Brit bails on Stingrays

Excel Hull Stingrays forward Shaun Thompson has been released from his contract with the club after expressing a desire to leave following a lack of ice time in recent weeks, according to the Hull Dail Mail, he is now all set to rejoin his former side the Basingstoke Bison in the English Premier League (EPL).

The 22 year old, who joined the Stingrays from Basingstoke in the summer having registered an impressive 17 goals and 40 points in 62 EIHL games last season, began the season on Sylvain Cloutier's top two lines and started positively, quickly reaching the eight assist mark.

However, the re-emergence of Lee Esders and the emergence of Matty Davies as a force in the Elite League limited his chances in recent weeks with the Brit playing very few shifts in the Stingrays double win last weekend.

Indeed, his limited chances were for good reason with just one goal to show for his efforts in 37 Elite League fixtures and with that solitary goal coming within the last month when his ice time had already severely deteriorated in comparison to the beginning of the season.

The lack of ice time in Hull took its toll on him and he is now set to sign for Steve Moria for a return to Basingstoke.

Thompson becomes the sixth player to leave the Stingrays this season and his release comes just a week after Swedish netminder Tommy Sandahl was shown the door by coach Cloutier. He will be joining Slava Koulikov in the EPL, where the Russian born Brit has eight goals and 14 assists in 15 games with the Slough Jets, who he joined in late October

Cloutier had this to say of the departure of the former Great Britain junior international:

"I've not had any problems with Shaun and I wish him all the best, but I was hoping for more points production from him, given he had been playing on our top-two lines earlier in the season.

"He said he was not happy with the amount of ice time he was now getting, but I've been through it, every guy goes through it, at some stage, but you just keep working and then take your chance to prove you deserve a bigger role. Unfortunately, I was not going to play him ahead of Lee and Matt."

Bison Brit Migrates North to Hull

21 year old British forward Shaun Thompson has signed for the Excel Hull Stingrays after his former side, the Basingstoke Bison, dropped down from the Elite League to the British second tier, the Engligh Premier League.

The former Great Britain junior international recorded 17 goals and 23 assists in a difficult year with the Hampshire club and comes in as the Stingrays fourth British signing this summer and third British forward.

In a Bison side that was troubled with an owner that went AWOL, and subsequent financial issues, for the second season running, Thompson was bumped up to the teams first line with GB international Greg Chambers and Canadian Brent Hughes, following the departure of a number of imports.

It became a bittersweet season for Thompson, who was moved up the lines to replace the MIA imports, only for the Bison to quickly transform from the infamous 'Bison Ten' of 07/08 into a team visibly nearing the end of their time in the topflight.

"It was a difficult scenario in Basingstoke last season but it gave me a chance to get a lot of ice time, play on the powerplay and penalty kill, something I never dreamt of getting so it worked in my favour. "

Despite a terrible seasons team wise, Thompson, who, prior to last season had only scored six goals and eight assists in four bit part seasons with Nottingham and Basingstoke, pushed himself forward as the teams top performer.

His work ethic and hussle provided the spark for a Bison side that all too often went out with a whimper and, as a former junior international with 21 points in 15 games for GB, that extra ice time and hardwork finally converted his potential into on-ice ability at professional level.

Stingrays player-coach Sylvain Cloutier, having added Lee Esders and Lee Mitchell to his British forward corps, believes that the addition of Thompson further strengthens the Rays options up front, and that his last year in Basingstoke will have brought him on as both a player and person.

"With what he went through in Basingstoke last season, with the uncertainty of the team, showed what kind of character he had by being able to stay focused on his job and produce. He had a great season scoring 17 goals at a top level. I believe he will improve on that number and therefore bring success to our team."

Meanwhile Thompson commented that he is excited to join the club, particularly with the aura of the Stingrays new coach, who was a big factor in him signing at the Hull Arena for the next year.

"There is already a good feeling about the Stingrays for next season and it is going to be exciting to be a part of it. Sylvain Cloutier has a massive reputation as a person and it rubs off on players and players want to play for him. It was nice to have a person of that stature call you and it was nice to feel wanted. "

Thompsons signing has now cast doubt over the future of Russian born Brit Slava Koulikov in Hull.

Should the Rays sign two more import forwards, then the signing of the 21 year old means that the team may require just one more British forward to complete their expected three line forward roster.

And although Koulikov is expected to re-signing in the coming weeks, with Hull born Matty Davies also in the picture, his re-signing may not be as cut and dried as it perhaps should be for a forward who recorded 30 points in 39 games last term.

