26th/27th December Weekend Preview

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM F BLOCK BLOG

V

Saturday 26th December: Edinburgh Capitals (7th) v Excel Hull Stingrays (8th) @ Murrayfield Ice Rink, F/O 6pm
Sunday 27th December: Excel Hull Stingrays (8th) v Edinburgh Capitals (7th) @ Hull Arena, F/O 6.30pm

Form
Stingrays: L L L L W
Edinburgh: W W L L W

Last 3 Meetings
v Edinburgh
25/10/09 3-2 L A
07/11/09 4-3 W H
06/12/09 7-4 L A

Season Series
v Edinburgh: 2-3, 4 points, 16GF, 23GA

Players to Watch
Stingrays: Jason Silverthorn (12GP 6+5 8PIM) Former Capital forward Silverthorn played a huge part in the Stingrays win over Nottingham, recording two goals and an assist in the 5-4 win. Those two goals made it five goals in four for the Canadian and his signature has been a large part in the Stingrays offensive upturn, especially with fellow forwards Konstantin Kalmikov and Curtis Huppe also reigniting that goalscoring form.

Edinburgh: Ben O'Connor (28GP 3+11 24PIM) Son of former Hull Thunder General Manager Mike O'Connor, since playing in the Ontario Hockey League as a junior, Ben has become one of Britain's biggest hopes for the future in defence. After initially signing to play for Coventry, Ben has played a pivotal role in the Caps defence recording 15 points in 28 games as well as four assists in his last four games.

Between the Pipes
Stingrays: Tommy Sandahl (30GP 4.31GAA 89.5sv.%)
Edinburgh: Cody Rudkowski (28GP 3.96GAA 89.8sv.%)

Absentees
Stingrays: Sylvain Cloutier (knee), James Hutchinson (hand)
Edinburgh: Doug Christiansen (broken patella), Darius Pliskauskas (broken finger)

Predictions
Edinburgh 3-2 Stingrays
Stingrays 4-3 Edinburgh