16th/17th October Weekend Preview

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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

Clinical Sheffield seal Challenge Cup win

Sheffield Steelers 6-3 Excel Hull Stingrays

The Sheffield Steelers inflicted the Excel Hull Stingrays second defeat of the year as they clinically snatched both Challenge Cup points on offer at Ice Sheffield tonight in a 6-3 win.

In a scrappy first period that largely summed up the game, the Stingrays took the lead after seven minutes. Rookie Andrew Coburn netted his second powerplay goal of the year after a big rebound from Steelers netminder Ervins Mustukovs gave him a chance he could not miss.

The Steelers, who were outworked by the visitors at times, then levelled through Neil Clark with the tough guy's pinpoint shot flying past a presumably unsighted Christian Boucher in the Rays net.

They then took a killer lead just 14 seconds before the end of the first on a typically quick Steelers counter attack that saw Brit Jason Hewitt capitalise. During the move the Steelers outworked the Rays behind the net just seconds after the away side had hit the post at the other end and Hewitt capitalised in front of Boucher to net his sides second.

Into the second and with the Steelers beginning to find their A game the Rays began struggle somewhat noticeably making more mistakes in their own zone, which was generally a concern throughout the game. Nevertheless, Jereme Tendler scored past Mustukovs from a very acute angle to surprisingly tie the score at two on 32 minutes.

But Sheffield would once again quickly come back to take the lead this time through Jeff Legue, who made no mistake with his finish after a catastrophic mishit clearance from defenceman Kris Grundmanis fell to one of the Elite League's most clinical forwards right in front of the Stingrays net.

Legue then extended his sides lead to 4-2 95 seconds after the start of the third before the Rays responded, again on the powerplay and again after a big rebound from Mustukovs, this time through Jason Silverthorn, who typified the Rays hard work at both ends of the ice.

At this stage the Stingrays were chasing a game that by all accounts they deserved to be level in but the Steelers continued to make the most of their chances, Joey Talbot getting his regular goal against the Stingrays before Christian Boucher, who was again pretty solid, failed to glove an Ashley Tait shot 15 seconds before the end to give the scoreline an unfair 6-3 slant in favour of the Steelers.

Once again this season the Stingrays out shot their opposition but this time came away with nothing to show for it. Lead from the back by Kurtis Dulle, the Stingrays matched the Steelers in most areas and, although Mustukovs may not have been required to make many spectacular saves to deny the Rays, the visitors deserved something from the game with mistakes and incredibly clinical Steelers finishing making up for a healthy chuck of the six goals against.

Sylvain Cloutier's side now move on to an away league fixture against Newcastle on Saturday before returning home to take on the Nottingham Panthers, again in league play.

Rays rating: 7
Stingray scorers: Coburn, Tendler, Silverthorn
Sheffield scorers: Clark, Hewitt, Legue (2), Tait, Talbot
SOG: 28-35
PIM: 22-0
FBB MOM: Kurtis Dulle (0+1)

13th October Midweek Preview

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Wednesday 13th October: Sheffield Steelers v Excel Hull Stingrays @ Ice Sheffield, F/O 7.30pm

The Excel Hull Stingrays return to action on Wednesday night with their second Challenge Cup fixture of the year, this time against Yorkshire rivals the Sheffield Steelers at Ice Sheffield.

Having claimed an encouraging point against Cardiff in their first game of the year the Rays will be hoping to build from that against a Steelers side that are edging closer to mathematical elimination from the group stage of the tournament, having been defeated by Coventry and lost one and drawn one against the same Devils side that the Rays tied on opening day.

New player-coach and former NHLer Ben Simon has built strong roster that has so far this season claimed nine wins from 12 games including eight out of nine in the league.

Like the Stingrays, who lost to Braehead but triumphed over Edinburgh, last weekend was a mixed one for the South Yorkshire side, beating fierce rivals Nottingham 4-1 before going down to title favourites Belfast on Sunday.

