Stingrays edged out but still happy with return

HULL STINGRAYS went down to title hopefuls Nottingham Panthers in a 13-goal Elite League thriller last night but still enjoyed a positive weekend.

The 7-6 defeat at Hull Arena was cruel on Sylvain Cloutier's side, but their disappointment will have been lessened as it came 24 hours after ending an eight-game losing streak on the road by thumping Newcastle Vipers 7-1.

That result and Newcastle's failure to secure any points last night – Rob Wilson's sidse losing 7-4 at Cardiff Devils – means Hull still have an outside chance of lifting themselves off the bottom of the regular season tables, currently lying seven points adrift of Newcastle with five games remainin – two of which are against the Vipers.

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Goals from Goals from Jason Silverthorn (2), Lee Mitchell, Jeff Glowa, Konstantin Kalmikov, Lee Esders and Cloutier sealed victory in Whitley Bay.

Defenceman Goerge Halkidis grabbed two rare goals against Panthers last night but, despite further strikes from Adam Knight, Curtis Huppe, Silverthorn and Kalmikov, it wasn't quite enough for the home side.

Sheffield Steelers are still in the hunt for finishing the season in fifth place, picking up a point in a 4-3 defeat following a shoot-out in Nottingham on Saturday.

Goals from Joe Talbot, Jeff Legue and Jason Hewitt were enough to take the game into overtime at the National Ice Centre, with Jade Galbraith scoring the vital goal in the nail-biting shoot-out that followed.