Stingrays reach ten against depleted Capitals

Excel Hull Stingrays 10-2 Edinburgh Capitals

The Excel Hull Stingrays tonight put ten past a thoroughly depleted Edinburgh Capitals side that lost 18-1 in Sheffield last night, with the Scottish side eventually losing out by eight goals.

The Caps entered the game with Martin Cingel, Nick Fanto and Jeff Hutchins as their lone imports and with young Scot Craig Holland between the pipes, while the Stingrays were once again without Lee Mitchell (knee) and Matty Davies, who is rumoured to have walked out on the team after being demoted to the third line in Wednesday nights shootout win over Dundee.

As expected, given their stronger roster on paper, the Stingrays got off to be better start pressurising Edinburgh for large portions of the first period, as they would continue to do right throughout the game.

The pressure on rookie keeper Holland eventually told as Man of the Match Lee Esders, who last year bagged 18 points in 56 games but to this point had just two points in 33 games this season, gratefully netted a one timer at 5.43 on a feed from Slovak Jozef Sladok, who put in another encouraging performance in the forward role.

The Stingrays doubled their lead through Jason Silverthorn's 100th Elite League goal less than two minutes later as the Canadian jinked with the puck behind the net before wrapping around to slot home having picked up Konstantin Kalmikov's wide drive.

Sladok then claimed his second point of the night, rounding off the first period scoring with a wrist shot past an unsighted Holland as the Stingrays put the result almost certainly beyond doubt.

The Caps, whose young Brits and trio of imports worked hard all night long, grabbed an early second period goal through Jeff Hutchins as they had done 24 hours earlier in Sheffield, the EIHL veteran finishing after a nice centred pass from impressive import rookie Fanto.

Two speculative shots from the blueline four minutes apart from Craig Mitchell and Drew Bannister then gave the Rays a three and then four goal lead at 5-1 thanks to their first and second goals of the year respectively, ending the few Caps hopes for a result.

A Matti Uusivirta tripping penalty then sparked a trio of goals. First, Konstantin Kalmikov burst through the middle shorthanded for Jason Silverthorn to bundle the puck home and then Jereme Tendler gave the Rays a 7-1 lead with his seventh shorty of the year and 29th overall 18 seconds later.

The Caps Jordan Steel then completed a busy two minutes, wonderfully dekeing a Stingrays defenceman prior to firing in off the crossbar past Christian Boucher.

That would be the Caps final goal of the night however, as Matti Uusivirta netted the goal he had been visibly searching for all night with a scrappy poke home.

With the result not in question both sides changed starting netminder heading into the final stanza as Boucher made way for backup Andrew Jaszczyk and former Sheffield Steelers number two Brandon Stone replaced Holland in the Caps net.

Jaszczyk would stand tall and stop all that was thrown at him in the final period, while Stones would perform well allowing two goals on 12 shots as the Stingrays completed their rout.

The first of those two goals would come from the stick of Esders, who netted his second of the night on a pass from Ryan Lake after being left all alone right in front of Stones.

Ben Lowe would complete the scoreline at 10-2 and force the loudest cheer of the night with his first ever professional goal and point, in a well taken goal with just two minutes remaining in the game.

Having professionally dispatched a continually hard working Capitals side - who deservedly received a heart-warming round of applause at the end of the sixty minutes from home fans - the Stingrays now face a Nottingham side in tatters after losing 7-2 to Belfast on Saturday night before heading back home to take on Cardiff, who finally had their 22 game winning streak ended tonight in a shootout in Dundee, on Sunday night.

FBB Rating

7

Three Stars

1- Lee Esders (2+0)

2- Jozef Sladok (1+1)

3- Ben Lowe (1+0)

EIHL Gamesheet

LINK

Match Highlights: Excel Hull Stingrays 2-1 Dundee Stars

Coburn and Tendler shoot Stingrays past Stars

Excel Hull Stingrays 2-1 Dundee Stars (After Penalty Shots)

In a less than vintage performance the Excel Hull Stingrays tonight squeaked past a hard-working Dundee Stars side in a shootout thanks to penalty shots from Jereme Tendler and Andrew Coburn after Tendler's second period goal had earlier levelled John Dolan and the Stars opener.

Without Aivars Gaisins (shoulder), Lee Mitchell (knee) and later Matty Davies, the Stingrays came out flat-footed in comparison to an energised Stars line-up, surprising given they had travelled the 200 odd miles to Hull Arena, and despite both sides largely failing to impress going forward in a fairly dull first period it was the Stars who would opened the scoring.

Having beating Stingrays defenceman Kurtis Dulle to a puck on his own blueline Stars grinder A J Maclean raced in on netminder Christian Boucher two-on-one before setting up Scot John Dolan at the backdoor to open the scoring on 12.15.

Neither side looked dangerous on the powerplay in opening stanza, but in one of the few highlights of the second period Jereme Tendler bagged his 28th goal of the year, one timing the puck home past former Stingrays keeper Ladislav Kurdna from his familiar back post spot on the powerplay.