Photos Courtesy: BRLD

Stingrays thrash wounded Bison.

Excel Hull Stingrays 8-1 Basingstoke Bison

A Jeff Glowa inspired Excel Hull Stingrays beat an understrength Basingstoke Bison side minus imports Mike Olynck, Brent Hughes and starting netminder Kevin Reiter.

The rout, which was the Stingrays biggest ever win in the Elite League, began just 47 seconds in, when a speculative Konstantin Kalmikov shot from the blueline somehow found its way past Bison back up netminder Graeme Bird.

Glowa then completed a first half natural hat trick with three straight goals, extending his Stingrays record goals for an individual player in an Elite League season to 32 and giving the Stingrays a 4-0 lead going into the second.

The Bison came out stronger in the second period and a nice goal from Shaun Thompson, who capitalised on James Cooke being the last Stingrays player back, gave the Bison their only goal of the game. The Stingrays responded with a goal of their own, as Kalmikov fired a pass into a congested goalmouth which deflected off the leg pad of fellow Ukrainian Slava Koulikov for his first in four games.

After a 1-1 second period, taking the scoreline to 5-1, the Rays restored their evident dominance on the game with three further goals.

After Jason Kostadine had been somewhat unnecessarily roughed by Bison tough guy Jeremy Cornish, Aaron Wilson recorded his second goal for the Stingrays with a slapshot from the blueline that trickled through Bird.

Bird then conceded a goal he will be seeing in his nightmares, and a goal that left Bison player-coach, Eric Braff, both smirking and embarrassed. A slow Matt Reynolds shot slid flat along the ice from the blueline. A routine save for most goalies, and probably one that Bird would easily save in every training session and every game he has ever played.

But with the Bison on their way to a beating, the puck slid under Bird's stick and through his standing legs, leaving the Hull Arena in a state of both happiness and bemusement with 15 minutes remaining.

There was still time for veteran defenceman, Troy Neumeier, to slot home his third of the season on the backdoor from a cross ice pass, ending the scoring at 8-1.

The shine was taken of the Stingrays comprehensive victory with the news that the eighth placed Edinburgh Capitals had copied the Stingrays win in Coventry the previous week with a 4-2 win of their own.

With just three games remaining for both sides the Stingrays need to win at least two of their final three fixtures, including the final game of the season against Edinburgh, whilst hoping that the Caps can not beat Newcastle away, Manchester at home, nor the Stingrays in that final game.

Meanwhile the Stingrays face a tough task with a midweek game in Manchester, a team they have not beaten all season, before a home double header sees them play a Cardiff side they have lost 7-1 to twice in the last two meetings, before the Capitals showdown, which could yet be meaningless if the Stingrays drop any points.

Best Moments: Two of Jeff Glowa's three goals which were textbook Glowa, the display of Lee Esders who is quickly proving to be a young player with a real future in the top flight, the Stingrays scoring eight goals in the Elite League for just the second time.

Worst Moments: Seeing the Bison in a state of irreversible repair, a Graham Bird howler that saw Matt Reynolds score, Jeremy Cornish pointlessly going after Jason Kostadine with the game way gone and seemingly no instigator in the event.

F Block MOM
Stingrays: Jeff Glowa (3+0): Glowa could have had at least five tonight. He was everywhere on the ice and his performance was one of those performances that just reminds you how important he is to the Stingrays and their competitiveness in the Elite League.

Basingstoke: Corey Leclair (0+0): The former Coventry and Nottingham defenceman showed glimpses of the kind of offensive brilliance that the Stingrays have lacked this season.

Stingrays Verdict (7/10): A competetant job by the Stingrays who were faced with a Basingstoke side that looked like they couldn't wait to get on the golf course/beach. It was nice to see the Stingrays score some goals for once and, although they had a lot of chances to score more, without going hell for leather against a side that was well beaten before the puck was dropped, eight goals was a good return for a normally goal shy side. Defensively they weren't regularly tested, however, when Andrew Jaszczyk replaced the untested Curtis Cruickshank between the pipes, he received adequate cover. All in all, a good victory but a lot more will be expected against Manchester, Cardiff and, should they get to a final day decider, the Edinburgh Capitals.

