Photo (C) Jo Loat
Final score: Basingstoke Bison 2-5 Peterborough Phantoms (League)
By Matthew Church
Saturday 17th September 2022
Refs: Korsaks and Pickett – Linos: MacPhee and O’Neill
With a successful pre-season campaign completed, the GalxC Cooling Services sponsored Basingstoke Bison looked to continue along the path of ‘good vibes only’ by opening their regular season with a victory against age-old rivals Peterborough Phantoms, here in Hampshire.
A slow start from the home side would see their opponents take an early lead at 01:08, as Corey McEwen (Glenn Billing) was given space to circle out from the wing and fire through traffic past an unsighted Alex Mettam in net, putting the Phantoms 0-1 ahead. It was soon double delight for the visitors as they went 0-2 in front with less than 5 minutes on the board, Austin Mitchell-King (Sladkovsky, Speirs) was perfectly placed to tap home on the powerplay at 04:53, after Mettam had made the initial save on a shot.
Not even two minutes later, the nightmare in ‘Bisonland’ continued as the Phantoms increased their advantage to 0-3 thanks to a breakaway finish by Duncan Speirs (McEwen, Billing) at 06:52, as a superb stretch pass sent him in alone behind the Bison defence, leading to the Herd calling a timeout which helped to halt the onslaught. The remainder of the period became closer, leaving the home side with some hope as the first intermission arrived. Fans of the Bison continued to be frustrated as their team worked hard to claw back the gap in the middle frame but without success, seeing Balaz, Milton and Lubwele all go close, only to find netminder Jordan Marr impenetrable. A powerplay opportunity courtesy of Corey McEwen being sent to the penalty box for Tripping, provided the Herd with a glorious chance to score their first goal of the game, however, they could not punish the visitors and went into the second period break still 0-3 behind.
Fast forward to 46:46 and the Bison comeback began whilst on a powerplay, as quick work from an offensive zone face-off gave Zac Milton (Lubwele, Norcliffe) space to glide in from the right circle and snipe home, reducing the arrears to 1-3.
Momentum was firmly with the Herd and at 48:37 the home team scored their second goal of the game, after some fantastic forward pressure allowed Edgars Landsbergs (Balaz, King) to poke home from close range following an initial save by Jordan Marr in the Phantoms net, creating a 2-3 game.
Unfortunately for the home crowd, joy would soon turn to despair as minutes later, the Bison were handed a Too Many Men on the ice penalty which left fans, players and coaches apoplectic with rage. A feeling that was only intensified when the visitors converted on the man advantage thanks to Will Weldon (Circenis, Bowering) burying a stretch pass at 52:23, moments after Marcel Balaz had hit the post.
The Herd continued to hustle in search of another comeback but it was to no avail, as the Phantoms scored an empty-net goal at 59:41 through Lukas Sladkovsky (Norton, Robson) to seal a 2-5 victory.
Saturday 24th September is the next home game for the Bison, as they welcome the Swindon Wildcats to town.
Tickets for the Wildcats game are selling fast so please buy your tickets in advance by clicking the link: https://iceaccount.co.uk/basingstoke-bison?Reference=Bison-Website
See you all there!
Match Stats:
Bison stats: Balaz 0+1, King 0+1, Landsbergs 1+0, Lubwele 0+1, Milton 1+0, Norcliffe 0+1
Netminder: Mettam 32/4 (87.50%)
Phantoms stats: Billing 0+2, McEwen 1+1, Sladkovsky 1+1, Speirs 1+1, Bowering 0+1, Circenis 0+1, Mitchell-King 1+0, Norton 0+1, Robson 0+1, Weldon 1+0
Netminder: Jordan Marr 26/2 (92.30%)
PIM: Bison 8 – Phantoms 8. SOG: Bison 26 – Phantoms 33.
Bison MOM: Lubwele – Phantoms MOM: McEwen
