Cardiff Devils 12-0 Excel Hull Stingrays
The Excel Hull Stingrays were tonight thoroughly humiliated on national TV, losing out by twelve (12) goals to nil live on Sky Sports 4 in Cardiff.
The Rays night started off badly, as a double from Stuart MacRae put them two behind after just over two minutes in, and got much, much, much worse. Another goal, this time from Kenton Smith, gave the Devils a three goal leading heading into the second with the writing already on the wall in a horrifying Stingrays performance.
Drew Bannister made his debut for Sylvain Cloutier's side but put in a rusty performance, understandable after undergoing a double hernia operation in the summer, and he was helpless to prevent four second period goals from the home side, ending the second at 7-0.
Living and dying as a team, this awful performance was far from one players fault however. Put simply the showing was one of the worst all around team performances ever put in by a Stingrays side, under Cloutier or predecessor Rick Strachan, and to compound matters the game was broadcast live on Sky Sports.
The Devils refused to lay off the lifeless and helpless Stingrays though, piling on a further five goal past netminder Christian Boucher in the third period, tanking the French-Canadian's stats as he allowed 12 goals from 32 shots.
Coach Cloutier now faces the impossible task of picking up his frustratingly inconsistent side after this depressing defeat ahead of a Sunday home game against the Nottingham Panthers in the Challenge Cup, a competition they have already been knocked out of.
