Ice Hockey: Stingrays strike late to sink Capitals

Despite 49 saves from netminder Tomas Hiadlovsky and two goals from Jade Portwood, late penalties cost Edinburgh Capitals dear in a 4-3 overtime loss at the Elite League’s 
bottom club Hull Stingrays.

The hosts had star forward Jeremie Tendler to thank after his superb four-goal performance, which included a game-tying strike two minutes from time as Hull won a crucial ice hockey clash as the teams fight to secure a top-eight spot.

Hiadlovsky, who won Edinburgh’s man-of the-match award, said: “It’s tough. We were in a position to win and should have taken the two points. We’ve conceded goals in the last few minutes four or five times now. We need to close out games better.”

Stingrays dominated the game for large periods, out-shooting the visitors 53-19, thanks in part to the 16 minutes in penalties called against Edinburgh players by referee Andy Carson, compared to only four minutes for Hull. Portwood gave Caps the lead, tipping in a Michal Dobron slap-pass, before a Tendler double put the home side in front. A shorthanded goal from Marcis Zembergs brought the sides level at 36 minutes 53 seconds, and the visitors looked to be in line for a valuable victory when Portwood scored to make it 3-2 with eight minutes left.

Caps were holding out, when with Peter Holecko already in the sin-bin for slashing, Curtis Leinweber was called for delay-of-game, giving Hull a two-man advantage. Tendler made it count, equalising with two minutes left before scoring the winner on 62:51.