The Excel Hull Stingrays broke a seven game losing streak by edging the Edinburgh Capitals by four goals to one, for their second victory of the season, thanks to two goals within ninety seconds of the beginning of the third period.
It wasn't until the second period kicked off that the sides would wake up, after drab, uneventful and scoreless first period, with the bottom two Elite League sides cancelling each other out at six shots a piece.
Prior to Dairus Pliskauskas opening the scoring halfway through the second, only Simon Lambert and Konstantin Kalmikov's incredible speed and skill had stood out.
Those attributes aside, it was left to Lithuanian Pliskauskas to open the scoring on a breakaway as the Caps countered effectively after Stingrays pressure had culminated in Matt Reynolds marginally missing a sure goal from a Cody Rudkowski rebound.
The Stingrays struck back quickly, in a way which they failed to do in their horrifying 9-2 loss two weeks prior. An all Brit line of defencemen Craig Mitchell and Hutchinson, and forwards Shaun Thompson, Slava Koulikov and Lee Esders, recycled the puck down low, tiring the Caps five, before Koulikov threaded a pass through to Esders who made the finish look easy, firing high over Rudkowski.
A minute later and the Rays defensive corps received a wake up call, Martin Cingel netting past Tommy Sandahl only for referee Andy Carson to rightly rule the goal out after the evergreen Slovak had gloved the puck goal wards.
Matt Reynolds missed another chance, in a tough game for the Canadian, before the period ended with the scores level at one.
A crucial ninety seconds followed for the Stingrays, as they came out at the beginning of the game and effectively won it with two early goals.
Just thirty seconds into the third the Rays found themselves with a shorthanded three-on-two break with Ukrainian defenceman Pavel Gomenyuk the crucial trailer, netting his second of the season and the game winning goal.
A minute later and the Rays continued their momentum, Sylvain Cloutier netting his own second of the season on a rebound at the back post after an Adam Knight shot had been saved by the continually impressive Rudkowski.
Reynolds spurned two more chances, one with Rudkowski laid across his crease, with most of the net to aim at, and another on a breakaway, which the Canadian stopper easily smothered, but it did not matter for the Stingrays, with Stephen Burns slotting home his first of the season, and the team's fourth of the game, into the empty net after Curtis Huppe had rung the post.
Stingray Stats
-Cloutier, Esders, Gomenyuk, Burns 1+0, Glowa, Reynolds, Thompson, Knight, Huppe, Koulikov 0+1
-Sandahl: 33 shots, 1 goal against
-SOG: 26-33
-PIM: 8-6
Best
Again Konstantin Kalmikov's speed, Tommy Sandahl stopping almost everything that he faced gaining a deserved second victory in league play, an improved defensive display, a good showing from the British line of Thompson-Esders-Koulikov.
Worst
Matt Reynolds unfortunate finishing, the first two periods as both sides stifled most of the offence created.
F Block Blog MOM
Stingrays: Tommy Sandahl (33 shots, 1 goal against) The Swede, who finally received the defensive help he so craved, notched a deserved second win of the league season, and, in doing so, beat a side that chased him from the net on their previous visit with seven goals.
Edinburgh: Mark Smith (0+0) The brother of former Manchester defenceman Kenton, whilst far from the Caps most flashy player, showed responsibility, intensity and unrelenting pressure in his own end in front of Rudkowski and stood out because of it.
Stingrays Verdict: 7/10
The Rays definately required a win here to prevent their early season losing streak from getting out of hand. Thankfully that is what they gained, but in doing so, with the signing of defenceman James Sanford, Sylvain Cloutier now has a big dilemma on his hands after the improved display of many of his squad, including Stephen Burns, Pavel Gomenyuk and Slava Koulikov.
This performance was, defensively, a vast improvement on the rest of the season, as they allowed fewer than two goals for the first time. That, in turn, helped Tommy Sandahl both improve between the pipes and, one small annoyance aside, enjoy his role between the pipes.
The Brit line of Esders, Thompson and Koulikov was another surprise highlight of the game, as they recycled the puck and worked hard to create chances, one of which proved very important to the two points.
Although they still lacked the physicality and intensity that seemed to pay dividends against Nottingham in pre-season, the result is the important thing for Sylvain Cloutier, especially with his squad hopefully returning to full strength within the next week.
Cloutier's Comments
"I thought we played a great game. We didn't get frustrated, and didn't get away from our game plan, even though they scored the first goal. We kept plugging away and it paid dividends in the third period."
