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Saturday 16th October: Newcastle Vipers (7th) v Excel Hull Stingrays (8th) @ Whitley Bay Ice Rink F/O 7pm
Sunday 17th October: Excel Hull Stingrays (8th) v Nottingham Panthers (3rd) @ Hull Arena F/O 6pm
Having lost in midweek the Excel Hull Stingrays return to league action this weekend with fixtures against two teams also suffering from a poor run of form in recent weeks.
On Saturday the Rays travel to the intimidating Whitley Bay Ice Rink in the North East to take on a Newcastle Vipers side that has been built nearly completely from scratch this summer. Player-coach Danny Stewart, former team mate of Rays coach Sylvain Cloutier, was the man that brought in that nearly completely new squad, replacing Rob Wilson as coach, but he has so far found changing the Vipers fortunes difficult with just one win in eight games so far this year.
They will be hoping to kick start their year this weekend at home to the Stingrays but will be without forward Jaroslaw Rzeszutko, who will be out for at least another five weeks with a broken wrist. The Polish international is one of three European forwards that has stood out so far this year in a team whose make up is largely young North American's.
The fixture at the Bay, like last weekend's Scottish double header, will be particularly important for the Rays as a yard stick for the year ahead with Cloutier's side expected to be in close competition with the Vipers as well as Dundee, Edinburgh and Braehead in the season ahead.
The Rays then travel home to face a Nottingham Panthers side struggling for form after starting the year on fire. Player-coach Corey Neilson's side won their opening five fixtures, beating fellow title contenders Belfast and Coventry twice, however, they then went on to draw one and lose three of their next four. That brutal run for the Panthers came to an end on Wednesday when they got revenge for Braehead defeating them at the NIC at the end of September by defeating the Scots 5-2 north of the border.
In that game new signing Angel Nikolov registered a goal and three assists after arriving not long before the Panthers travelled to the game and he may be joined this weekend by former AHL forward Rob Bellamy, who is awaiting VISA clearance before coming to the UK, to boost the NIC sides numbers and quality.
They look to have one of the most offensive sides in the league with names like Beauregard, Clarke, Galbraith and new names McDonald, Sproat and Ryan, while former Stingray Stevie Lee returns home again. Needless to say the Rays will have to cut out mistakes that cost them dear on Wednesday in Sheffield if they are to gain anything from Sunday's fixture.
Unfortunately for both sides, Guillaume Lepine, who signed for the Rays in the summer only to leave for Nottingham following Mike and Sue Pack's departure, will not ice and add more spice to the fixture after receiving a ban in a defeat to fierce rivals Sheffield last week.
Nevertheless, the two sides and their supporters will renew their developing rivalry after some fierce battles in the last few seasons with a another healthy attendance expected at the Hull Arena.
Prior to that though the Rays will travel to Newcastle needing points to boost their league campaign ahead of the tough Nottingham fixture in which it would be a surprise to see the home side come away with the spoils.
Elite League
Stingrays: 8TH 2GP 1W 1L 0OTL GF GA 2PTS
Newcastle: 7TH 8GP 1W 6L 1OTL GF GA 3PTS
Nottingham: 3RD 9GP 6W 3L 0OTL GF GA12PTS
Form
Stingrays: D L W L
Newcastle: L L W L L
Nottingham: D L L L W
Last 3 Meetings
v Newcastle
06/03/10 1-7 W A
10/03/10 3-2 W H
14/03/10 6-3 W H
v Nottingham
10/01/10 3-6 L H
06/02/10 9-1 L A
07/03/10 6-7 L H
09/10 Series
v Newcastle: 8GP 5W 3L 33GF 24GA 11PTS
v Nottingham: 9GP 1W 8L 25GF 46GA 4PTS
Top Scorers
Stingrays
G: Kalmikov (3)
A: Dulle (4)
P: Kalmikov, Dulle (5)
Newcastle
G: Forsbacka, Hartmanis, Rzeszutko (3)
A: Speer, Carroll, Mahovsky (4)
P: Carroll, Mahovsky (6)
Nottingham
G: Clarke (10)
A: Zion (8)
P: Beauregard (13)
Between The Pipes
Stingrays: Christian Boucher (4GP 4.50GAA 87.6sv%)
Newcastle: Charlie Effinger (8GP 5.00GAA 85.8sv%)
Nottingham: Craig Kowalski (10GP 3.69GAA 90.5sv%)
Absentees
Stingrays: Craig Mitchell (broken arm)
Newcastle: Jaroslaw Rzeszutko (broken wrist)
Nottingham: Jonathan Zion (groin), Guillaume Lepine (suspension), Marc Levers (groin), Rob Bellamy (doubt; VISA issues)
Predictions
Newcastle 3-4 Stingrays
Stingrays 2-5 Nottingham
