Images (C) Blueline Photography
Final score: Basingstoke Bison 2-3 Bees IHC (League)
By Matthew Church
Saturday 7th January 2023
Refs: Bicknell and Jarvie – Linos: MacPhee and Sitch-Cunningham
A bumper crowd took to their seats (unless you were standing, of course) on Saturday evening as the GalxC Cooling Services sponsored Basingstoke Bison made their way out for a highly anticipated Derby Day clash against the Slough-based Bees IHC.
The first period was a frenetic one as the play went from end-to-end and both teams had fantastic chances to open the scoring, with mainly the netminders to thank for keeping the contest goalless and the only exception being the post which prevented import Dominik Gabaj from scoring just 3 minutes in. A fast-paced frame had almost reached its conclusion when the visitors spoiled the atmosphere by taking the lead at 18:44, as Lewis English (assisted by Harcup and Pitchley) swept home from in between the face-off circles after the Bison had lost the puck by the boards.
To the relief of the home crowd, the Herd emerged from the first intermission hungry to make amends for falling behind and it took less than 3 minutes to bring themselves level. Import forward Marcel Balaz (Baird) found himself behind the goal with the puck after a missed shot, before using his skill to shoot at the back of netminder Goss and the puck fell across the line at 22:21 for a 1-1 game.
The middle frame became a more even affair as it went on, the Bees continuing to look very unlike their current bottom-of-the-league status by causing the Bison plenty of problems offensively and at 33:55 they would retake the lead. A powerplay tally by new signing Jack Goodchild (Gabaj, Goss) as he was left in space after a misplaced pass down low, would see the away side once again head into a period break leading, meaning the Herd had work to do in the final 20 minutes.
It seemed to be one-way traffic in the third and final period as the Bison hunted for an equaliser and more, firing a total of 21 shots on Adam Goss in net across the 20 minutes. At 46:07 the pressure paid off with a powerplay goal from Edgars Landsbergs (Morris), as hard work down low saw the puck fired across from the right wing into space in front of goal, before Landsbergs rifled home from the left circle. This brought the home team level at 2-2 and lifted the spirits of the Bison faithful immeasurably.
Despite having the majority of both puck possession and scoring chances, the Herd were unable to take their first lead of the game as nerves began to increase in the final few minutes. A killer blow was then landed by the Bees at 54:09, when import Dominik Gabaj (Goodchild, W.Stead) found the puck just behind the Bison goal, was quickest to react and darted out to tuck home near post, leaving the home crowd in disbelief and the visitors 2-3 ahead. A last-gasp effort to tie the game saw netminder Mettam pulled from net in favour of the extra forward skater, but scrambles around the Bees goal could not force the puck home and the final buzzer arrived to leave the Bison on the wrong side of a tight scoreline once again.
Next up at home, is a game on Saturday 14th January against the Telford Tigers, which is highly important in the Herd’s quest for a playoff place. See you all there!
Match Stats:
Bison stats: Baird 0+1, Balaz 1+0, Landsbergs 1+0, Morris 0+1
Netminder: Alex Mettam 30/33 (90.91%)
Bees stats: Gabaj 1+1, Goodchild 1+1, English 1+0, Goss 0+1, Harcup 0+1, Pitchley 0+1, W.Stead 0+1,
Netminder: Adam Goss 35/37 (94.59%)
PIM: Bison 10 – Bees 10. SOG: Bison 37 – Bees 33.
Bison MOM: Mitchell – Bees MOM: Goodchild
Tickets for Saturday’s game against the Tigers can be purchased from the following link: https://iceaccount.co.uk/basingstoke-bison?Reference=Bison-Website