Strachan's Verdict: "It wasn’t pretty, it was damn ugly at times, but we got the job done and got the two points we needed especially given the fact Edinburgh won in Coventry. But it isn’t over until the fat lady sings"

SOG: 52-22
PIM: 2-10

Playoff Race 09:
8th- Edinburgh GP51, W 16, OTL6, L29, GF161, GA233, GDIFF -74, PTS 38
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9th- Stingrays GP51, W 15, OTL5, L31, GF141, GA225, GDIFF -86, PTS 35

Stingrays Weekend Preview (14/03, 15/03)

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Saturday 14th March: Cardiff Devils (5th) v Excel Hull Stingrays (9th) @ Cardiff Bay Arena, F/O 7pm
Sunday 15th March: Excel Hull Stingrays (9th) v Basingstoke Bison (10th) @ Hull Arena, F/O 6pm

Form
Stingrays: L L W L W
Cardiff: D L L W W
Basingstoke: L L L L L

Last 3 Meetings
v Cardiff
30/12/08 1-0 L A
01/02/09 1-2 W A
21/02/09 1-7 L H

v Basingstoke
07/12/08 6-8 L H
27/12/08 5-4 L A
04/01/09 4-3 W H

Season Series
v Cardiff: 1-4, 3 points, 7GF, 19GA
v Basingstoke: 3-3, 6 points, 24GF, 23GA

Man of the Moment
Stingrays: Lee Esders (55GP 9+6)- Has scored four goals in three games and has bettered his rookie season total by six goals and five assists, with just one more game played.

Cardiff: Mike Prpich (50GP 32+29)- Leads the Devils in goals and is currently on respective runs of six points in five games and 18 points in 13 games.

Basingstoke: Corey LeClair (14GP 5+3)- Former Panther and Blaze defenceman scored a goal and two assists in two games against his former employers last weekend.

Absentees
Stingrays: Paul Moran (shoulder), Stuart Kerr (knee), Jamie Thompson (concussion)
Cardiff: Lee Cowmeadow (elbow), Marc Fulton (knee), Derek Campbell (knee)
Basingstoke: Full Strength

Other news
- Should the unthinkable happen and the Stingrays lose both of their games this weekend, whilst the eighth placed Edinburgh Capitals win both of their games, against Nottingham and Coventry, then the Stingrays battle for a playoff spot would be over, two games before the end of the season.

- Paul Moran and Stuart Kerr underwent operations to fix shoulder and knee injuries respectively. Moran, who was ruled out for the season in early January, went under the knife to heal a shoulder injury that has dogged him for a number of years. Whilst Kerr had an arthroscopy to examine the damage on a knee injury that has kept him from action for four months . The arthroscopy did not reveal any damage whilst the surgeon also cleaned up some cartilage damage which was discovered during the operation. He will now await further consultation with the doctor on whether he will be able to return for the final weekend of the season, next week.

-Meanwhile doubts have been raised over whether forward Jamie Thompson will return again this season. The 36 year old suffered a concussion against the Nottingham Panthers two weeks ago and has continued to feel the after effects of one of hockey's most common injuries.

- Basingstoke's nightmare of a season has continued in the past three months. Despite managing to get something of a full squad together, their last win came on 27th December against the Stingrays. The losing streak is the longest in Elite League history at 23 games.

- The Stingrays face a Cardiff side on the back of two wins against the Manchester Phoenix and just three weeks since their embarrassing 7-1 loss to the Devils at the Hull Arena. As well as playing the Devils on Saturday night in Wales, the Stingrays also face them in the penultimate game of the season next Saturday in a double header that seems them face playoff rivals, the Edinburgh Capitals, in the final game of the season.

- The Devils double win over Manchester in midweek has helped push the Devils above the Phoenix in fifth place. The wins sealed a mixed week for the Devils who lost to the Belfast Giants over two legs in the Challenge Cup Semi Final last weekend.

Predictions
Cardiff 3-4 Stingrays
Stingrays 3-1 Basingstoke

Sunday 4th January: Rays find a way to win....somehow

Excel Hull Stingrays 4-3 Basingstoke Bison

The Excel Hull Stingrays snatched their first two plus point weekend of the season with a last gasp Konstantin Kalmikov goal sealing victory over the Basingstoke Bison.

Without Paul Moran, as well as fellow defencemen Troy Neumeier and Stuart Kerr, the Stingrays faced a Basingstoke side minus number one netminder Kevin Reiter, who was replaced by Peterborough Phantoms netminder Ewan King.

The optimism that may have first swept over Rays fans, after an encouraging overtime loss against Sheffield, was quickly dispatched by a Bison powerplay goal after just two minutes, this despite early pressure from the Stingrays.

From there on in it was not easy viewing for home fans as the Bison executed a near perfect road trip, holding a 1-0 lead into the second before extending that lead near the end of the second through Trevor Read. Separating two woeful periods from the Stingrays came a Jason Kostadine and Mike Olynyk fight, with the latter ending up on the wrong side of a beating. The fight being one of very sparse bright points from the Stingrays in the opening two periods.

