No rest for Stingrays as Panthers prepare harsh welcome

Hull Stingrays' player-coach Omar Pacha. Picture: Arthur Foster.

Enjoying games in hand on your rivals is one thing, but making them count is another and, with four games in eight days starting with tonight’s visit to Nottingham Panthers, it is a hectic time for the East Yorkshire club.

Lifted by Sunday night’s 4-3 win over Dundee Stars after coming from behind to force a shoot-out, Hull head to the National Ice Centre in confident mood.

The win over Dundee was made even better by a 5-3 win for Nottingham at play-off rivals Edinburgh Capitals on the same night, the results combining to send Hull two points clear of their Scottish rivals with two games in hand.

A weekend in Scotland with visits to Fife Flyers and Dundee awaits the Stingrays, before Edinburgh arrive in Hull on Tuesday night.

Hull’s only previous visit to Nottingham this season resulted in a stunning 6-1 victory in a game that doubled up as a League and Challenge Cup fixture.

How Pacha would like a repeat of that night, although given Nottingham’s already fading title hopes being effectively over for another year, he doesn’t expect Corey Neilson’s team to be in welcoming mood.

“We have played well in the big arenas this season, the boys like playing in them, and it will be another good challenge for us,” said Pacha.

“There is a better mood about the place and the guys have a smile on their faces after what was a massive win over Dundee. Nottingham had a big win over Edinburgh too so they will be looking to feed off that.

“It is a big week for us and hopefully by next Tuesday night we will be in a stronger position.”

Pacha will urge his players to tighten up defensively, knowing that the Panthers’ firepower is among the most potent in making opponents pay for any defensive lapses, particularly with former forward Guillaume Doucet in their line-up.

“We need to play hard, use our speed and when we create any chances we need to exploit that,” added Pacha.

“If we can get some results in these four games we will have a much higher chance of making the play-offs.

“We don’t want to postpone the job today for tomorrow - we want to get it done as soon as possible, we don’t want to be scrambling around at the end.”