Rival coach Finnerty backs Stingrays to move on up

RYAN Finnerty believes rivals Hull Stingrays’ current status as the Elite League’s bottom club doesn’t reflect their true quality.

The Sheffield Steelers’ head coach was relieved to come away from Hull Arena on Sunday night with both points having beaten the hosts 3-1 – their fourth straight win over their Yorkshire rivals this season.

While third-placed Steelers will spend the remaining 11 weeks of the regular season chasing down the nine-point advantage leaders Nottingham Panthers currently have over them, Hull will be fighting to secure a lower-end play-off spot in an attempt to repeat last season’s feat of reaching the finals weekend.

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That was made possible by Hull’s stunning play-off quarter-final victory over the Steelers, although carbon copy successes have proved elusive so far this season.

“Make no mistake, Hull are a good hockey club, they’ve come on tons and where they are in the standings isn’t indicative of how good they are,” said Finnerty.

“They are well-coached, well-drilled and they create a lot of offence. I’ve got a lot of respect for that club. They play hard, are chippy and like the physical battle.

“This team has changed and they are on the up and up. The old Hull Stingrays are gone – this is a new breed and their rink is not somewhere you go to expecting to get points because it’s always so tough there.

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“They should get the support they got (on Sunday) every night because it’s a fun team to watch. It’s one of the loudest rinks around when it’s packed, I’ve got a headache every time I leave there.”

Hull effectively have two routes into the play-offs. First, they can win the northern Gardiner Conference which, in reality, would give them the second overall seeding going into the post-season and, in theory, a more favourable draw to give them a chance to repeat last season’s stunning run to the play-off finals weekend in Nottingham.

Failing that, they can assure themselves a place by the more traditional route of finishing in the top eight of the overall league standings.

Currently, they lie bottom in 10th place, but only four points adrift of eighth-placed team Dundee Stars.

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Cloutier’s team have 24 games left in order to book their place in the play-offs and, with 15 of those coming against teams from their own Conference, the odds look favourable – particularly given their recent form and performances.

All but three of their 21 points this season have come against Gardiner Conference opposition. The picture should become a whole lot clearer by the end of this month for Cloutier and his players, with six of Hull’s next seven games against Scottish opposition, starting with the visit of Edinburgh Capitals’ to East Yorkshire this Saturday (6.30pm).