Stingrays beaten in first taste of Gardiner Conference

Dundee Stars 2-3 Hull Stingrays

The Hull Stingrays were tonight beaten in their first league fixture of the season, going down 3-2 to Gardiner Conference rivals the Dundee Stars with former Stingray Jack Watkins bagging a third period game winning goal.

Eager to shake off their 'bus-legs', the Stingrays outshot the Stars 17-9 in the first period only for an early Sami Ryhanen powerplay goal to give the home side the lead heading into the second.

Cale Tanaka continued his impressive start to the season 3.47 into an even second period with his second goal in two games only for Dundee's Pat Bowen to peg the Rays back less than two minutes later with the Stars second powerplay marker.

Once again, the Stingrays heavily outshot the Stars 17-9 in the final stanza only for Watkins to pop up four minutes in and record his first goal of the season - having notched just one in 45 games with the Rays last term.

Tomas Valecko hit back with what turned out to be a consolation goal - continuing his record of scoring in all three Stingrays games this season - but the Rays couldn't find the leveler despite firing 43 shots on Stars netminder Nic Riopel, faltering to a 3-2 loss in their first league fixture of the campaign.

Match Highlights: Hull Stingrays 7-5 Cardiff Devils (CC)

Tendler bags hat-trick on return to lead Stingrays to first win of 12/13

Hull Stingrays 7-5 Cardiff Devils (CC)

A hat-trick from returning forward Jereme Tendler and a second consecutive 40+ save night from keeper Ben Bowns tonight lead the Rapid Solicitors Hull Stingrays to their first victory of the 12/13 campaign by way of a 7-5 Challenege Cup triumph over the Cardiff Devils.

The home side got off to a great start, utility man Ryan Hand - pigeon-holed as an enforcer before arriving in Hull  - beating Phil Osaer for his first of the season after just 47 seconds for a 1-0 lead.

The Devils two big offensive signings of the summer, Mac Faulkner and Chris Blight, then bagged two goals in three minutes before Cale Tanaka followed Hand's example and netted his first of the year with a lovely solo move and wraparound goal to level the scores at two.

Faulkner restored the Devils lead less than 40 seconds later before Tendler - who was returning to action after sustaining a wrist injury against the Sheffield Steeldogs in pre-season - bagged an eight minute natural hat-trick with two powerplay goals and a shorthanded goal early in the third. Jason Silverthorn then added his second in two games to give the Rays a 6-3 lead against his former side on 48.36.

Gerad Adams' side came back strongly thoufh and Faulkner completed a hat-trick of his down 10.43 into the third before Max Birbraer edged the Devils back into it 13 seconds later to bring the scoreline to 6-5.

The home side weren't about to throw away their first victory of the 12/13 campaign however, and Slovakian defenceman Tomas Valecko sealed with victory with a shorthanded empty net goal on 59.21.

Match Highlights: Hull Stingrays 2-4 Nottingham Panthers (CC)

Heartbreak for Stingrays as Panthers leave it late in season opener

Hull Stingrays 2-4 Nottingham Panthers (CC)

The Hull Stingrays kicked off their 10th Anniversary campaign with a heartbreaking 4-2 Challenge Cup loss to the Nottingham Panthers at the Hull Arena in front of a 1000+ strong crowd.

Without Jereme Tendler (wrist), Shane Lovdahl (VISA) and Andy Ward, the Stingrays started the game with nine imports, while the Panthers were without Brandon Benedict (VISA).

The visitors - in front of a sizable away following - got off to a sloppy start however, receiving three straight minor penalties in the first six minutes from referees Dean Smith and James Kavanagh - in the first dual refereeing system of the season. Although it was Nottingham's David Clarke that was handed the first chance of the game, racing through on goal shorthanded only to be stonewalled by new Stingrays starter Ben Bowns.

The Stingrays struggled to impose themselves through the man advantage all night though and it was the Panthers who opened the scoring - Matt Francis netting on a 3-on-1 after Tomas Valecko was left out of position having rushed forward for a puck in the offensive zone.

Minutes later, Sylvain Cloutier looked to have leveled the scores, scrambling the puck home past Craig Kowalski only for referee Smith to rule out the goal as the Rays player-coach was in the crease when he prodded home.

Content to only be one goal down after one period, the Stingrays got off to a much more confident start in the second period only to fall two goals behind. New Panthers signing Bruce Graham finishing off a lovely team move with Kowalski for the extra skater following a delayed penalty on Jason Silverthorn.