The third period began with more of the same, the Stingrays continued to look for that first goal past debutant King whilst the Bison held steady with good team defence. The 41st minute saw the Stingrays finally fire past the Bison netminder as Slava Koulikov slotted home his first goal since return from injury.

The Bison quickly responded to the set back with a goal from Greg Chambers restoring their two goal lead just two minutes later, once again this season the Stingrays failed to use the momentum of a comeback goal.

Another two minutes later and another twist, or two, as the Bison found themselves in penalty trouble with a five on three. The Stingrays used the momentum this time with Jeff Glowa slotting into an unguarded back post before Matt Reynolds leveled the scores at three with an opportune short side goal again on the powerplay, one netminder King would want back. Reynolds goal sealed the second time in two games that the Stingrays had capitalised on a five on three with two goals in less than a minute after a similar turn of events in Sheffield on Saturday night began the Stingrays comeback.

The Stingrays began to swarm forward but after a number of opportunities to take the lead it was the Bison who were handed a golden opportunity to take two points as Greg Chambers skated through to a breakaway.

Less than thirty seconds, and a Cruickshank save on Chambers, later the Stingrays scored through a one time Konstantin Kalmikov shot. With less than 11 ticks remaining on the clock it was a harsh end to a good road performance for the Bison who fell two points behind the Stingrays in the loss and a somewhat lucky win for the Stingrays who only really turned up for the third, and final, period.

Best Moment- Konstantin Kalmikov's late late late one timer to seal a fortutus victory. Jason Kostadine easily fending off Mike Olynyk in their fight. Curtis Cruickshank denying Greg Chambers on a breakaway with less than 60 seconds left.

Worst Moment- Every single second of the first two periods (other than maybe Kostadine's fight).

F Block MOM
Stingrays- Curtis Cruickshank (25 shots/3 goals) -if only for denying Chambers 1-on-1 with less than 60 seconds remaining.

Bison- Ewan King (51 shots/4 goals)- Had a very solid game, would want maybe one or two of the goals back but faced 50+ shots and gave the Bison every chance for the two points.

Stingrays Verdict- (3/10)- A horrible first two periods for the Stingrays gave the Bison, who played a Strachan esque road game, a huge chance to take the two points and lead over the Stingrays in ninth place, fortunately Konstantin Kalmikov, who played yet another solid game, popped up to save the Rays. Other than fire shots literally at Bison netminder King at any available chance, the Stingrays did very little in the first or second to stimulate fans, in fact when they went 2-0 down at the end of the second most thought that was the end of the game, even the season.

Thankfully they just about reappeared for the third period and somehow took the points. Once again Kalmikov, Reynolds and Slonina were at the heart of the turnaround in the third. Curtis Cruickshank's breakaway save on Greg Chambers with less than a minute to go was game breaking as was, fairly obviously, Kalmikov's one timer with 11 seconds left. Not a great performance by the Rays, in fact they were mostly awful until two goals in 50 seconds on the powerplay turned the game on its head. Credit must go to the three defencemen, Slonina, Wilson and Gomenyuk, who rotated between themselves on defence in what must have been an exhausting night.

A worrying performance but a pleasing result, isn't that what great teams do? Maybe so, and of course the Rays aren't a great team, but they will need more of these poor performances leading to good results if they are to make the playoffs.

Strachan's Verdict- "It was a huge weekend for us. We have been playing decent hockey and not getting the results. But we battled hard in both games and when that goal went in, you could see the confidence of the guys in their faces. I have never seen them that happy. "

SOG: 51-25
PIM: 7-45

3rd/4th Weekend Preview

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Saturday 3rd January: Sheffield Steelers (1st) v Excel Hull Stingrays (10th) @ Ice Sheffield, F/O 7PM

Sunday 4th January: Excel Hull Stingrays (10th) v Basingstoke Bison (9th) @ Hull Arena, F/O 6PM

Form
Stingrays- L L L L L
Sheffield- W W W W W
Basingstoke- L L L W L

Last 3 Meetings
v Sheffield
27/09/08 3-7 L A
04/10/08 2-5 L H
02/11/08 1-2 L H

v Basingstoke
06/12/08 5-1 W A
07/12/08 6-8 L H
27/12/08 4-5 L A

Player Watch
Stingrays- Steve Slonina (35GP 5+22)- Scored a goal from defence in each of the Stingrays goals last weekend. Since scoreless streak in his first six games has scored 27 points in 29 games.

