Saturday Game Review – Bison -V- Raiders

Photo (C) Jo Loat

Final score: Basingstoke Bison 4-1 Raiders IHC (League)

By Matthew Church

Saturday 5th March 2022

Refs: Jarvie and Matthews – Linos: Gottlibet and Prior

For their first home game in March, the GalxC Cooling Services sponsored Basingstoke Bison welcomed the Romford-based Raiders IHC to town for the third and final time in league action. With the Herd battling for a top-6 finish and their opponents fighting for the last remaining playoff group spot, the contest was set to be keenly contested.

Led by former Bison captain Aaron Connolly, the Raiders knew that a fast start was required against a home team which had picked up a maximum 4 points from the previous weekend, but it was the Bison who looked sharp early on and at 7:47 they scored the opening goal of the game. Strong hustle from player/coach Ashley Tait forced a turnover in the offensive zone before feeding Canadian-sniper Alex Roberts (assisted by Ash Tait) who danced around one Raider before sending a backhand shot past Milton.

Less than 3 minutes later, the Herd faithful were left ecstatic once again as their side doubled the lead, this time whilst on the powerplay. A Slashing penalty on Ollie Baldock was seized upon by the home side at 10:44, when Zack Milton (Doughty, Harding) completed a smooth passing move by poking the puck through the 5-hole of netminder Milton to put his team 2-0 ahead.

The remainder of the opening period continued to follow the same pattern of the early stages with the Herd appearing to look more threatening, although the visitors did have a couple of clear chances courtesy of Piatak and Pitchley respectively. However, Alex Mettam stayed strong in net and as the first buzzer sounded, the Bison found themselves two goals in front.

Describing the early phases of play in the middle period as ‘scrappy’ would have been a fair assessment as both teams looked evenly matched without ever creating clear cut chances. The line of Petts, Sutton and Wilson, which has looked as impressive as any other Bison line in recent weeks, appeared to be on fire and they did everything but score as the trio looked menacing during every attack.

Danny Milton was working tirelessly in net for the Raiders to keep his team within touching distance and late on in the second frame, it nearly paid off as captain Aaron Connolly saw his smart tip effort somehow saved by Alex Mettam. A fairly trouble-free twenty minutes for the home side saw them head into the second period break with their 2-0 lead unchanged, which most fans would feel reasonably happy with.

Physicality was the name of the game early on in the final frame as both sides were keen to finish hits and put their bodies on the line, as the visitors appeared to try a different tactic knowing the time for a comeback was fast evaporating. Thankfully, for the Bison fans and players alike, this passage of play was navigated without damage and the Herd put themselves 3-0 up just shy of the 50 minute mark. Nifty skating from Alex Roberts saw him evade the Raiders’ defenceman in their defensive zone before centering the puck on a plate for the evergreen Ashley Tait (Roberts) to tap home with ease at 49:29. Shortly afterwards, a penalty on the Herd provided their opponents with a final chance to start gaining some momentum but it went unpunished and a few minutes later, a penalty on the Raiders themselves allowed the Bison to score their second powerplay goal of the evening, essentially sealing the victory. A blueline blast from the ‘Man with the Plan’ Ashley Tait was tipped by in-form Aidan Doughty (Tait, Milton) past a stranded Raiders netminder and into the goal at 57:00, putting the Herd 4-0 ahead.

A late Tripping penalty on Alex Sampford created the ideal scenario for the visitors to finally register on the scoreboard at 59:07, with a quality top-shelf goal on the powerplay from Jake Sylvester (Relf, Piatak) seeing a possible shutout for Alex Mettam spoiled at the final hurdle. Nonetheless, it had been a highly efficient performance from the Bison across the 60 minutes and as the final buzzer sounded, the fans rose to applaud a convincing 4-1 victory.