It was then fifth time lucky as far as the Stingrays powerplay was concerned. Tomas Valecko - who was brought in to replace Dmitri Rodin's slapshot from the point - firing one home from the blueline to halve the deficit with his first real shot on the man advantage.

Remarkably, Silverthorn then used the wave of confidence that came from Valecko's opener to waltz through the Panthers defence - after being set up by Chris Sykes - and level the score at two goals apiece less than two minutes later.

Stingrays best period of the play was to follow at the beginning of the third, though they would come up empty. Dominic Osman was first ably denied by Kowalski three minutes in, with Matty Davies going one better - only to be denied by the iron.

Before the home side knew it however, the Panthers had taken control of the final stanza - eventually peppering the net with 23 shots. They ultimately made that pressure count and punished the Stingrays for converting on just one of nine powerplay opportunities - although left it very late to do so.

With less than three minutes remaining on the clock Francis pounced on a big rebound from Bowns - likely his only blemish on the night - to scoop home his second of the game and land a fatal blow to the Stingrays hopes of claiming a much deserved, hard fought point.

Pat Gavilan then sealed the deal as the Rays attempted to chase the tie, scoring the Panthers fourth and final goal of the night.

The Stingrays will undoubtedly be disappointed by the result and way in which the Panthers - who it is fair to say probably deserved the two points on the balance of play - nicked the two goals and two points so close to the end.

Nevertheless, there are a lot of positives to take from the night - given that few gave the Stingrays any chance of competing with the Panthers and the rest of the Erhardt Conference this coming season.

The brilliant performance of Bowns between the pipes will have convinced any doubters that he is well worth an EIHL starting spot and that he can comfortably fill the skates of predecessor Christian Boucher. His confident display gave the Stingrays a chance of the points that they ultimately couldn't quite take.

Cale Tanaka's gutsy, never-say-die approach and performance on the night proved that he is also up to the task of playing in the Elite League - despite doubts having only played in the French Second Division and Canadian senior leagues. While his first touch and finishing were rusty, he continually fought for the puck, often successfully, both defensively and offensively.

Indeed, the trio of Tanaka, Matty Davies and Janis Ozolins often caused problems with their speed and tenacity, and will certainly cause problems going forward.

On defence, Ryan Hand played a simple but focused game and showed that he won't be as easily coaxed into a fight as many expected, while Scott Robson again defied his age with some solid defensive play when he stepped up alongside Jeff Smith - who himself put in a good shift on his return to the UK.

The result, and the fashion of the defeat, is understandably disappointing but the positives from tonight's 12/13 league debut far outweigh any negatives - particularly with Lovdahl, Tendler and Ward still to come into the squad.

Cloutier's side return to action next Thursday (7.30pm) against the Cardiff Devils before their first league game of the season next Sunday against Gardiner Conference rivals the Dundee Stars in Scotland.

F Block Blog Three Stars

1. Ben Bowns

2. Cale Tanaka

3. Scott Robson

Sting-Blais - Rays add netminder?

The Hull Stingrays look to have completed the signing of Canadian netminder Greg Blais from the English Premier League's Telford Tigers.

Though the surprise addition has yet to be officially confirmed, it is believed that the 32 year old - who appeared in 14 games with the Tigers last season and also doubled up as assistant coach to Tom Watkins - has joined the club to provide injury cover and experience as back-up to starting netminder Ben Bowns.

The Stingrays were in desperate need of an experienced back-up to Bowns. 17 year old Warren Gilfoyle and 18 year old Liam Jackson - both members of the Stingrays NIHL squad - looked to be the only available options heading into the season following the departure of Andy Brummitt this summer, causing concern over the impact of any potential injury to the Stingrays number one.

While Blais may not be of the quality of Christian Boucher or many of the Stingrays starters before him - having iced in the French second and third division, Norwegian second division and EPL - the experience he can offer will be invaluable for both Bowns and the Stingrays

The signing brings the Rays - limited to 11 imports on any given match night - to 12 imports. Blais will therefore likely sit out the majority of games - with Gilfoyle or Jackson filling in - unless injury, suspension or otherwise rules out another of the 11 imports, or if Bowns himself picks up an injury.

Ben Bowns

Had the club not signed Blais, a Bowns injury would see the inexperienced Gilfoyle or Jackson thrown into the fray as starter or an outskating import cut and an import netminder brought in at great expense.

But with Blais on the roster, the Rays now have a reliable and relatively cheap but experienced import netminder that can not only help Bowns develop but can also fill in the Brits skates should the unthinkable happen, while retaining 11 other imports

The absence of Shane Lovdahl this weekend due to a delay in the VISA application process means Blais is set to debut as back-up in the Stingrays season opener against the Nottingham Panthers this evening in the Challenge Cup.