Sheffield- Joey Talbot (32GP 22+14)- Leads the team in scoring and sits joint second in the league in goalscoring. Is on a point streak of ten games whilst he also scored goals in each of the Steelers crunch clashes against Nottingham last week.

Basingstoke- Danny Stewart (33GP 22+16)- Has scored six goals and four assists in five games against the Stingrays and is on a current point streak of five games.

Absentees
Stingrays- Troy Neumeier (torn ligament), Stuart Kerr (doubtful;knee)
Sheffield- Nathan Gillies (elbow)
Basingstoke- Kevin Reiter (ankle)

Other News
- The Stingrays face the Bison for the sixth time out of seven this season on Sunday with the series currently at 3-2 to the Bison after a 5-4 victory last weekend.

- The Stingrays injruy worries are beginning to subside with speculation in the Hull Daily Mail that they would be up to full strength within a number of weeks. Stuart Kerr is awaiting the results of an MRI to see if he will play again this season whilst Troy Neumeiers torn knee ligament is not likely to be season ending as once he returns he will be available to skate but not train with the team.

- Meanwhile coach Rick Strachan has confirmed that should either player be ruled out for the rest of the season he would sign a replacement defenceman and not forward as speculated, meaning Steve Slonina will revert back from defence, where he has been flawless, to forward.

- Whilst the Bison have signed defenceman Robert Pospisil and forward Mike Olynck the Bison are still three imports below the allowed 11. With standout netminder Kevin Reiter out injured the Bison will be down to seven imports for this weekends fixtures.

Predictions
Sheffield 4-1 Stingrays
Stingrays 5-2 Basingstoke

Saturday 27th December: Stingrays lose to fellow playoff contenders

Basingstoke Bison 5-4 Excel Hull Stingrays

The Excel Hull Stingrays lost to fellow playoff contenders the Basingstoke Bison on Saturday night, their second loss in three games in Basingstoke this season.

Despite goals from Jamie Thompson and Lee Mitchell the Bison came out strong firing five goals past Curtis Cruickshank before the end of the second period.

The Rays came out fighting in the third as a second goal from Jamie Thompson and a fourth of the season from Steve Slonina saw a tight end to the game. The Bison eventually held on to the 5-4 victory, their fifth regular time win of the season.

The scoreline gave the Bison a clear two point lead ahead of the Stingrays who were sent to the bottom of the league in the loss.

SOG: 33-30
PIM: 24-12
MOM: Bison- Brent Hughes, Stingrays- Lee Mitchell

27th/28th Weekend Preview

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Saturday 27th December: Basingstoke Bison v Excel Hull Stingrays @ Basingstoke Arena, F/O 6.30pm

Sunday 28th December: Excel Hull Stingrays v Belfast Giants @ Hull Arena, F/O 6pm

Form
Stingrays- L L L L L
Basingstoke- W L L L L
Belfast- W L W W W

Last 3 Meetings
v Basingstoke
19/10/08 4-2 W H
06/12/08 1-5 W A
07/12/08 6-8 L H

v Belfast
01/11/08 6-3 W A
30/11/08 5-4 W H
18/12/08 2-8 L A

Player Watch
Stingrays- Matt Reynolds (33GP 16+21)
Basingstoke- Brent Hughes (34GP 13+28)
Belfast- Colin Shields (32GP 17+23)

Absentees
Stingrays- Troy Neumeier (torn ligament), Slava Koulikov (leg), Stuart Kerr (knee), Richie Thornton (unavailable)
Basingstoke- Full Strength
Belfast- Andrew Martin (heel)

Other news
- Basingstoke's depleted numbers have recently been bolstered by the signings of Czech defenceman Robert Pospisil and Canadian centre Mike Olynyk.

- There will be more attention than normal payed to the Stingrays fixture against Belfast this weekend, and not only because the Stingrays have recorded two wins out of three against the Northern Irish side. Following Curtis Cruickshank's concussion, after a collision with Belfast player/coach Steve Thornton, Rick Strachan branded Thornton the "most hated guy in the league". Belfast GM replied by saying Strachan's comments were "comical" and that the game should be "an interesting one".

- Jeff Glowa broke his Elite League goal scoring best with two goals to go with two assists in the Stingrays high scoring loss to Coventry. Glowa is currently sixth in the league in goals and has 35 points in 33 games for the Rays this season as well as 130 points in his Stingrays Elite League career.

Predictions
Basingstoke 3-4 Stingrays
Stingrays 2-3 Belfast

Sunday 7th December: Jaszczyk starts first game as Stingrays bow out of Challenge Cup with goalfest.