Like the Stingrays, who lost defenceman Craig Mitchell to a broken arm, the weekend and game against the Panthers, who come to the Hull Arena this Sunday, did not come without sacrifice with key forward Rob Globke and British defenceman Mark Thomas sustaining injuries that will see them sit out tonight alongside the banned Derek Campbell.

The Steelers loss may be the Rays gain but Sylvain Cloutier's side should not be fooled by Globke's absence because they still possess impressive firepower including returnees Joey Talbot and Jeff Legue,who have combined for 19 goals and 45 points in 24 games during their sides rise to second in the league.

Last year, the two sides split their eight game series at four wins a piece an surprising statistic but pleasing statistic that also saw the Rays win their first ever game at the Sheffield Arena. That record will be something Cloutier would be over the moon to replicate this season given the Steelers outstanding start to the year.

His side have had an indifferent but positive start to the year, winning one, drawing one and losing one, but he will be hoping for victory at Ice Sheffield to really kick start the club's season and Challenge Cup campaign.

Challenge Cup
Stingrays 4TH 1GP 0W 0L 1T 3GF 3GA 1PT
Sheffield 5TH 3GP 0W 2L 1T 11GF 16GA 1PT

Form
Stingrays: D L W
Sheffield: L W W L W

Last 3 Meetings
v Sheffield
28/02/10 6-2 L A
13/03/10 2-3 W A
21/03/10 7-4 W H

Stingrays 09/10 Series
v Sheffield: 8GP 4W 4L 23GF 29GA 8PTS

Key Player
Stingrays: Kurtis Dulle (3GP 1+2 0PIM)
Sheffield: Jeff Legue (12GP 10+10 10PIM)

Between the Pipes
Stingrays: Christian Boucher (3GP 4.00GAA 89.4sv.%)
Sheffield: Ervins Mustukovs (12GP 2.42GAA 92.6sv.%)

Absentees
Stingrays: Craig Mitchell (broken arm), Ryan Lake (work commitments)
Sheffield: Mark Thomas (groin), Rob Globke (concussion), Derek Campbell (suspension)

Predictions
Sheffield 5-3 Stingrays

Injury jinx hits again

The injury curse that has time and again crippled the Excel Hull Stingrays and particularly their defence has struck once more.

19 year old blueliner Craig Mitchell, who re-signed in the summer for his second year with the club, broke his hand when blocking a shot in Braehead and will now be out for four to six weeks, a cruel blow to Sylvain Cloutier and his side.

The importance of a deep squad and a six strong defence is now evident with the team's blueline options limited to five defencemen, equivalent to two lines, leaving one extra player rotating in.

Had the Rays coach been able to opt for the shorter squad which he signed for the Packs the club would now be down to just the bare minimum four players at the back with no room for error on anyone's part.

However, given that Cloutier has a deep squad and ten available forwards, of which one or two are able to revert to defence, this injury won't necessarily affect the numbers at the back, particularly if he decides to move Jason Silverthorn back there.

Either way it is a devastating blow for both the Rays and Mitchell, who had once again been handed an important role on the team for the year ahead, after they had clinched their first two points of the year in Edinburgh last night.

Two point return from Scottish weekend as Rays triumph in Edinburgh

Edinburgh Capitals 3-4 Excel Hull Stingrays

The Excel Hull Stingrays grabbed their first win of the year at the third time of trying in Edinburgh tonight, coming home with a 4-3 victory that sees them return to Hull with two out of four points available from a weekend in Scotland.

For the third consecutive game this season the Rays found themselves down by two goals, thanks to Edinburgh markers either side of the first intermission from Iain Bowie and import dangerman Alex Kim.

But once again the Rays fought back to tie the scores with captain Kurtis Dulle netting his first of the year before Matti Uusivirta scored his second of the season 60 seconds before the end of the period.

It wasn't until five minutes into the third that the visitors finally took control of the tie with Andrew Coburn  scoring his own first of the year on the powerplay and Jereme Tendler netting shorthanded just minutes later to extend the score to 4-2.