Ten years of the Hull Stingrays

Two logos, two coaches, three owners and a brownie

It has been nine long years since the Hull Stingrays were formed in the spring of 2003 by founders Mike and Sue Pack - who were backed by local company Excel Laminating - with the belief that the city still deserved professional ice hockey after the messy collapse of the Hull Thunder before it.

At the time many believed ice hockey in the city had had it's day with the long gone Humberside Hawks and that the predicament the Thunder found itself in was testament to that.

Nine years later and despite the many doubters and pessimists, the Stingrays - thanks to the persistence, determination and hard work of many, many people - are about to enter their tenth season of competitive, professional ice hockey - and seventh in the UK's top flight.

Not that there haven't been bumps along the way.

Often a labour of love, the Packs were forced to withdraw their support of the club in 2010, financially and emotionally drained from the strains of running a professional team for seven years from their Milton Keynes base with limited resources. They left with the club with nothing but thanks, respect and admiration from the Stingrays faithful.

Off-ice, the next two season's under the Coventry Blaze ownership were turbulent with criticism raining down on them almost immediately from most quarters for their dual-ownership of two EIHL clubs.

After the initial euphoria and gratitude at being saved at the very last second died down, doubts that the owners had the Stingrays best interests at heart began to surface - none more so than when the Blaze struggled financially last season.

Nevertheless, on-ice the club has never been in such good health.

A record year in wins, goals and points during 10/11 saw the club finish an EIHL high seventh before a second consecutive seventh place finish last season enabled the club to qualify for their first ever EIHL Playoff Semi-Final and Final Four Weekend.

That came thanks to undoubtedly the club's greatest on-ice achievement to date - a two-legged victory over Yorkshire rivals the Sheffield Steelers in the Playoff Quarter Final - two fixtures that will live-long in the memory of all associated with the club.

Like any club, the Stingrays have gone from the sublime to the ridiculous as far as players are concerned.

The early Ukrianian trend - set by first coach Rick Strachan - came with promise but eventually ended in failure in the physical Elite League with Andrei Nikolaev, Slava Timchenko, Sergiy Kharchenko, Nikolai Ladygin and early fans favourite Evgeny Alipov all standing out at various points, with Dru Burgress the Canadian that stapled it all together for the first three seasons.

Craig Minard and Scott Wray came as two of the club's marquee signings in 04/05, and proved their value to the club before sensationally quitting prior to Christmas. Kevin Young - one of the best offensive defenceman to ice for the club - was surprisingly released in 2007 after sustaining an injury. Paul Cabana on the other hand was signed as a key forward in 07/08, on the condition he could use the club as a stepping stone should a European club come in for him. The German Bundesliga and Finnish Metsis eventually came calling, though in Rob Rankin's single season in gave the club a genuine former ECHLer speed demon and scorer during the same campaign.

Konstantin Kalmikov had two sensational years in Stingrays colours - scoring 54 goals - before momentum on his career petered out. The end of his career in Hull after three seasons, coincided with the signing of the club's latest goalscoring hero Jereme Tendler - who bagged a record 50 in his first season and a further 36 last season to well and truly endear himself to the fanbase.

In the same season rookie sensation Andrew Coburn established himself as one of the best one-season wonders the club has seen, closely followed by Derek Campbell - who departed this summer after scrapping and scoring in equal measure and to equal effect last season. Another of last season's top performers, Jason Silverthorn, is fast becoming one of the club's most professional, reliable and consistent players. Defensive, Kurtis Dulle - who is the offensive threat from the blueline that the Rays have missed since the departures of Minard and Young - is as likable as they come and will surely soon be pushing the Rays recorded for seasons as captain.

In stature, the club's biggest ever signing was undoubtedly that of 36 year old former NHL defenceman Drew Bannister - who played a year in the city before leaving to become player-coach of the Braehead Clan - having played 164 games in 'The Show' between 1996 and 2001.

While Bannister's signing was huge for the club, were there an award for the Hull Stingrays Clubman of the last decade, then it would surely go to Jeff Glowa - who holds the club record in games (298), goals (137), assists (172) and points (309) set between 2004 and 2010. A dedicated professional, Glowa's loyalty, commitment and consistent performances week-in, week-out at such a high level are unchallenged at this point in Stingrays history

Controversy has never been in short supply either, be it Rick Kozak receiving a lengthy ban for his antics in Nottingham before a mysterious release (07/08), James Demone flying home to interview for a job in the Canadian police before being axed by Rick Strachan (08/09) or Marlon Joseph being unceremoniously released after withholding a hand injury from the club having been signed to drop the gloves (08/09). More recently, Curtis Huppe received a ban for launching his stick into the Cardiff Devils bench like a javelin (09/10) and Jereme Tendler was briefly banned last season for inadvertently disgesting a banned substance (11/12).  

