VIDEO: Stingrays prevail on dramatic night to reach play-offs

News had just filtered through of Coventry Blaze’s 1-0 overtime win over Cardiff Devils, a result which meant if Hull Stingrays could hold on to the 4-2 lead they had over visiting Sheffield Steelers, an Elite League play-off place was theirs.

Thankfully, they were able to see out a second successive home win over Gerad Adams’s side with relative comfort to set up a two-legged quarter-final against runaway regular season champions Belfast Giants next weekend.

Two years ago, player-coach Sylvain Cloutier led his Hull team to a memorable, shock win at the same stage against the Steelers to reach the final four weekend.

The odds on them repeating that feat against a Giants team that finished the season 23 points clear of their nearest rivals in the overall standings will be much higher than in 2012 but, given the season Hull have had, it would be foolish to write them off just yet.

Afterwards, owner and assistant coach Bobby McEwan said it was a case of “mission accomplished” and hailed his team as the best seen under the Stingrays banner.

He has some justification with Cloutier’s roster having posted the club’s highest-ever points tally of 52 points during their time in the Elite League, as well as winning twice against the Steelers and defending champions Nottingham Panthers.

“At the start of the season, we said our target was the play-offs and we’ve done that,” said a relieved McEwan.

“I’m pleased for this group of players because, in my opinion, I think they’re the best Hull Stingrays team there has been. They have worked their backsides off for this and I can’t really fault them. They fully deserve it.”

There was little at stake for the Steelers coming into the game, other than wondering who their opponents would be in the first round of the play-offs, Hull being one of four teams vying for three available slots on the last night of the regular season.

In the end, it was Adams’s former club Cardiff Devils who missed out, their defeat in Coventry leaving them on the same points as Hull, but out of the post-season due to the Stingrays having won more games in regulation. Fife, winning 11 of their last 14 games, ended the season with a 5-1 win over Braehead Clan, the final nail in Cardiff’s coffin.

All along, Hull still needed to take care of business in East Yorkshire, but they were certainly made to work hard for it.

The first two periods were particularly niggly, the deadlock being broken by a neat bit of skill from Hull’s Matty Davies, swivelling 180 degrees to backhand his shot past Frank Doyle in the Steelers goal at 14.08.

It wasn’t long, however, before the Steelers were level, a poor line change leaving Jason Hewitt alone on the wing, free to slot the puck past Ben Bowns at 16.49.

Just over four minutes into the second, Hull got themselves back in front again, top scorer Guillaume Doucet bundling the puck home after a break instigated by Jason Silverthorn. It became a two-goal lead in the 30th minute when Tendler scored from a penalty shot after he had been pulled back when clean through on goal.

Chad Langlais cut the deificit less than a minute later to increase the nerves among the home crowd, although they were eased slightly when Doucet prodded home his 50th goal of the season at 38.08.

The intensity from both teams may have dropped slightly in the third period, but both goalkeepers were kept fairly busy, more so Bowns who stopped all 22 efforts on his goal in the final 20 minutes - including one which saw him leap to his right to deny Legue when faced with an open goal. At the other end, Doyle himself produced a memorable stop when denying the prolific Doucet at point-blank range.

A raucous crowd had played their part in creating a crackling atmosphere throughout the game, but some of the bigger cheers could be heard in the final period, particuarly among the home support, when news of Coventry’s win at the Skydome Arena began to filter through around the Arena.

That narrow win for Blaze guaranteed them sixth spot in the final overall league table, clinching them a first round play-off date with third-seeded Steelers, the team they stunned over two legs last year, a result which made it the second season in a row that the South Yorkshire club had exited the post-season at the first stage.

The Steelers edged to a 2-0 win over Marc LeFebvre’s Coventry in Sheffield on Saturday night, ensuring the former Sheffield assistant coach – who made the switch to the West Midlands in February – had to lead his side’s bid for a play-off place into the final day of the season.

“I think we match up well and I think we’ll see two great games of hockey,” said Adams. “The travel is really good for us and we’ve just played them so we’re very familiar with them.

“I thought we played well in Hull. I was extremely happy with the players and we created a lot of offensive chances. We didn’t get the result but, to be honest, it wasn’t the result that mattered for us it was the performance and I was happy with what we produced.”