After a flat, uninspiring opening from the home side they finally got their game together in the third firing 11 shots on Kurdna in an end-to-end period however, other than a sublime double deke from Jason Silverthorn, who eventually couldn't quite squeeze the puck across the line after taking on three Stars, the Czech netminder was rarely stretched beyond his means and the game carried over into overtime at one-a-piece.

With both sides battling for the extra point and the all important victory, it was the Rays who came out strongly, seemingly having turned a corner at the beginning of the third. Nevertheless, despite penning the Stars in their own zone for much of the extra period, firing seven shots on Kurdna, they couldn't force the winner, which would now be decided by penalty shots.

Dan Ceman's side started well in the shootout, Brent Hughes pulling Boucher perfectly out of position to backhand the puck in , however, Tendler's unfashionable five hole finish, which trickled home, and Ceman's miss, gave Coburn, who is now very much the in form Stingray, the chance to put his side in the driving seat.

A beautiful, clutch finish by the Canadian rookie gave keeper Boucher the chance to round off the game with a save on Jay Latulippe, which he duly did, giving the Rays a win which puts them just four points behind Braehead with four games in hand.

On Sunday the Stingrays face a depleted Edinburgh Capitals side that has seen the majority of its imports depart in the last month. Slovakian captain Martin Cingel, rookie Nick Fanto and Elite League veteran Jeff Hutchins is all that remains of the cash strapped import line up but nevertheless, with a roster stacked with British youngsters willing to make their mark on the EIHL, the Stingrays needn't take them lightly, particularly as they are struggling for goals at present having scored just six in their last four games.

Rays Rating

5.5

FBB Three Stars

1- Andrew Coburn (0+0)

2- Christian Boucher (33 shots, 1 goal against)

3- Jozef Sladok (0+0)

Gamesheet
LINK

Match Highlights: Excel Hull Stingrays 0-3 Nottingham Panthers

Match Highlights: Braehead Clan 4-5 Excel Hull Stingrays

Panthers' special teams pounce to shut out Stingrays

Excel Hull Stingrays 0-3 Nottingham Panthers

The Excel Hull Stingrays were tonight shut out by the Nottingham Panthers as three special teams goals, two on the powerplay and one four-on-four, helped Corey Neilson's side to their first win of the weekend at the third attempt on Rick Strachan's return to Hull.

In front of a bumper crowd at the Hull Arena, the Stingrays came out with real purpose and determination in a frantic opening five minutes. It took the Rays just seconds to craft their first chance, a two-on-one which Nottingham netminder Craig Kowalski foiled, before a mix up between the Panthers keeper and one of his defencemen created another chance the home side would fail to take early on.

Neilson's men were really struggling to match the intensity of the Stingrays with this their third game in three days, but the longer the home side took to net their opening goal the harder their task would become.

That proved to be exactly the case as a wonderful spin move from forward Billy Ryan spawned the games opening goal against the run of play four-on-four, five minutes in. Having eased into the game thanks to two powerplay opportunities given to them by the Stingrays indiscipline, the Panthers were up and running and beginning to show what they were capable of.

Away from the opener, the games first real talking point came nearly ten minutes into the game as Matti Uusivirta upended Jade Galbraith on the blueline away from the puck. With the skilled forward down on the ice, Guillaume Lepine stepped in to protect his team mate, only for Jozef Sladok to quickly step up to the plate in place of Uusivirta for the Stingrays.

The pair traded punches in another lengthy bout for the Stingrays Slovakian before nearly two minutes later Corey Neilson opened his sides lead up to two goals on a five-on-three which he rifled home with the aid of a wicked deflection.

Much like the first period, the visitors absorbed more Stingrays pressure at the beginning of the second, although they appeared happy to do so as the Rays struggled offensively with a Jade Galbraith breakaway and Drew Bannister clearance off the line the closest they came to netting a crucial third.

Their third goal would come though, albeit in the third period, as former NHLer Jeff Hereema picked up a loose puck on the powerplay to fire home past Boucher through a crowded crease and settle the score at 3-0 in the Panthers favour.

While the Stingrays tried hard to muster some offence, they failed to capitalise on six powerplay opportunities as well as a number of chances created thanks to their quick start. Meanwhile, the Panthers play on the man advantage proved to be the difference as they converted two of eight attempts before they simply shut the door on the Stingrays in hope of claiming three points from a three game weekend, with Kowalski in good form stopping 33 shots.

Having beaten Braehead last night and put in a good 60 minutes work against Nottingham tonight, the Stingrays can move on to Wednesday's fixture against Dundee safe in the knowledge that their push for sixth spot is still on with just six points separating them from the Clan, cruicially with five games in hand.

FBB Rating

6

FBB Three Stars

1- Andrew Coburn (0+0)

2- Kurtis Dulle (0+0)

3- Drew Bannister (0+0)

Gamesheet
LINK

Tendler double helps Rays to win in Scotland

Braehead Clan 4-5 Excel Hull Stingrays

A Jereme Tendler double tonight helped the Excel Hull Stingrays gain revenge over the Braehead Clan for the 6-2 defeat they suffered in Glasgow on the opening weekend of the year, with the Canadian's pair giving the Rays a 5-4 win north of the border.