Never liking to make things easy on themselves or their fans, the Stingrays then allowed Edinburgh to pull the deficit back down to one again through Kim after 55 minutes.

The home side then had a goal disallowed in the dying minutes of the game but Sylvain Cloutier's men clung on to the victory and gratefully grabbed a much needed first two points of the campaign.

Stingray scorers: Dulle, Uusivirta, Coburn, Tendler
Edinburgh scorers: Bowie, Kim (2)
SOG: 33-42
PIM: -

Match Highlights: Breahead Clan 6-2 Excel Hull Stingrays

Rays beaten in first visit to Braehead

Braehead Clan 6-2 Excel Hull Stingrays

The Excel Hull Stingrays tonight fell to a disappointing 6-2 loss in their first ever visit to Glasgow to face the Braehead Clan with the Rays two goals coming from Brit Ryan Lake and Ukrainian Konstantin Kalmikov.

The home side raced into a two goal first period lead thanks to markers from standout forwards Dominic Noel and Brendan Cook after eight and 19 minutes respectively.

Sylvain Cloutier's side responded through Kalmikov to halve the deficit midway through the game but a goal from Clan player-coach Bruce Richardson 25 seconds later restored the Scottish sides lead to two.

Rays Fan favourite Lake then netted his second in two games just 64 seconds later to once again restore hope of an unlikely away victory. However, further Clan goals from defenceman Jon Landry, Ryan Campbell and a second from Noel handed them their second victory in two home games before the game ended on an unsavoury note with Kyle Bruce and the Rays Jozef Sladok handed five minute majors for fighting with seconds remaining.

While the 6-2 scoreline may suggest differently, the Rays out shot the Clan 45 to 34, and Cloutier's side may feel a little hard done by a harsh four goal defeat.

The result leaves the Rays once again looking for their first EIHL win of the season tomorrow night against Edinburgh, who tonight beat Dundee 3-1, with at least a point needed to salvage anything from a weekend in Scotland.

Stingray scorers: Lake, Kalmikov
Braehead scorers: Noel (2), Richardson, Landry, Campbell
SOG: 34-47
PIM: 17-19

9th/10th October Weekend Preview

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Saturday 9th October: Braehead Clan v Hull Stingrays @ Braehead Arena, F/O 7pm
Sunday 10th October: Edinburgh Capitals v Hull Stingrays @ Murrayfield Ice Rink, F/O 6pm

After one long wait for hockey action comes another albeit shorter wait. With the next home game not for another a week and a half, the Rays follow up their encouraging 3-3 Challenge Cup tie against Cardiff last weekend with a Scottish league double header against Braehead and Edinburgh that will be a good yardstick for the early part of the season.

The Stingrays showed determination and resilience to blow off the summer cobwebs last weekend, tying the game at three and hitting the post with seconds remaining after being 3-1 down with goals coming from debutant Matti Uusivirta, returnee Ryan Lake and coach Sylvain Cloutier. It was a gritty, hardworking 60 minute opening performance from the Rays in front of a healthy 1000 strong crowd and that momentum will be important during the coming fixtures

This weekends opponents both look set to be scrapping for mid-table mediocrity as opposed to an Elite League title in the coming year and, while they have a few weeks head start on the Rays, the double header should be a better marker as to where all three sides abilities lay this season.

Braehead, whom the Rays face for the first ever time on Saturday, were predicted by many to struggle in the coming year, both on and off the ice. That was never going to be the case with former EIHL 30 goal scorer Brendan Cook, point per game CHLer Bobby Chaumont and former DEL defenceman Jon Landry joining a club whose supposed owner is Nottingham's Neil Black.

Initial impressions have been very positive for the Clan and their new fanbase. A win over Scottish rivals Dundee was quickly followed by the shock fixture of the young season so far, as former Panthers favourite and Clan player-coach Bruce Richardson went to the NIC and handed the Panthers their first loss of the season, a bitter sweet moment for backer of both clubs Black.

