Good start vital for Stingrays - Dulle

Stingrays go into the Elite League clash in South Wales buoyed by a 3-2 overtime victory last Sunday at home to leaders Belfast Giants.

But they come up against a Cardiff side pushing hard to break into the top four having lost just once in 13 matches and who remain unbeaten at home in the league thanks, in part, to the intimidating atmosphere generated at their small Cardiff Bay Arena.

Dulle believes tonight's televised clash gives Hull the chance to prove they can mix it with the top sides on a regular basis, but stresses they need to be mentally focussed in order to take any points out of the game – something he admits was lacking when they were hammered 7-0 at Sheffield Steelers last week.

"It is a tough rink, it's a small ice and it is intimidating because their fans are loud and as a team they come hard at you," said the 31-year-old defenceman, part of the Hull team beaten 7-4 in Cardiff in the Challenge Cup last month.

"But we've played there now and we know what it's like, it's fast and you have to make quick plays.

"We've changed our systems to adapt to that and it's up to us mentally to make sure we execute the stuff we've worked on because it's a big game.

"We've got to be ready to go from the off because the first 10 minutes or so will set the tone.

"We went into Sheffield and we weren't ready to go and you can see what happened as a result. But we came back from that with a win over Belfast."

Hull were boosted ahead of their trip to Cardiff when the equipment belonging to former NHL defenceman Drew Bannister finally arrived in the UK yesterday.

The 36-year-old – who joined Hull last week – has been unable to train since arriving in England on Tuesday.

Player-coach Sylvain Cloutier said: ""It's good news. It's a relief for us but more importantly it's a relief for Drew and his family because family comes first. The last few days haven't been easy for him, his wife and his baby daughter.

"Ideally we would have wanted him on the ice training with us but he is an experienced guy and they find ways to get through these situations and I am sure he will be fine.

"He is an 18-year pro and has been playing at the top level for most of his career so I am not too worried. I am looking forward to having him in the line-up."