The club has had its fair share of dud signings along the way too; Garry Luini, Jonathan Bernier and Simon Rizk some of the names that instantly come to the fore - though there are, without doubt, more.

The tenth installation of the Stingrays will see the club's first ever local owner, Bobby McEwan.

A passionate Scot, who has lived in the city for more than 20 years having twice signed for the Hull based sides, McEwan - Stingrays assistant coach for the last two seasons - has been up against it from the off after only taking control of the club in late July - less than two months ahead of the new season.

It's a cliche but McEwan and player-coach Sylvain Cloutier - who became just the club's second head coach in 2009 - are almost guaranteed a rollercoaster ride, on and off-ice this season. The club's very history is proof enough of that.

With a complete new set of British players on the roster - which includes surefire future Great Britain senior netminder Ben Bowns - a new batch of imports and a smattering of returning ones, the club's aim this season should be a stabilise - on and off ice.

Playoff qualification will be the minimum aim but in an Gardiner Conference that is, for each of the five squads, every bit as tough as the southerly Erhardt Conference even that isn't guaranteed. At this stage, all of the five positions in the Gardiner Conference are up for grabs including that of top spot - despite Braehead Clan being installed as clear favourites.

Whatever the result this season and this weekend - when the Stingrays emerge for the first game of their 10th Anniversary Season against the Nottingham Panthers - after the highs and considerable lows of the last ten years, it seems ice hockey in Hull may have finally found a club to last.

#thisisourhouse

Match Highlights: Stingrays 3-4 Sheffield Steeldogs (Bradfield Brewery Cup - 1st Leg)

Stingrays bounce back to defeat Steeldogs in pre-season

The Hull Stingrays bounced back from a 4-3 first leg home defeat against the Sheffield Steeldogs on Sunday night to lift their second pre-season trophy in two years, claiming the Bradfield Brewery Cup with a 4-1 (7-5 on aggregate) victory over the English Premier League side at Ice Sheffield last night.

Once again, Sylvain Cloutier's side came out strongly, Jereme Tendler scoring six minutes in after a deking the Steeldogs final defenceman to slot home past Russian born Bri Dmitri Zimozdra.

With Kurtis Dulle and Jeff Smith bolstering the Rays D to six strong - as opposed to the four of Sunday night - defensively the Rays looked solid and were breached only once. Edgars Berbris wheeling in and neatly netting past former teammate Ben Bowns following a giveaway from Tomas Valecko to level the scores just two minutes later.

In a fairly scrappy game Cale Tanaka then gave the visitors their second lead of the evening guiding the puck home after a Janis Ozolins shot failed to find the net. Jason Silverthorn then extended the Elite League sides lead to 3-1 with an assist going to youngster Kieran Strangeway - who took a big hit from Steeldogs player-coach Andre Payette for his troubles.

The final scoring of the night came after 24 minutes when 17 year old Sam Towner - who recorded a hat-trick on Saturday night against the Stingrays NIHL side - showed composure to slot home on a Tendler pass  to record his second point of the night.

The main talking point of the final 36 minutes as far as the Stingrays were concerned came early in the third period as Tendler received a slash across the wrist from former Stingrays Pavel Gomenyuk while on an unsuccessful breakaway attempt.

The Stingrays goalscorer sat out the remainder of the game and visited hospital to ensure the slash - which was not penalised by referee Jonny Liptrott - hadn't done any serious damage. Test results, however, revealed that the Canadian's wrist was badly bruised and not broken as first feared.

As far as the game was concerned, the Rays weren't as polished as they likely will be later in the season, however, defensively they looked more assured and offensively clinical with the chances presented to them than perhaps their 11/12 - though it is still pre-season.

Of the win player-coach Cloutier said:

"We were delighted to win as the Steeldogs gave us two very good games. But we're under no illusions. Realistically, pre-season friendlies don't mean anything. After all, we won the P & O Cup last year and everyone suddenly thought we were going to win the league. We just wanted to work on a few things, stay healthy and get ready for Nottingham on Saturday."

Once again, the levels of performance from the young Brits including Strangeway, Towner and Robson was impressive.

While Towner was on a line with Silverthorn and Tendler and put in a man of the match worthy showing, the performances of Strangeway and Scott Robson as a relatively inexperienced defensive pairing will have again been pleasing for Cloutier.

