Cloutier relaxed about Stingrays’ start

The East Yorkshire club visit Nottingham Panthers tonight at the National Ice Arena for their latest Elite League test in a match which will double up as a Challenge Cup fixture.

Player-coach Corey Neilson’s side are once again fancied by many for the regular season title and are so far unbeaten in the league, although they did crash 4-1 at Cardiff in the Cup on the opening weekend of the season.

Hull have been handed a tough set of opening fixtures, with Belfast, Sheffield, Coventry having already been faced before tonight’s match-up with the Panthers - all four teams regarded as near-certainties for a top five place come the end of the regular season.

Despite shipping 20 goals in their opening four league games, player-coach Cloutier is pleased with his team’s performances which has seen them comfortably compete with their more highly-regarded opponents, before lapses of concentration - particularly in the third period - have allowed goals to be conceded in quick succession, leaving little chance of a comeback.

They picked up a first point of the season in a 3-2 overtime loss at home to Coventry on Sunday, but are still searching for that elusive win.

“If we were actually playing badly I would be worried,” said Cloutier.

“If you had asked me if I was worried at this stage last year, or the year before that, then I would have been - but not with this bunch of players. This group don’t quit, they play right to the end. In the past that was a problem - particularly during my first season here.

“We just need to make sure we cut out these little lapses. The game against the Steelers would have been a good one for us to win. We were right in it up until the middle of the third, all of a sudden they score two goals and it was too much to come back from - it was the same against Coventry at their place.”

Hull face a Nottingham side in a rich vein of form - as is so often the case with them in the early stages of a season. They have scored 25 goals in their four league games, while also producing a stunning 10-1 thrashing of Coventry in the Challenge Cup.

The offensive threat posed by the Panthers is emphasised by the fact that the top five goal-scoring positions in the Elite League are occupied by their players. David-Alexandre Beauregard leads the way with nine goals, closely followed by David Clarke on eight.

“We know they’re a good team, they are always a good team, and they always come close to winning that league title and they’ll be going for it again this year,” added Cloutier.

“They always starts the season well and we know we’re going to have to pretty much play the perfect game to get something out of the game.”