Troy Neumeier claimed the winner against Edinburgh on Sunday

Hull Stingrays coach Rick Strachan has begun the search for a new import defenceman after Jonathan Bernier walked out of the club.

The hard-hitting Canadian, a summer signing, has left to take up a position with an AHL club in North America.

Strachan told BBC Radio Humberside: "I'm talking to some agents in the States and hope to get the right player in as quickly as possible.

"That's not going to happen for at least three weeks so we'll make do."

The Rays finally got themselves on the board in the Elite League - winning 3-2 in overtime at the Edinburgh Capitals, despite being without Bernier, the suspended Rick Kozak and forward Slava Koulikov who has a suspected broken collar bone.

Skipper Troy Neumeier's brace of goals and another from Matt Reynolds was enough to secure the Stingrays first win of the season in the Murrayfield Ice Arena on Sunday night.

They were beaten at home 2-0 by Coventry 24 hours earlier but the victory in Scotland took them off the bottom of the table for the first time this season.

Despite the poor start to the season Strachan has remained in an upbeat mode.

He said: "We are getting better and the team is starting to get to know each other. We played well against Coventry despite losing and they are a very good hockey team.

"We can only learn from the experience and grow into the season. I'm confident that we will do that."