Photos (C) Jo Loat
Final score: Basingstoke Bison 3-0 Bristol Pitbulls (Pre-season)
By Matthew Church
Saturday 10th September 2022
Refs: Bicknell and Korsaks – Linos: Olczak and Prior
Back at home once again, the GalxC Cooling Services sponsored Basingstoke Bison began their second weekend of pre-season action by playing host to the Bristol Pitbulls, a team brand new to the league. Prior to the game starting, everyone in attendance observed an impeccable two-minute silence as part of the nation paying tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away earlier in the week.
Barely had fans settled back down into their seats when the home side made a dream start by taking the lead after only 38 seconds. The visitors were dispossessed when attacking, which left new import forward Marcel Balaz (unassisted) with time to skate in from the right wing, before firing past netminder Will Kerlin in tight for a 1-0 lead.
The Herd remained on top for most of the opening frame, even having a 5-on-3 powerplay opportunity which ultimately passed without success, but could not extend their advantage any further before the buzzer sounded to end the first period. The Pitbulls began the middle frame well and used speed from their plethora of young forwards to cause the Bison trouble, forcing netminder Alex Mettam into a string of fine saves that the home crowd cheered as loudly as the opening goal.
Thankfully, the next outburst of joy from the Herd faithful would be in response to a goal, as at 30:14 they doubled the lead to 2-0 courtesy of a sublime team goal when Hallam Wilson (Petts, Dusznik) took the feed in space after some brilliant forechecking, before sniping home off the top bar and in. Having wrestled momentum back from the opposition, the Bison looked to put the game out of reach and minutes later, they did just that.
Man-of-the-moment Marcel Balaz (Norcliffe, Petts) was perfectly placed in front of goal as he caught a pass fired in from the left wing, settled the puck down and shot in off netminder Kerlin for an almost comedic goal at 34:26. You don’t get extra points for style and the only part that players and fans cared about, was a 3-0 Bison lead which would remain unchallenged as the final minutes of the middle period played out and the teams took to the second intermission.
The final frame saw the intensity level turned up to maximum as both sides went end-to-end and fans completely abandoned the notion of a ‘pre-season friendly’. Mason Lipsey and Ben Solder continued to be dangerous for the Pitbulls while the Herd had multiple chances on the powerplay but lacked the final touch needed to score again. A late 5-on-3 chance for the Pitbulls saw them with a final opportunity to avoid being blanked on the scoresheet, but they found Mettam in excellent form and he deservedly claimed a shutout as the Herd completed a confidence-boosting 3-0 victory over the Bristol-based outfit.
Next up at home for the Herd, is the league-opening clash against long-term rivals Peterborough Phantoms on Saturday 17th September. See you all there!
Match Stats:
Bison MOM: Mettam – Pitbulls MOM: Kerlin
Bison stats: Balaz 2+0, Petts 0+2, Dusznik 0+1, Norcliffe 0+1, Wilson 1+0
Netminder: Alex Mettam 24/0 (100.00%)
Pitbulls stats: N/A
Netminder: Will Kerlin 27/3 (88.89%)
PIM: Bison 10 – Pitbulls 16.
SOG: Bison 27 – Pitbulls 24.