Excel Hull Stingrays 6-8 Basingstoke Bison

The Excel Hull Stingrays lost out by two goals in the final challenge cup game of group B against the Basingstoke Bison tonight. Whilst the game was rendered almost completely meaningless by the Stingrays loss to Cardiff on Wednesday night, if the Bison had lost by more than three goals they would have been knocked out and replaced by the Cardiff Devils.

The Stingrays started with back up netminder Andrew Jaszczyk to give starter Curtis Cruickshank much needed rest, whilst they were also without three of their defensive corps in Stuart Kerr, Troy Neumeier and Paul Moran with Slava Koulikov also leaving the game early due to a leg injury.

Four early Bison goals, as well as a solitary Stingrays goal through Jason Kostadine, saw Rick Strachan call a timeout near the beginning of the first period as the Stingrays defence, lacking three players, left rookie Jaszcyzk out to dry. The Stingrays replied to the timeout with two goals from Lee Mitchell and Jeff Glowa at the end of the first before Jason Kostadine scored his second of the game to tie the scores early in the second.

The Bison went on their second scoring spree of the game just six minutes after Kostadine's game tying goal, scoring three in eight minutes to take their lead to 7-4.

The Bison replaced number one netminder Kevin Reiter with Grahame Bird halfway through the third period after a Danny Stewart goal had extended their lead to four goals. The Stingrays responded to the change by firing ten shots on the backup in just nine minutes of play with Konstantin Kalmikov and Matt Reynolds scoring two goals leaving the Stingrays two short of the Bison at the final buzzer.

Despite the defeat, Stingrays coach Rick Strachan took heart from a game, he told the Hull Daily Mail:

"It was like the good old days. We came out a little flat and I called a time-out. We picked it up and got it back to 4-4 before we fell asleep again. It was a nothing game for us, we rested a couple of guys and the intensity was not as high as it was in Basingstoke the night before - but we did it then when it mattered."

Next weekend the Stingrays face playoff rivals the Edinburgh Capitals at Murrayfield in their only game of the weekend. They will be continuing their search for a replacement for Troy Neumeier whilst it will be hoped that Paul Moran, Stuart Kerr and Slava Koulikov will make a full recovery from injury.

SOG- 27-50
PIM- 4-14

Saturday 6th December: Stingrays sink Bison to move level on points.

Basingstoke Bison 1-5 Excel Hull Stingrays

The Excel Hull Stingrays leapt off the foot of the table for the first time since November 13th with a 5-1 victory over fellow playoff contenders the Basingstoke Bison. The victory took the Stingrays to an equal 16 points with Basingstoke and Edinburgh, who sit in 10th and 8th place respectively, with a game in hand on both sides.

A double from Jamie Thompson as well as markers from Matt Reynolds, Lee Mitchell and Pavel Gomenyuk handed the Stingrays a relatively simple victory by four goals, their highest winning margin since the last day of last season and their biggest ever away win.

Curtis Cruickshank saved 33 shots whilst Jason Kostadine, who recorded two assists, took home the Stingrays man of the match. Lee Mitchell (1+2) recorded his first multi point game since 25th October, whilst Thompson recorded first multi point game for the Rays with his third and fourth goals for the Stingrays.

The Stingrays now face the Bison at the Hull Arena tomorrow (Sunday) night knowing that if they beat them by 3 or more goals, they will knock the Bison out of the Cup and hand Cardiff a spot in the semis.

SOG-33-33
PIM-6-6
MOM- Stingrays- Jason Kostadine, Basingstoke- Shaun Thompson

6th Decemeber Preview

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Saturday 6th December: Basingstoke Bison (9th) v Excel Hull Stingrays (10th) @ Basingstoke Arena, 6.30pm

Sunday 7th December: Excel Hull Stingrays v Basingstoke Bison @ Hull Arena, 5.30pm, Challenge Cup

Form
Stingrays- L L L W L
Basingstoke- W W L W L

Last 3 Meetings
v Basingstoke
05/03/08 4-3 W H
18/10/08 1-4 L A
19/10/08 4-2 W H

Players to watch
Stingrays- Konstantin Kalimkov- Recorded 2+2 in the 5-4 victory over the Belfast Giants last Sunday and has 17 points in just 15 games, including eight goals, with the Stingrays after replacing Jake Riddle in mid October.
Bison- Greg Chambers- Leads the league in assists (31) and sits second in the league in points (46), he has come away pointless from just 4 of his 28 games so far this season.

