Stingrays test Cardiff giving Cloutier cause to be proud of his men

SYLVAIN Cloutier emphasised the pride he felt in his Hull Stingrays team after their season came to an end in the first round of the Elite League play-offs at the hands of the Cardiff Devils.

Hull – who finished the regular season in seventh place – were always going to find life difficult against a Cardiff side they had not beaten previously this season and who only lost out on the title due to having won fewer games in regulation than champions Sheffield Steelers.

A second-period strike from Cloutier – sandwiched by goals from Tylor Michel and Brad Voth for Cardiff in Hull on Saturday night – meant there was plenty to play for when the two teams met again in South Wales for the second leg.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But Hull’s hopes of causing an upset were dented early on when they found themselves three goals down on aggregate inside 11 minutes with Voth’s powerplay marker being quickly followed by Michel’s strike.

Although Jereme Tendler struck his 51st goal of the season, further goals from Ryan Finnerty, Craig Weller, Scott Matzka and Jon Pelle ended Hull’s dream of making the final-four weekend in Nottingham, despite third-period strikes from Konstantin Kalmikov and Andrew Coburn.

“We battled right through until the end, nobody gave up and I’m extremely proud of the guys,” said Cloutier. “I thought we were the best team at home on Saturday and over the two games we had our chances. But Cardiff have been the best team in the league this year and you can see why.”

Cardiff will play Belfast Giants, who beat Coventry 4-3 on aggregate after a shoot-out.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Sheffield set up a play-off semi-final against arch-rivals Nottingham Panthers after overcoming a second-leg scare in the quarter-finals against the Dundee Stars.

Leading 6-1 from the first leg, the Steelers were given a jolt on Tayside after Dan Ceman’s determined outfit took a 4-1 lead with 10 minutes remaining on the clock.

But Ashley Tait scored a late empty-netter to ease any nerves in the league champions’ camp to secure an 8-5 aggregate victory.