Stingrays comfortably down Bison

Hull Stingrays eased to a 5-1 Elite League victory in Basingstoke ahead of Sunday's Challenge Cup clash with the Bison at the Hull Arena.

An early Pavel Gomenyuk goal stunned the Bison, who never fully recovered, Lee Mitchell and Jamie Thompson making it 3-0 by the end of the second period.

Danny Stewart pulled a goal back for the home team but Matt Reynolds and a second for Thompson sealed the win.

If the Bison lose by less than three on Sunday, they reach the Cup semi-finals.

Defeat by three or more goals would see Cardiff progress.

"We've got to come out a lot smarter on Sunday," said Basingstoke's Jeremy Cornish. "Everybody knows we let two points go tonight.

"We were only down one after the first. It's not time to panic. Let's come out, get the shots in and score a goal. We just panicked, we've got to keep going with what works."

Cornish had praise for the Bison's new defenceman, Czech import Robert Pospisil, who made his debut.

"He was good, he kept it simple," said Cornish. "He flew in this morning so it couldn't have been that easy. The best thing about defencemen is, if you don't notice them, you know they're doing the job."

Shaun Thompson, man of the match for Basingstoke, agreed the performance would have to improve to ensure the Bison reach the Challenge Cup semi-finals.

"We've got to make sure that doesn't happen on Sunday," he said.

"We looked tired but even when you're tired you've got to play hard and empty the tank. We didn't do that tonight.

"We said before the game we've got to win today. We're fighting for a play-off spot. Every hockey player plays to win the play-offs."

Thompson admitted the team were at a loss as to why they continue to concede early goals.

"It's every week," he added. "I can't say why. But it's happening and it needs to stop. There's no real explanation for it."

Former Bison man Curtis Cruickshank, now goaltender for Hull, was delighted with the confidence-boosting win.

"It's always tough to come here and win," he told BBC Berkshire. "Those guys are battling really hard. The early goal was a big part of it. If you have to chase them and open it up they'll punish you.

"They're short-benched so we'll be in a good position at home and hopefully we'll take another game from them.

"We've made some good changes here. We're going in the direction we want to do. Guys are starting to commit to what we need to do to win."