Absentees
Stingrays- Troy Neumeier (torn ligament), Stuart Kerr (knee ligament strain)
Bison-

Other stuff
- The Stingrays have beaten the Bison in twice (4-3, 4-2) in their last two visits to the Hull Arena.

- The Stingrays were knocked out of the Challenge Cup after a 1-0 loss in Cardiff on Wednesday night. Needing a victory to keep their hopes of qualification alive, Stingrays coach Rick Strachan pulled netminder Curtis Cruickshank after a goalless 59 minutes before Cardiff defenceman Mike Hartwick fired into the empty net.

- Slava Koulikov returned to full action last weekend and scored in Saturday's 7-1 loss to Manchester. On Sunday, in the 5-4 win over Belfast, he recorded two assists taking his season tally to five points in eight games.

-Defenceman Stuart Kerr has been officially ruled out of games this weekend with a knee injury. The 24 year old defenceman attempted to ice in last Saturdays game against Manchester, however limped out during the first period. This comes after Troy Neumeier was ruled out for the rest of the season with a torn ligament, leaving the Stingrays with just Pavel Gomenyuk, Aaron Wilson and Paul Moran as recognised defencemen. It is expected that Steve Slonina, who has put in some very creditable performances as of late, will continue as defenceman.

-Basingstoke were expected to announce two new signings this weekend to replace the departed Curtiss Patrick and Matt Miller however it is thought that the new VISA processes delayed the announcement and arrive of the two players.

- The Stingrays are also looking to sign at least one replacement for Troy Neumeier, with speculation he may not be the only one the management is going to replace. Whilst this is the case, Sue Pack has stated in the Hull Daily Mail that is very unlikely they will arrive before Christmas.

- One player rumoured to be on his way to Hull is former Coventry and Manchester utility player KC Timmons. Timmons had been icing in Holland before a fallout with his coach left him without a team, it is thought that Basingstoke and other teams in Holland have also been in talks with the Canadian.

Prediction
Bison 2-4 Stingrays
Stingrays 3-4 Bison

Saturday 19th October: Excel Hull Stingrays 4-2 Basingstoke Bison

- The Stingrays picked up just their third league victory of the season after a hat trick from forward Matt Reynolds helped the Rays to a 4-2 victory over the Basingstoke Bison.

- The Stingrays split a two game weekend series 1-1 with the Bison after a 4-1 loss in Basingstoke on Saturday night.

- New forward Konstantin Kalmikov made his second start for the Rays and recorded three assists taking his tally for the weekend to four.

- MOM- Stingrays: Matt Reynolds, Basingstoke: Brent Hughes
- F Block Blog MOM- Stingrays: Matt Reynolds, Basingstoke: Kevin Reiter

- SOG: 36-34
- PIM: 14-12

18/19th October Weekend Preview

V

Saturday 18th October: Basingstoke Bison v Excel Hull Stingrays @ Basingstoke Arena, f/o ? Sunday 19th October: Excel Hull Stingrays v Basingstoke Bison @ Hull Arena, f/o 5.30pm

Last 3 meetings
v Basingstoke @ Hull Arena
20/01/09 6-7 PSL
24/02/08 2-5 L
05/03/08 4-3 W

@ Basingstoke
17/11/07 4-3 OTW
15/12/07 1-3 L
02/01/08 2-2 D

Form
Stingrays: L D L L L
Basingstoke: OTL L L L L

Players to watch
Stingrays: Konstantin Kalmikov (0+0 0PIM)- Making his debut for the Stingrays will be 30 year old Ukrainian forward Kalmikov. Signed as a replacement for Jake Riddle, Kalmikov will provide the Stingrays with some much needed scoring. His previous teams include the Nottingham Panthers in 04/05 when he recorded 19 points in 28 goals and two 20+ goal spells in the ECHL.

Basingstoke: Brent Hughes (3+10 24PIM )- The Toronto, Ontario native has enjoyed relative success in Britain so far on a struggling Bison side, where he currently sits second in team scoring. He joined the club following sucessful spells with Amarillo, Colorado and Austin in the Central Hockey League before joining the Port Huron Ice Hawks in the IHL last season. The Bison will be looking to him and particularly Greg Chambers to dig the team out of a ten game winless streak.

Absentees
Stingrays- Slava Koulikov (broken collarbone)
Bison- None

Predictions
Bison 3-4 Stingrays
Stingrays 5-3 Bison

Stingray News.

