Final score: Basingstoke Bison 0-3 Swindon Wildcats (Autumn Cup)
By Matthew Church
Friday 8th October 2021
Bison MOM: Adam Harding – Wildcats MOM: Dean Skinns
Bison stats: N/A
Netminder: Alex Mettam 17/3 (82.35%)
Wildcats stats: Bullas 0+2, Bebris 0+1, Goodchild 0+1, Jones 1+0, Malasinski 0+1, Nell 1+0, Pakozdi 0+1, Taylor 1+0
Netminder: Dean Skinns 22/0 (100%)
PIM: Bison 10 – Wildcats 12. SOG: Bison 22 – Wildcats 17
Refs: Matthews and Poulton – Linos: Kowal and Pullar
In a change to the regular weekend itinerary, it was Friday night hockey for the GalxC Cooling Services sponsored Basingstoke Bison as they welcomed Swindon Wildcats across from Wiltshire for the first time this season. With 3 games remaining in the group stages of the Autumn Cup, the Herd were looking to keep their semi-final chances alive with a victory on home ice.
The opening period was littered with penalties rather than goals, mainly on the visitors which gave the home side a couple of huge powerplay opportunities, including one with a 5-on-3 man advantage, but unfortunately the Bison failed to find a way past the Wildcats’ netminder Dean Skinns. Both teams were struggling to create clear cut chances which therefore kept the shot count down, highly uncommon for the two rivals who normally produce high-scoring thrillers. As the first frame edged towards its conclusion, the Wildcats would see themselves on the powerplay after a scuffle between Liam Morris, Zack Milton and Aaron Nell resulted in a 5-on-4 situation for the visitors. However, just as the Herd discovered earlier on, defence was proving almost impossible to break down for the visitors and the home side kept the game level at 0-0 heading into the first break.
The middle frame began in the same way as the opener, a tight and cagey affair with forward units struggling to find their rhythm. Wildcats’ import forward Tomasz Malasinski looked most likely to strike for the Wiltshire side as he used his pedigree to burst through on a couple of occasions but found Bison netminder Alex Mettam in good form. It took until just after the halfway point of the game for the first goal of the evening to arrive, although it was not good news for the Herd faithful as it went the way of the Wildcats. Floyd Taylor (assisted by Jack Goodchild and Sam Bullas) found himself with room on the left wing and fired in a shot between Mettam and the near post at 30:34, putting the visitors 0-1 ahead. Just like buses, you wait ages for one goal and then another immediately follows, but once again to the disappointment of the Bison crowd it was the Wildcats who would add to their tally at 31:57, this time on the powerplay. Zack Milton was assessed a Slashing penalty and a mere 6 seconds later, Chris Jones (Sam Bullas, Edgars Bebris) would slot a bobbling puck into the net. With no further score, the away side went into the second break 0-2 up.
With the Bison facing an uphill battle as the final period began, it was imperative they started confidently and looked to strike first, but their eagerness was to be their downfall, much to the horror of the home crowd, as the Wildcats scored within 60 seconds of the restart. Player coach Aaron Nell (Malasinski, Pakozdi) somehow found himself in behind the Herd defence as the home team pressed forward and dispatched the puck with ease past a stricken Mettam in net, handing his side a huge 0-3 lead at only 40:34. This left the Bison with a mountain to climb and although they were visibly getting closer as the period progressed, they found netminder Dean Skinns in fantastic form, leaving both the players and fans frustrated. Some nights just don’t provide the necessary spark and unfortunately, tonight was one of those nights, although not for a lack of effort. As the final buzzer sounded, the Wildcats congratulated themselves with a well earned 0-3 win and a valuable two points.
With a rare Saturday night off for the Herd, they would return to action on Sunday night away in Slough, where they would take on fierce rivals, the Bees IHC.