Without just Lee Mitchell on the sidelines the Rays came out strongly having suffered defeat in their only other game of 2011 last weekend in Belfast, opening the scoring through Jereme Tendler just 150 seconds in.

Jordan Krestanovich would reply for the Clan in the second period only for Tendler to give his side the lead six minutes and 31 seconds into the third with his sixth shorthanded goal of the year.

However, that marker was cancelled out by Ryan Campbell, who tied the scores at two 13 minutes 42 seconds into the second.

Once again though the Stingrays opened the period well, player-coach Sylvain Cloutier netting the only powerplay goal of the game in ten attempts early in the third, before Andrew Coburn continued a run that has seen him score eight goals in ten games to give the Rays a 4-2 lead after 45 minutes.

The home side once again came back with Campbell hitting the twine for his second of the game but Trevor Read's goal, which gave Drew Bannister his third assist of the game, all but sealed the game in favour of the Rays on 48 minutes.

Dominic Noel would make it a one goal game at 5-4 with less than eight minutes to go but the Rays did enough to hang on for their third win in four over the Clan and just their second win of the season in Scotland.

Cloutier's side could potentially complete a four point weekend tomorrow night against the Nottingham Panthers (6pm). The new side of former Stingrays coach Rick Strachan lost a barnstormer in Cardiff tonight, going down 6-5 having held leads at 4-3 and 5-4, they will be particularly eager to make sure this isn't a winless weekend.

Strachan set for Hull return

While the Excel Hull Stingrays former head coach Rick Strachan has not made a sensational return to the club, he will set foot in the Hull Arena for the first time in nearly two years as he brings his new Nottingham Panthers side to East Yorkshire this Sunday.

 Copyright Nottingham Panthers

The 47 year old, who left the Rays by mutual consent in in April 2008, was named bench coach of the Panthers by player-head coach Corey Neilson a week ago, replacing the outgoing Davey Graham, who has seemingly taken the fall for the club's poor form in recent weeks.

That poor run saw them lose four from six at the tail end of 2010, including a pair of post-Christmas defeats to fierce rivals Sheffield, and, with both their coaching and defence coming under particular flak, Strachan has now been drafted in to shore up the defensive side of one of the most offensive bluelines in the league.

Thus far his appointment has gone well with the Panthers going two for two, even if they have seeped a total of nine goals in the 6-5 shootout win over Dundee and emphatic 11-4 victory over bottom side Newcastle.

Meanwhile, the Stingrays, who have just Andrew Jaszczyk, Lee Esders and Lee Mitchell remaining from the Strachan era, face a big weekend of their own as they continue to chase sixth place.

Having closed the gap to sixth placed Braehead to just a couple of points last weekend, the Rays face the Clan in Scotland on Saturday hoping to once again cut the deficit, which has since grown to eight points.

Significantly Sylvain Cloutier's side have played six fewer games than Bruce Richardson's team this season and the Rays lead teams' series having beaten the Clan twice in three games, however, the Scots themselves are closing in on fifth placed Coventry after turning a corner with wins over the Blaze themselves, Nottingham and Edinburgh twice in their last four outings, and they will be eager to level series.

Sunday's game (6pm, Hull Arena) sees Strachan and the Panthers return for revenge having lost in a shootout in their last meeting with the Stingrays at the NIC.

Tendler is December FBB Player of the Month

Jereme Tendler, the Excel Hull Stingrays leading goal and point scorer, has been named the F Block Blog Player of the Month for December, deservedly claiming  the award on count back just ahead of new signing Drew Bannister, after the pair both ended the month on 30 points.

In a very tight month, Tendler, who leads the club in goals and points, scooped a first star in the month's first game, an emphatic win 7-4 win over Sheffield in which he bagged a hat-trick, adding a crucial game tying shorthanded goal and a second star two weeks later in a 4-2 win against Braehead. He claims the award on count back, given his higher score in November.

Player-assistant coach Bannister, who missed out due to Tendler's 10 point haul in November, has helped transform the Stingrays form in December, recording one goal and five assists while bringing out the very best in the club's once shaky defence. The veteran was awarded the FBB first star in the Rays 3-2 overtime loss to Newcastle on the 28th, having shown his class at the back end, before claiming the second star with an assist 24 hours later in the 6-1 win over Dundee at the Hull Arena.

In joint third place for the month came Konstantin Kalmikov and Trevor Read, who both thoroughly improved their play in the last month of the year having started the season out of form. Surprisingly, the previously out of favour pair sit second in scoring their respective positions.

Giants shut down Stingrays

Belfast Giants 2-0 Excel Hull Stingrays

A Stephen Murphy shut out and goals from Mark Garside and Simon Lambert tonight completed the Excel Hull Stingrays festive period and began the new year in defeat as they were outshot 44-21, as they went down by two goals to nil to league leaders the Belfast Giants in Northern Ireland.