- It is hoped that new import forward, Konstantin Kalmikov (pictured), will arrive in time for this weekends double header against Basingstoke. Ukrainian Kalmikov, who has been brought in to replace released Jake Riddle, last season iced for Pensacola Ice Pilots and Pontebba in the Italian Serie A, however he is also a former Nottingham Panther, where he scored 19 points in 28 games. Should everything go through smoothly he will arrive at Heathrow on Saturday but is more likely to make his debut on Sunday in the second leg of the double header against the Bison.

- Yet more rumours are surfacing about Stingrays power forward, Rick Kozak, quitting the club in order to return to North America. Fuelled by his last minute absence on KCFM last night, the Hull Daily Mail ran a story speculating on his departure. As yet no Stingray official has commented on the rumour, which has risen its head for what must be the third or fourth time this season. Perhaps this rumour has surfaced its ugly head one time too many to be false, perhaps not.

- Meanwhile, this weekend the Rays will face a Basingstoke side in turmoil. Amid rumour of financial crisis at the club, head coach, Ryan Aldridge, quit the club. On at ten game losing streak, Aldridge quit because he believed he was not able to do the job that he wished. The club quickly replaced Aldridge with the unknown coaching quantity of, now, head coach, defenceman Eric Braff, and assistant coaches Jeremy Cornish and Greg Chambers, both Bison import forwards. The Stingrays will face a Bison side that will be wanting to prove a point to themselves, their fans, the new coach and the league.

Cruickshank and Jaszcyzk confirmed as 08/09 netminders.

Replacing last year's netminding duo, Tom Chamberlain and Ladislav Kudrna, in between the Hull Stingrays pipes for the 2008/09 season is Canadian Curtis Cruickshank and Rotherham born Andrew Jaszcyzk.

Cruickshank, who was an Elite League all star in 2003/04, has spent the best part of five seasons in the UK with Basingstoke, Nottingham and Newcastle, and replaces Czech netminder Ladislav Kudrna who signed with the Swindon Wildcats of the EPL in early June.

With Cruickshank, the Stingrays and coach Rick Strachan know exactly what they are getting in net. In his five seasons in the UK 29 year old Cruickshank has never failed to post a save percentage under 91.4%, which peaked in 2005/06 with the Nottingham Panthers when he recorded an astounding 93.5% save percentage and conceded less than 2 goals a game on average.

"Curtis [Cruickshank] is a proven, quality keeper and has always had big percentage save rates. He's a warrior and competitor and he can communicate well with his defence. Lots of guys' CVs came across my desk, but Curtis is a known quantity over here and I believe he will do a great job for us," said Strachan of his new number one.

Many fans have insisted that Cruickshank has had a chronic knee problem, preventing him from replicating his form for the Panthers between 2004 and 2006. However despite the apparent knee problem Strachan had been keen on his netminder for a while and finally got his man after negotiations:

"It wasn't a case of persuading him, it was a negotiation process, and some take longer than others. It wasn't a case of going down on my hands and knees and begging him to sign, I don't want those guys."

Jaszcyzk, who is just 19 years old, put himself forward to coach Rick Strachan in order to gain some valuable experience after a season as starting netminder in the ENL with the Kingston Jets, where he recorded an 89.76% save percentage whilst facing an average of 45 shots a game during his 29 appearances. Jaszcyzk, who played for the Stingrays against Edinburgh in their maiden EIHL season in 06/07 and has also backed up at the Nottingham Panthers in the EIHL, helped the Jets reach the semi final of the ENL Cup last season where they lost out by 4 goals on aggregate to a team that lost just 6 competitive games all season. Coach Rick Strachan told the Hull Daily Mail:

"Being a back-up keeper is a difficult position. Andrew [Jaszcyzk] expressed an interest in playing for us. He's keen to learn and willing to work and that's what you want"

He will replace Tom Chamberlain, who has followed Kudrna to the EPL, this time to Romford Raiders, as the back-up netminder and is thought to be a cheaper option than the Bradford born Chamberlain who was forced to endure an hour long drive from Bradford to Hull at least 4 times a week for training sessions. As a local and more importantly a young player Jaszcyzk will be the cheaper option for the Rays and it will provide Jaszcyzk will ample opportunity to improve his game.

"No offence to Tom [Chamberlain], but he played about 25 games for us and we won about one of them. The difference between your number one and your back-up is gigantic, that's the way it goes. Tom now has a starting position at an EPL team and he's moved on, that's how it works. Otherwise guys stay until they're 30 and only get to play when someone gets hurt."

With 45 days before the opening Stingrays pre-season fixture against the Sheffield Steelers, Strachan is left searching for four more imports and possibly one or two British defencemen to complete the roster.