Last eight spot would be ‘great achievement’ for Stingrays

A win at Cardiff Devils on Thursday night would ensure Hull reach the last eight at the expense of their hosts, something not many people would have predicted at the start of the competition.

A 7-5 victory over Cardiff in the competition earlier in the season has put the East Yorkshire club into position to progress alongside Coventry Blaze, Nottingham Panthers and Sheffield Steelers, who last night comfortably moved to the top of Group B with a 7-2 home win over Coventry.

“It’s the biggest game of the season so far for us,” said Cloutier.

“You look at this group we are in and we are by far the smallest club in there – nobody will have given us much chance.

“The other four teams are in among the league’s so-called big five, they all have far more resources than we do, so to make it out of that group would be a great achievement.”

Stingrays’ hopes of progression were helped by Coventry’s two wins over Cardiff in Group B at the weekend, the second of which was marred by fighting which flared up after the final buzzer.

As a result of an Elite League subsequent disciplinary review, Cardiff will host Hull without two influential players in Mas Birbraer and Devin Didiomete.

Birbraer starts an eight-game ban after an automatic five-match ban for a check to the head during Sunday’s game was upheld. He was also handed a further three-game suspension for leaving the dressing room to join an altercation which after already being thrown out of the game.

Didiomete has been handed a three-game ban after he also returned to join the altercation on the ice having already been escorted off the playing surface.

But despite being without two of their key players, player-coach Cloutier believes it will be no easier for his team once they arrive after their six-hour coach journey in South Wales.

“Teams who are left-short-handed, for whatever reason, generally step up their game. It’s between us and them who goes through and they will want to go through as much as we do.

“We can’t go in there thinking it’s going to be any easier - if we do that, we’ll end up getting beat. It’s always tough down there and this time will be no different.”

Cloutier said he would prefer it if his team avoided a similar start to Saturday night’s home encounter with Fife Flyers when they found themselves 2-0 down inside seven minutes. Hull did come back to take two vital points in a 5-4 victory against their Gardiner Conference rivals and although that fighting quality is one which impresses Cloutier, he knows they won’t get away with it every time.

“We certainly can’t afford a similar start in Cardiff – they will punish you hard, particularly down there,” he added.

“It was good to see us come back against Fife but we can’t do that all the time. We need to build a lead and make sure we can then hold onto it instead of chasing the game.”

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