The following night they were brought back down to earth with a 5-3 loss to the same Devils side that the Rays came close to defeating last week while last weekend they split a home-away series with the Newcastle Vipers, winning in a shootout at home before struggling to a loss at notorious Whitley Bay.

The aforementioned Richardson, Cook, Chaumont and Landry will be tough to beat, and a backing cast of familiar names inclduing former Manchester forward Kyle Bruce, former Stingray and Hull raised Kevin Phillips and Cedric Bernier, brother of former Stingray tough guy Jonathan Bernier, won't make things much easier. Needless to say the Clans positive start to the year sees the Rays visit Braehead Arena, which turned out more than 1600 in their first ever home fixture, on the crest of a wave with both sides hoping to top the bottom back at the end of the year.

Meanwhile, on Sunday the Rays travel to old foes Edinburgh Capitals to take on a side that has continued their tradition as the Elite League's slow starters.

Already decimated by a number of injuries, they have wins over Dundee (3-2) and Newcastle (7-4) to their name so far this year but have lost 8-0 to Sheffield and were massacred 12-4 by Cardiff in midweek prior to the Devils visit to the Hull Arena last weekend.

Although it looks like being a rollercoaster of a ride in the Scottish capital this season, new coach Brad Gratton, like his predecessor Doug Christiansen, has signed a couple of gems that will more than hold their own in the Elite League. Californian born Alex Kim joins the Caps from the Asia, where he hit 75 points in 35 games after regularly netting in the ECHL four years ago, and he has joined up well with fellow new signing Chris St.Jacques, who hit 99 points in the Dutch league last season, with the pair accounting for eight goals and 19 points so far this year.

The Caps and their severely decimated blueline very nearly beat the Coventry Blaze last weekend, eventually running out of steam to lose 6-4. But with the news that American defenceman Jacques Perreault is finally set to join up the the squad following VISA issues, things are beginning to look up for a Caps side hoping to hit early highs of their season long rollercoaster with games against struggler's Dundee and the Rays this weekend.

Cloutier and his Stingrays squad will be looking to continue momentum from an encouraging weekend and get off to a good start in the league with a full strength squad travelling for a weekend in Scotland.


EIHL

Stingrays: 9TH 0GP 0W 0L 0OTL 0GF 0GA 0PTS

Braehead: 6TH 5GP 2W 2L 1OTL 18GF 17GA 6PTS

Edinburgh: 8TH 6GP 1W 5L 0OTL 19GF 41GA 2PTS

Form

Stingrays: X X X X D

Braehead: W W L W L

Edinburgh: L L W L L

Last 3 Meetings

v Braehead

First Meeting

v Edinburgh

26/12/09 3-4 W A

27/12/09 5-3 W H

24/02/10 5-4 L A

Stingrays 09/10 Series

v Braehead: First Meeting

v Edinburgh: 8GP 4W 4L 10PTS 30GF 33GA

Key Player

Stingrays: D Kurtis Dulle (1GP 0+1 0PIM)

Braehead: F Brendan Cook (GP5 4+1 8PIM)

Edinburgh: F Alex Kim (7GP 4+7 0PIM)

Between The Pipes

Stingrays: Christian Boucher (1GP 3.00GAA 93.5sv.%)

Braehead: J F Perras (5GP 3.15GAA 89.6sv.%)

Edinburgh: Scott Reid (7GP 6.14GAA 85.9sv.%)

Absentees

Stingrays: Full Strength

Braehead: Full Strength

Edinburgh: Daniel Madsen (doubt; leg ligament), Neil Hay (ankle)

Predictions

Braehead 4-2 Stingrays

Edinburgh 3-4 Stingrays

Match Highlights: Excel Hull Stingrays 3-3 Cardiff Devils

Rays open season with Devil of a tie

Excel Hull Stingrays 3-3 Cardiff Devils

After 186 long and turbulent days away the Excel Hull Stingrays finally returned to the ice tonight coming back from 3-1 down to tie 3-3 with the Cardiff Devils in Challenge Cup Group B.

