The Excel Hull Stingrays came from a goal down on three separate occasions tonight at the Trent FM Arena but finally succumbed to the Nottingham Panthers in a shootout as temporary signing Johan Molin netted the only successful attempt
Under-fire forward Curtis Huppe finally appears to be hitting goalscoring form as he netted the Rays first goal of the night at 18.24 in responce to Corey Neilson's opening powerplay goal after less than 10 minutes.
The Rays, who had defenceman Pavel Gomenyuk back in the lineup, found themselves behind again shortly after the break thanks to Swede Molin, who netted his second of the season, shorthanded, before Konstantin Kalmikov continued his fine vein of form to score his third in five games and 16th of the season against his former side, assisted by Brit James Archer, who debuted in absence of GB under 20 internationals Matty Davies and Craig Mitchell.
Once again the Panthers came out of the gate quickly at the beginning of the third, Cameron Mann this time netting 50 seconds after the interval to restore the Panthers slight one goal lead.
Jason Silverthorn, who has eight points and four goals in ten games since joining the Rays, levelled up the scores for a third and final time, 13 minutes from the end to seal a point for bottom side.
There was still time for netminder Tommy Sandahl to deny a Jade Galbraith penalty shot with less than three minutes to go to further ensure the point for the Rays, however, Molin would again pop up in the final round of the shootout to snatch the extra point.
This game represents a big point for the Stingrays, who not only grabbed an all important point but also saw three of their big players step up to the plate and record goals.
If they are to build on this point then they such players will have to continue to contribute offensively, where the Rays are the worst in the league, while Sandahl between the pipes will have to continue to stop crucial penalty shots like the one he did towards the end of the game.
Sylvain Cloutier and his players will now be hoping to improve on this point and record back-to-back wins for the first time this season next weekend as they face Cardiff in South Wales and Nottingham, in their first home game for two weeks.
SOG: 41-39
PIM: 16-10
