12th/13th November
By Anthony Russell
As the country remembered and the Bison finally got a point back on the board, the rest of the National Division went to work.
Saturday
The latest instalment of the Nell-Classico played out in Swindon between the Knights and Wildcats. Grant Cooper gave Leeds the early lead in the 3rd minute. Cole Shudra doubled the advantage in the 14th and that set the Knights off. Matt Haywood, a second from Cooper and a second from Shudra made it 5-0 by the 17.18 mark of the first. The only thing to make the home fans smile was a goal from Tomasz Malasinski. Kieran Brown made it 6-1 but a small response came from the hosts as Aaron Nell and Stevie Whitfield made it 6-3 at the second break. Zack Brooks added a 7th for Leeds just 37 seconds into the final period but Colby Tower made it 7-4 to keep the tie within reach. Another from Cooper then another from Brooks made it 9-4. Sam Bullas took of some shine late to make it 9-5 but Cooper’s 4th of the night made it 10-5 to the Knights as the final buzzer rang out.
Bristol welcomed Peterborough to BS10 but found themselves behind early through Lukas Sladkovsky before Alex Roberts restored parity. The visitors got the lead back as Sladkovsky set up Ralfs Circenis to make it 2-1 before Brad Bowering added a third and then Padelek added a 4th for the Phantoms. Tamas Elias would get a goal back for the Pitbulls before the second buzzer. The Pitbulls tried to get back into the game but a second goal from Padelek made it 5-2. A late tip in from Owen Sobchak made it 5-3 but Glenn Billing’s empty net goal sealed the game for Peterborough at 6-3.
Hull welcomed the Bees to the world’s most versatile arena and it didn’t start well as Juha Lindgren made it 1-0 after just 11 seconds with James Galazzi making it 2-0 after 3.04, a lead which lasted into the second period when out of nowhere it was 2-2 as Declan Balmer scored twice in 20 seconds and James Archer gave Hull the lead midway through the second. The teams battled through the third and the Bees tied the game thanks to Lindgren’s second of the night. Bobby Streetly gave Hull the lead back and Nathan Salem made it 5-3 with just over 7 minutes to go. The Bees pulled Adam Goss for the extra attacker but all it resulted in was Streetly firing into the empty net to make it 6-3 and secure Hull’s first home win under the Seahawks name.
Tim Wallace got his MK Lightning off to a good start as he put them 1-0 up against Telford before the Tigers equalised through Vladimir Luka. Deivids Sarkanis restored lead for the hosts heading into the first break. The teams battled through a scoreless second period till Sam Talbot made it 3-1 and Callum Field then made it 4-1 half way through the final frame. The Tigers had no response as the Lightning cruised to the 4-1 win.
Sunday
Peterborough played host to Swindon and it was the hosts who had the better of the early exchanges as Lukas Sladkovsky and Jasper Foster had the Phantoms 2-0 up at the end of first. Duncan Speirs made it 3-0 early in the second and another goal from Sladkovsky made it 4-0 before the 25 minute mark. The Wildcats got back into the tie in the later part of the middle stanza thanks to goals from Tomasz Malasinski and Colby Tower, making it 4-2 after 40 minutes. In the third a second from Speirs and a second from Malasinski made it 5-3 with a late Wildcats goal for Sam Bullas making it 5-4 with just over a minute to go. The visitors even got a late powerplay but time ran out on Swindon seeing Peterborough get the 5-4 win.
The Bees took on the Pitbulls at The Hanger with the first period providing a lot of chances but no goals. Eventually the deadlock was broken by Bristol; Owen Sobchak’s shot was saved and Morgan Clarke-Pizzo potted the rebound but the guesting Vanya Antonov tied the score at 1-1. Caly Robertson would give the Pitbulls the lead back at the second buzzer. The Bees equalised through Brendan Walkom and then took the lead through James Galazzi and Juha Lindgren made it 4-2. The visitors refused to go quietly as Luke Smital made it 4-3 and a second from Clarke-Pizzo tied the score at 4-4 with just over 2 minutes to play. Overtime couldn’t separate the sides so the shootout was needed. Sobchak and Walkom scored as did Reece Kelly but Will Kerlin made the crucial save to send the extra point down the M4.
Leeds and Hull met at Elland Road to see who would have a 4 point weekend. Kieran Brown had the league leaders 1-0 ahead and the lead was doubled when Brown took out Jordan McLaughlin’s water bottle. Matt Haywood made it 3-0 early in the second and it was 4-0 when Cole Shudra found the net. The Seahawks were being outshot 31-9 through 40 minutes. Cameron Hamill scored for Hull to make it 4-1 in the third but there was no way back for Matty Davies’ side and the Knights comfortably managed the game to yet another win.
Romford played host to the Raiders vs the MK Lighting and again Tim Wallace would get the first goal of the night, scoring shorthanded to give the visitors the lead through the first period. It took time but just after the halfway mark Ashley Jackson scored for the Raiders and Jackson’s second of the night made it 2-1 However Sean Norris would tie the game and Liam Stewart scored just 33 seconds from the end of the second to give the Lightning the lead back. Wallace’s second of the night made it 3-2 with 11 minutes to play and though the hosts battled back, the visitors put them to the sword. A second from Liam Stewart and a goal from Mack Stewart made it 6-2 to help MK keep pace with Leeds at the top of the table.
Anthony Russell is the writer of Banners On The Wall (http://bannersonthewall.wordpress.com) which has covered the Bison and British hockey for the last 11 years. He hosts the BOTW What’s Current Stream, the NIHL’s live show for news and views, Wednesday night at 8pm at Twitter.com/BannersOTW
Tickets for this weeks Friday night home game (Face off 8pm) against the MK Lightning are available to purchase from the following link: https://iceaccount.co.uk/basingstoke-bison?Reference=Bison-Website
