Photo (C) Jo Loat
Final score: Basingstoke Bison 7-2 Swindon Wildcats (League)
By Matthew Church
Friday 25th March 2022
Refs: Bicknell and Brooks – Linos: Prior and Sore
The GalxC Cooling Services sponsored Basingstoke Bison welcomed the Swindon Wildcats across from Wiltshire for the penultimate home game of the 2021/2022 regular season, looking to bounce back from a disappointing result against the Phantoms the previous weekend and gain some confidence heading into the playoff groups.
An early flurry of penalties saw both sides with opportunities on the powerplay that would go unpunished, as the Wildcats picked up 4 separate minor penalties in the opening frame alone. The pressure ultimately told at 11:09 when the Herd opened the games scoring on the man advantage, as Aidan Doughty (assisted by Roberts and Harding) was on hand to tuck home after netminder Renny Marr failed to control a save. The Bison continued to dominate play and looked more likely to score than their opponents, however, neither side were able to find the twine and the first period closed with a slender one goal lead for the home team.
Picking up where they left off, the Herd were visibly confident with every attack and at 24:05 they doubled their lead courtesy of the Welsh-wizard himself, Adam Harding (Doughty, Norcliffe), who picked up his second of a spectacular seven points on the night. Winning the puck battle down low, Harding drove towards the Swindon goal and around the D-man before slotting home. Less than one minute later, the Bison tripled their advantage to the delight of the home crowd as Aidan Doughty (Baird, Harding) saw his shot from close range manage to squeeze through Renny Marr in net and trickle over the line at 24:49, putting the Herd 3-0 in front.
Despite missing a couple of players, the Wildcats are known for their offensive might and they brought themselves back into the game just before the halfway stage thanks to a neat finish from forward Balint Pakozdi (Nell, Sayers) at 29:54, as he lifted the puck over Alex Mettam from in tight for their first goal of the game. Luckily for fans of the Herd, the home side would re-establish the 3 goal cushion before the second period buzzer sounded and it produced a reaction that nearly blew the roof off the rink. Once more on the powerplay, the Herd attacked quickly through centre ice and Zack Milton used the space to lay the puck off to a charging Cain Russell (Milton, Harding) who sprung forward and ripped the puck home top shelf for his first senior Bison goal at 34:52, before being mobbed by his teammates in celebration! No further goals would leave the home side 4-1 in front after 40 minutes.
(C) Jo Loat
It was imperative that the hosts kept their foot to the floor early in the final frame, so as to not let the visitors feel any hope of a comeback, and scoring a fifth goal was the perfect way to achieve this. In classic fashion, George Norcliffe (Doughty, Harding) drove hard to the net from the left wing before drawing netminder Marr out of position and lifting the puck over him with finesse at 44:02. The Bison continued to nullify the Wildcats effectively and it took until 51:41 for the visitors to score their second goal of the contest, a fine move from Sam Godfrey (Nell, Sayers) saw him spin in space before sending a quick shot into the Bison net, bringing his side back within 3 goals.
(C) Liam Church
This is as close as the Wiltshire-based team would come to the Herd, as the Bison improved the scoreline to 6-2 at 56:47 with the first of two shorthanded goals within 2 minutes. A turnover from the Wildcats saw a pass find its way to Adam Harding (Roberts, King) who took his time to fire top shelf into the net. Shortly after, with Brendan Baird in the penalty box for Roughing, the Herd sent their fans wild as Adam Harding (Morris, King) once more scored on the penalty kill, this time collecting a bouncing puck before breaking away and sniping past Renny Marr at 58:34 for the Herd’s seventh goal of the game and the Welshman’s hattrick goal.
It had been a near-faultless performance from the Bison and as the final buzzer sounded, they were left to celebrate a resounding 7-2 victory against the Wildcats! The final league game of the season is on Saturday 2nd April vs Leeds Knights, see you there.
Match Stats:
Bison stats: Harding 3+4, Doughty 2+2, King 0+2, Norcliffe 1+1, Roberts 0+2, Baird 0+1, Milton 0+1, Morris 0+1, Russell 1+0
Netminder: Alex Mettam 26/2 (92.31%)
Wildcats stats: Nell 0+2, Sayers 0+2, Godfrey 1+0, Pakozdi 1+0
Netminder: Renny Marr 37/7 (81.08%)
PIM: Bison 8 – Wildcats 14. SOG: Bison 37 – Wildcats 26.
Bison MOM: Cain Russell – Wildcats MOM: Sam Godfrey
