Stingrays edged out by Capitals

Assistant coach Curtis Huppe had called on the visitors to ensure they got off to a good start and they did just that when Lee Esders gave Hull a second-minute lead which they held for the rest of the opening period.

Just 19 seconds into the second period, the prolific Owen Fussey levelled but it was 10 minutes later when Edinburgh took hold of the game with three goals in as many minutes.

The first came from Michael Beynon at 31.19, before Mark Garside made it 3-1 at 32.15. It got worse for Hull at 34.45 when Sean Perkins made it 4-1 with a shorthanded strike, although Konstantin kalmikov made it 30 for the season at 36.49 to give the visitors hope.

James Hutchinson then discovered the perfect moment to come up with his first goal of the season to make it 4-3 at 43.42 before Esders grabbed his second of the night to level matters and, eventually, force overtime.

But, just 42 seconds into overtime, Mark Smith struck to earn the extra point for Edinburgh, although the point gained by Hull saw them close the gap on second-bottom Sheffield Steelers to nine points although there are only 10 games of the regular season now remaining.

"I will take a point given our fightback in the third period," said player-coach Sylvain Cloutier. "It's always tough going to Edinburgh because of the long trip and they are also strong at home.

"But that's four points we have taken there this season and not a lot of teams will get more than that.

"The second period was disappointing, but we battled back to get a point. Essie (Lee Esders) always works hard, had a really good game and deserved his goals and Hutch got a nice goal too – it's about time he scored!"