Whether they are ready for a full-shift against the Nottingham Panthers in the Challenge Cup on Saturday remains to be seen and, presumably, depends largely on whether Shane Lovdahl receives his VISA and arrives in time.

The Rays now face an important week of training - with forward Dominic Osman due to fly into the country in the next few days - before they kick off their 10th Anniversary season this weekend.

Mixed fortunes as under strength Stingrays open up pre-season

The Rapid Solicitors Hull Stingrays kicked off their three game pre-season schedule this weekend with mixed but somewhat predictable fortunes - beating their National League 2 affiliate 14-1 on Saturday night before going down 4-3 to English Premier League side Sheffield Steeldogs on Sunday night in the first leg of the Bradfield Brewery Cup.

Without imports Dominic Osman, Shane Lovdahl, Kurtis Dulle, Jeff Smith and Jereme Tendler on Saturday night, Stingrays coach Sylvain Cloutier handed debuts to Ben Bowns, Warren Guilfoyle, Scott Robson, Tomas Valecko, Ryan Hand, Cale Tanaka, Chris Sykes and Janis Ozolins.

The Stingrays led 7-0 after the first period - in what quickly became a training exercise for both sides - thanks in part to an early double from Brit Andy Ward. The EIHL side went on to only net two further goals in the second stanza as Bowns switched his allegiances to backstop the NIHL side for one period in search of a regular test between the pipes.

He returned to the EIHL sides pipes in the final period as Ozolins and Ward helped themselves to hat-tricks and Hand and Tanaka added first and second goals for the club respectively, with the NIHL club notching a deserved goal of their own through Chris Hogarth.

The following night - buoyed by the return of topscorer Jereme Tendler but still minus four imports - the Rays were downed by a skillful, well-drilled Sheffield Steeldogs side that has title aspirations in the EPL and included former Stingrays Derek Campbell, Dmitri Rodin, Andy Hirst and Pavel Gomenyuk.

Having picked off two of the Steeldogs biggest weapons in the summer in netminder Bowns and scoring forward Ozolins as well as Brit Sykes - the Stingrays, who brought in young defenceman Kieran Strangeway, started well. Predictably Latvian Ozolins - who bagged 55 goals in 52 games last season - opened the scoring before Sykes - who will have a big role to play on this season's Stingrays side - doubled the home sides lead minutes into the second period with his first as a Stingray.

The Steeldogs, who have been together for a good part of the summer and were at full strength, then went on to show their superior fitness and familiarity with one another, scoring four unanswered second period goals through Ashley Calvert, Tom Squires (2) and Lloyd Gibson.

Two goals down, the Stingrays replied with a solitary third period goal from Jason Silverthorn but could not level the scores - giving the Steeldogs a 4-3 lead heading into the second leg at Ice Sheffield tomorrow (7.45pm).

While disappointed, the Stingrays shouldn't be too downhearted with the loss to a very strong and well versed Steeldogs side - particularly on the British front.

Down four imports and having had just one full training session, it's a well established fact that the Stingrays British corps this season may not necessarily individually match-up with their opponents and that the Steeldogs are considerably stonger and deeper in this area. Added to that, is the fact that the Rays were missing four keys imports, plus Jereme Tendler - who played having stepped straight off a flight.

Cloutier said he was "happy" at what he called a "warm-up" for the new season:

"It was a great work-out, which I knew it would be. We skated a lot better than we did on Saturday. We have only been together three days and had one practice with eight guys while the Steeldogs have been together all summer. I was really pleased with the two young kids we had on 'D' - I thought Scott Robson and Kieran Strangeway did a great job."

Positives came mainly in through the Stingrays latest additions, with Ozolins showing off his lethal finish and acceleration while recording three points on Sunday, Tanaka showing speed and promise going forward, young Brit Robson performing above expectations and Bowns as solid as expected in net.

The Stingrays will take on the Steeldogs tomorrow night with a revitalised, though not full strength, defence with Jeff Smith set to make his club debut and captain Kurtis Dulle returning for this third season in Stingrays colours - having both arrived in the country today. Cloutier said:

"It will be great to have those two guys in the line-up. They will make our ‘D’ stronger and give us more strength. It will also be good to give Tomas Valecko and Ryan Hand some support. Valecko didn’t even have his own skates this weekend, he borrowed some! That just showed what character he has. Sheffield gave us a good work-out on Sunday and it will be another good test for us at iceSheffield."

American's Dominic Osman and Shane Lovdahl continue to await their VISA clearance though Cloutier is confident they will arrive in time for this weekend's Elite League opener against Nottingham.