Owners Blaze check in on Hull

ATTENTION very much focuses on Hull this weekend when Sylvain Cloutier's Stingrays host their 'owners' in the Elite League.

The ownership team behind 2009-10 regular season champions Coventry Blaze stepped in to save Hull in August after former owners Sue and Mike Pack were forced to admit they couldn't fund the club any further.

And after the new owners branded last Sunday's 9-4 defeat at bottom club Dundee Stars as "unacceptable", Stingrays responded well on Wednesday by snapping a six-game losing streak with a 5-4 home win over the Braehead Clan.

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They will be keen to impress their employers further on Saturday night, although Blaze coach Paul Thompson brings his team into Hull on the back of a club-record 11 straight league wins.

"It's going to be a real challenge for us," said Cloutier.

"They are the hottest team in the league right now, but I've been trying to motivate the guys by saying that their boss will be watching them on the other bench.

Listen to Hull Stingrays (and Coventry) co-owner Andy Buxton talk about his hopes form Cloutier's team on the latest addition of HockeyTalk HERE

"They'll want to prove that they have what it takes to be here.

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"The players responded in the way I wanted to see on Wednesday but the big difference for us was the fact we had three lines rolling out there for the first time in a while.

"They are the lines that I want to put out there every night but, because of injury, haven't been able to."

Cloutier will be without forwards Jason Silverthron (concussion) and Ryan Lake for tonight's game, as well as defenceman Craig Mitchell (broken arm). who has still not recovered from a broken arm.

The two sides meet again in Coventry on Sunday in the Challenge Cup. although Hull have already been eliminated having failed to win any of their five group games so far.

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Forward Lee Mitchell, who scored a goal and an assist against Braehead, will face Blaze on home ice but will be rested for the Cup game at the Skydome to give him an extra day to recover ahead of Wednesday night's return to league action at Sheffield Steelers.

COVENTRY coach Paul Thompson has heaped praise on his Hull counter-part Sylvain Cloutier after a difficult start to his second season in charge in East Yorkshire.

Thompson - part of the Blaze ownership team which took over Stingrays in August - had Cloutier as an Elite League title-winning captain for two seasons at the Skydome Arena before the 36-year-old centre returned to North America to take up his first coaching role with Corpus Christi IceRays in the CHL.

Cloutier then returned to the UK in the summer of 2009 after landing the job at Hull under former owners Mike and Sue Pack.

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He was kept on by the new ownership team - no doubt aware of his leaership qualities - and despite a difficult start which culminated in a dismal 9-4 thrashing at the hands of bottom club Dundee Stars last week - resulting in co-owner Mike Cowley branding the result as "unacceptable" - GB head coach Paul Thompson backs Cloutier to turn things around.

"Being a player-coach is a difficult thing - far tougher than what I do," said Thompson.

"I think people forget that Sylvain basically had to put a side together in just one month effectively. He's also had bad luck with injuries. I think he's had the toughest job of all this summer, I really do.

"There are areas where he is looking to strengthen I'm sure but he is in sole control of that team. We are fully behind Sylvain we wouldn't have employed him otherwise.

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"What we want Clouts to do is win his own 'mini-league' if you like. There's been a losing mentality up in Hull for way too many years and changing that is not going to happen overnight but we're determined to build the product up both on and off the ice."

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