23rd/24th October Weekend Preview

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Saturday 23rd October: Excel Hull Stingrays v Belfast Giants @ Hull Arena F/O 7pm

Sunday 24th October: Excel Hull Stingrays v Newcastle Vipers @ Hull Arena F/O 6pm

The Excel Hull Stingrays face a home double header against Belfast and Newcastle this weekend looking to get back on track following two contrasting defeats last week.

Having played their worst game of the young season so far in a loss against Newcastle at Whitley Bay last Saturday, the Rays returned home on Sunday and pushed the big spending Nottingham Panthers all the way to the death, eventually falling to a 3-2 loss.

This weekend sees Belfast's all conquering squad travel to Hull for their first game of the year against the Stingrays, having dominated the teams eight game series 7-1 last season. The Rays season may not hinge on their performances against the Elite League's big four but last weekend's home fixture against the Panthers proved that they are capable of competing with the big spenders if they perform well, particularly at home.

Although Belfast have recently signed reinforcements in the shape of former NHLer and regular AHLer Brad Smyth and Brit Ross Dalgleish, they may also take confidence from the fact the Giants have five key players out injured, including defenceman Richard Seeley and forward Colin Hemingway.

That means the Giants will travel to Hull with 13 outskaters, and with Mark Garside likely to return and coach Christiansen also able to suit up if required, they still possess more than enough firepower to continue their good start to the year this weekend, despite surprisingly tight victories over Dundee last week.

The Stingrays home double header continues on Sunday when the Newcastle Vipers journey south hoping to replicate last Saturday's 5-3 victory.

While Cloutier may insist it is just another important fixture in a 56 game journey, the Stingrays will be looking for revenge against a Vipers side that took full advantage of a painfully slow Rays start to win 5-3 at home last Saturday.

Former Coventry team mate Danny Stewart has built his roster from a variety of hockey backgrounds, and they proved last weekend that they are more than capable of beating the Stingrays. Finn Patrick Forsbacka and Latvian Toms Hartmanis impressed at a freezing cold Whitley Bay, however, Cloutier's side eventually got to grips with the intimidating conditions of Whitley Bay and in the end the Vipers were made to work hard for their win.

That lone loss summed up the Rays never-ending troubles on the road against a team they will be competing with for a playoff spot at the end of the season and a team that went on to lose 6-1 at fellow league rivals Edinburgh the following night.

The Rays, who will definitely be without Craig Mitchell and may be without brother Lee Mitchell this weekend, must therefore make up for that poor form away from home by winning as many of their games at Hull Arena as physically possible.

Two positive home performances out of two bodes well for the rest of the year but they must now start to turn those performances into wins, starting with a first game of the year against table topping Belfast before a revenge battle against Newcastle.

Elite League
Stingrays: 9th 4GP 1W 3L 0OTL 11GF 17GA 2PTS
Belfast: 1st 13GP 11W 1L 1OTL 54GF 35GA 23PTS
Newcastle: 7th 10GP 2W 7L 1OTL 23GF 51GA 5PTS

Form
Stingrays: L W L L L
Belfast: W W W W W
Newcastle: W L L W L

Last 3 Meetings
v Belfast
23/01/10 3-2 W H

04/02/10 4-2 L A

04/03/10 9-0 L A

v Newcastle
10/03/10 3-2 W H
14/03/10 6-3 W H

16/10/10 5-3 L A

Rays 09/10 Series
v Belfast: 8GP 2W 6L 14GF 37GA 4PTS
v Newcastle: 8GP 5W 3L 33GF 24GA 11PTS

Top Scorers
Stingrays
G: Silverthorn (3)
A: Dulle (4)
PIM: Gaisins, Sladok (11)

Belfast
G: B.Hemingway (10)
A: Shields (13)
PIM: Welch (28)

Newcastle
G: Forsbacka (7)
A: Carroll (7)
PIM: Schwarz (78)

Between The Pipes
Stingrays: Boucher (6GP 87.8sv% 4.33GAA)
Belfast: Murphy (12GP 90.9sv% 2.63GAA)
Newcastle: Effinger (10GP 85sv% 5.03GAA)

Absentees
Stingrays: Craig Mitchell (broken arm), Lee Mitchell (doubt; knee)
Belfast: Jeff Mason (wrist), Richard Seeley (knee), Colin Hemingway (unspecified injury) Mark Garside (doubt; lower body), Brandon Benedict (leg)
Newcastle: Full Strength

Predictions
Stingrays 2-4 Belfast
Stingrays 5-3 Newcastle