Hull Stingrays Hull Stingrays are an English ice hockey club from Kingston upon Hull . They were formed in 2003 and play their home games at Hull Arena . They are currently members of the Elite Ice Hockey League . The Stingrays replaced previous clubs Hull Thunder 1999 - 2002 , Kingston Hawks 1996 - 1998 , Humberside Hawks 1993 - 1995 , and Humberside Seahawks 1988 - 1992 . Rebirth . The Stingrays were formed in 2003 replacing the Hull Thunder as members of the British National League . The new owners , Mike and Sue Pack along with Rick Strachan , who served as head coach through the end of the 2008 / 09 season , came with a promise of financial stability . The initial challenge for the club was to re - establish the belief that the Hull Arena could host a team playing professional hockey at all , following a previous history of failed attempts , some valiant and some best forgotten . Unfortunately the damage to the sport ' s credibility in the city was a burden that was not easily shaken off and some of the fans stayed away waiting for what they thought was the inevitable to happen . But the ownership were true to their word and a season was completed without any of the previous crises that had become common place . Stability was established and although success on the ice proved more elusive , as Rick Strachan said at the time " The bus is moving in the right direction . " The team had very much an Eastern European feel to it and was captained by local idol , Stephen Johnson , tempted back from a threatened retirement for one last season . Alongside him the Ukrainian contingent included a guy who made a huge impact for his never say die attitude and innovative use of the six words of English that he had mastered , fans favourite Evgeny Alipov - ' Big Al ' . So the foundation was in place and with the first objective of stability secured and confidence building , the club entered the next season in the BNL keen to apply the lessons learnt and to start to climb the ratings . Although still very much having to keep a close eye on the purse strings , the squad had a much stronger feel to it when the first puck dropped on the 2004 / 5 campaign . Coach Strachan brought in Scott Wray , Jeff Glowa , Craig Minard and Ladislav Kudrna in nets to join Alipov , Nikolaev , Burgess , Gomenyuk as his eight import contingent and with a strong British content including Slava Koulikov , and the Phillips brothers , hopes were high . A ' top four finish ' was predicted by the coach but this turned out not to be ambitious enough . Stingrays were overtaken for second place in the last fortnight by Guildford and Newcastle , the team made the Winter Cup semi - finals and gained a play - off place . Amazingly it could have been even better had star defenceman Minard decided not to quit the club in November leaving a young British defence to be marshalled by Gomenyuk . Another blow followed when free - scoring Scott Wray had to return home for personal reasons . Not surprisingly the replacements proved not to be as effective and the team ' s form suffered . That season was memorable for the ' crossover ' competition that pitched the British National League teams against their bigger spending , import heavy neighbours in the Elite League . Widely expected to provide one sided games , the reality was a little different and most of the games provided sporting contests worthy of the name . Although the Stingrays had to endure a couple of bad losses during this competition they also achieved memorable victories over Coventry , London and Sheffield at home , and also took the points off Cardiff on the road . Goalie Kudrna was often the hero and his performances gained him a place , with Gomenyuk on the BNL All - star team . The crossover competition was planned to be a potential pre - cursor to a closer relationship between the two leagues but , in fact , the reality was far from that - 2004 / 5 season proved to be the last for the British National League . The Newcastle Vipers and the Edinburgh Capitals decided that their futures would be more secure in the Elite League leaving the remaining five clubs having to consider their own futures . The English clubs made the decision they had to drop to the four import English Premier League whilst the two remaining Scottish clubs , Dundee and Fife were left with no alternative than to build their business in the SNL . The Stingrays embarked on what was the only viable option and a team was put together which we thought could be effective in that league . But with the work permit regulations ruling out re - engaging any of the Ukrainian core of the previous team , the recruitment was going to be key . The season proved to be a tough one and although the club gained a cup - final spot after a memorable 16 shot penalty shoot out victory over the Guildford Flames the club failed to pick up the silverware after being edged out by Bracknell . A young British contingent struggled against some of the more experienced and mature squads and the mid - table slot felt an under achievement following the previous years progress . The EIHL . The Packs were unhappy playing their team in the Premier League . Travelling costs were significant for the predominantly south east based league and spectator numbers fell . After the end of the 2005 - 06 season , the Stingrays sought admission into the Elite Ice Hockey League . Their application was finally approved after weeks of speculation on 22 June 2006 . Hull now have a representative in the top - flight division of British Ice Hockey for the first time since the Humberside Hawks played in the Premier Division of the British Hockey League in the 1995 - 96 season . In the first four years of its life , the club was in the unique position of competing in all three of the country ' s senior leagues and it is a major achievement that Hull hockey has moved on and can now provide the supporter with a view of the best Ice Hockey teams and the best players in the land . The Stingrays had a tough start to their life in the EIHL as they fought to the death for a playoff place , eventually finishing 9th as their decision to opt with a mix of their old Eastern European style with several Canadians ultimately did not pay off . In 2007 Lifetime Sports Ltd , the Hull Stingrays parent company , established itself as a Community Interest Company . This means that it is a non - profit making organisation dedicated to providing services and facilities to the community in which it operates , that being , Hull , Humberside and the East Riding . For the 2007 - 2008 season Rick Strachan once again decided to change his signing policy , this time ditching the Eastern European , and predominantly Ukrainian approach , by signing North Americans such as Bryce Thoma , Paul Cabana , Rob Rankin , Brad Patterson , Jake Riddle and Garry Luini . Once again the Stingrays failed to make a consistent impact on the league as they finished in 10th , and last place , 5 points behind 9th placed Basingstoke Bison . The Stingrays once again finished outside the playoffs in 2008 - 2009 , missing out on the post season by seven points , for the third year in a row . At the end of the season , Stingrays coach , Rick Strachan , was asked to step down . Stingrays co - owners Sue and Mike Pack cited financial reasons for the departure of Strachan , who was eventually replaced by Sylvain Cloutier on 9 April 2009 ] . Rick Strachan remains a director of the club . Cloutier is backed up by former team - mate Curtis Huppe as Assistant Coach , and both will continue playing .