The Stingrays were welcomed onto the ice by more than 1000 home fans at an impressively packed Hull Arena but made a quiet, awkward start to the game as a well drilled and match fit Cardiff side, who were without Brad Voth, dominated much of the play in an, at times, scrappy first period.

A number of penalties were handed out to both sides before Craig Mitchell's second of the game proved costly for the Stingrays as the Devils pressure finally paid off with Tylor Michel netting the only goal of the period on the powerplay.

While threatening and undoubtedly hard working going forward, it was only on the powerplay that the Devils looked truly threatening. Nevertheless, it was largely thanks to Stingrays new keeper Christian Boucher that Cardiff were not further ahead particularly after pressure on the powerplay, the Ontario native absorbing shot after shot, eventually accumulating a man of the match worthy 23 first period saves.

Playing a solid road game Cardiff continued their slight superiority over the home side in the second thanks to their continued dogged determination going forward and, although the Rays gradually improved as the game went on, the Devils netted again after 7 minutes, this time through Phil Hill who pounced after some poor defensive positional play.

In response, the home side then netted their first of the year less than two minutes later. In an impressive first showing for the club, newly installed captain Kurtis Dulle picked out a pin point defence splitting pass to put debutant Finn Matti Uusivirta through on a breakaway for his first in a Rays jersey and the clubs first of the year.

That only served to make an already hard working Devils side more determined and just before the halfway point of the game Jon Pelle somewhat deservedly added the Devils third and his tenth goal of the year.

The turning point of the game then quickly followed as a scrum in front Boucher - in which defenceman Jozef Sladok grabbed Devils scorer Pelle - saw Cardiff tough guy Justin Sawyer, who was presumably coming in to protect his smaller, more skilled team mate, receive a 5+game for sucker punching 6'5 Kris Grundmanis in what was probably a case of mistaken identity of the similarly sized Slovakian Sladok.

Mistaken or not, the gloved punch cross shove knocked the Latvian to the ground and into Bouchers crease leaving referee Andy Carson no option but to hand out a match changing game penalty.

Minus a defenceman, the Devils remained relatively solid and closed out the second period happy with a two goal lead but naturally looking to add more.

Two goals down, the Stingrays needed a big period both offensively and defensively to salvage anything from a game they had failed to provide that cutting edge in, despite working hard to create chances.

That determined style of play then paid off after 48 minutes. Tireless Stingrays forechecking saw a Devils mistake give the puck to returning Brit Ryan Lake in the slot, who shot low through Stevie Lyle's five hole to evoke memories and a remarkably similar celebration to the goal he scored in his last season of hockey in the 05/06 EPL Cup Final.

That goal revitalised Sylvain Cloutier's side and it would be Cloutier himself that would score a scrappy game tying goal less than 120 seconds later on a delayed penalty and, although his side hit the post late late on, the sizeable home crowd went happy with a point in an even game that the Devils may have been disappointed to draw.

It was an encouraging first showing from the Stingrays, however, as perhaps expected, the whole team appeared a little rusty- in particular Jason Silverthon who was late in to the week long training camp - and Cloutier will be the first to admit that there is still work to be done before the Rays are the finished article.

Of course, for many in attendance the important thing was not the result but the fact that their team is back on the ice at all.

Next weekend the Stingrays are without a home fixture as they travel to Scotland for a Scottish double header with fixtures in Braehead, against the newly formed Clan, on Saturday and Edinburgh on Sunday.

Rays rating: 6
Stingray goalscorers: Matti Uusivirta, Sylvain Cloutier, Ryan Lake
Cardiff goalscorers: Phil Hill, Tylor Michel, Jon Pelle
SOG: 29-46
PIM: 16-43
Stingrays FBB Three Stars: 1: Christian Boucher (46 shots, 3 goals against), 2: Kurtis Dulle (0+1), 3: Lee Mitchell (0+1)