difficult to force their way past a resolute and immediately impressive Giants defence.
However, with the first period coming to a close, Stephen Burns spotted Jeff Glowa on the opposing blueline in a rare gap behind the Giants D and fired a long pass from his defensive end which Glowa expertly controlled. Glowa, entering a record fifth season with the team, skated in on Giants netminder Nathan Craze, holding his shot until the former Bracknell and Cardiff stopper went down, before roofing his finish in typically Glowa fashion.
Both sides cancelled each other out in the second third, with a number of powerplay chances going astray for both sides, and with Craze particularly tested with two big Stingrays chances that perhaps should have found the twine.
Onto the third and the Giants once again extended their lead to two, this one a goal that Rays netminder Sandahl will definitely want back, as an Evan Cheverie strike went through the Swede and across the line.
The Stingrays had noticeably improved their forward play since the first period but were still finding it difficult to break through the wall that was Belfast's defence.
Matt Reynolds somehow managed that, however, in the game's only powerplay goal. A nicely worked passing powerplay ended with Reynolds slotting home a pinpoint pass from Curtis Huppe with ten minutes remaining.
If that wasn't the catalyst to push for another goal, then Ryan Jordes huge hip-check on Faubert, which sent the French-Canadian flying through the air, certainly was, with the atmosphere in the Hull Arena noticeably turned up another notch after the big defenceman's hit.
The Stingrays continued to push forward, however the Giants road game tactics were well worked and they managed to stifle the Rays limited offensive options. In the end Evan Cheverie could even afford to miss the empty net for Belfast with seconds remaining as the Giants took away their first victory of the season and a hard fought one at that.
Stingray Stats
Jeff Glowa and Matt Reynolds 1+0, Curtis Huppe, Shaun Thompson and Stephen Burns 0+1.
Tommy Sandahl: 35 shots, 3 goals against.
PIM: 8-20
SOG: 25-35
Best Parts
Stephen Burns long pass to set up Glowa, Glowa's brilliant finish from said pass, Ryan Jorde's big hit on Faubert, not playing brilliantly and losing by just one goal to one of the league's top teams.
Worst Parts
The Rays offence which seemed easily shut down, the atmosphere (although still good) not at the standards of the Panthers game the week before.
F Block Blog MOM
Stingrays: Stephen Burns (0+1) His perfectly timed long pass for Glowa was enough to give him man of the match, but his feisty play in the Stingrays defensive end helped the Rays shut down a particularly potent offence to just three goals.
Belfast: Jacobsen (0+0) The rangy Canadian epitomised the Giants solid defence and proved that this Belfast side may just be fine without Dave Phillips in their lineup. A real rock on the blueline, he could turn out to be one of the finds of the season on this form.
Stingrays Verdict: 6/10
Make no doubt about it, this was an average Rays performance which lacked the hits and real excitement of last week against the Panthers.
They were up against a Belfast side expected to be one of the high scoring sides in the league and restricted them to just three goals, credit should go to the Rays blueliners for that, all of whom thoroughly impressed.
On the other hand, the Rays offence is a little cause for concern. They seem to lack an huge playmaking talent such as a Dan Tessier or Tony Hand, that can create a chance from nothing, and when Konstantin Kalmikov is marked out of the game, as he was, they can struggle to get the puck into the zone. That, of course, is up against a fine defence (if you hadnt noticed by now, the Giants blueline is highly thought of here), so things will, hopefully, get a little easier.
With all that said, most of which is unfairly critical of the Stingrays performance, especially given Cloutier's comments below stating categorically that they can and will play better, this was not a bad home opener and the team showed plenty of potential, especially in defence, to indicate that this season will be better than most.
Cloutier's Comments:
"We missed our assignments for the first two goals. We will go over our mistakes, those type of things just can’t happen. It’s unacceptable – losing is not going to be accepted here. It’s got to be in our heads right away that we have to battle for 60 minutes – you can’t take 10 minutes off because they put two pucks in our net. That was the game right there, 10 minutes of hockey we didn’t show up for and that is why they got the win."We know we can do it, if you battle hard for 60 minutes you will give yourself a chance. We did it for 40 minutes, we had our chances but those two little mistakes cost us. You just can’t afford to make mistakes. But it’s early days and we will move on."
