Final score: Basingstoke Bison 2-3 Leeds Knights – after Overtime (League)
By Matthew Church
Saturday 2nd April 2022
Refs: Korsaks and Poulton – Linos: Davies and Lalonde.
For the final time in regular season action, the GalxC Cooling Services sponsored Basingstoke Bison took to home ice with their opponents for the contest being the Leeds Knights. While the Herd could not change their league position any further, a win would certainly be good for momentum heading into the playoffs.
An early Slashing penalty on the returning Adam Jones saw the Bison face a stern test of their defensive skills within the first five minutes and not only did they pass with flying colours, but managed to score whilst shorthanded to take an unexpected 1-0 lead. A break down the ice saw netminder Sam Gospel make an initial save but he could not prevent the puck from falling to Zack Milton (assisted by Alex Roberts) who batted a bouncing puck home at 5:11. The Herd would be handed a powerplay opportunity of their own at 14:34 with Kieran Brown being called for Hooking and despite not converting on the man advantage, they made amends with less than a minute left in the opening frame to double their lead.
Another break by the Bison once again saw a shot rebound off Gospel in goal, this time falling kindly to Alex Roberts (Milton, Doughty) at 19:18 who tucked home with the netminder out of position. This left the home fans delighted as their side took a 2-0 lead into the first break.
(C) Jo Loat
Barely had fans sat down for the second frame when the Knights’ attacking prowess came to life as the visitors opened their account for the night, a break down the left wing by Adam Barnes (Brown) saw him fire the puck top shelf with a stunning shot at 20:35, bringing his side back to within 1 goal. A series of penalties then littered the rest of the period, with the majority on the Herd but thankfully they managed to stave off the repeated attacks of the Knights and keep themselves 2-1 ahead as the second period buzzer sounded.
The final period proved to be a highly tense affair as the Bison looked to give their loyal fans another home win to conclude a tough league campaign, whereas the Knights were in a fierce battle for 3rd position in the league standings. The visitors were looking to shoot as often as possible, leaving the Herd to counter attack and try to extend their lead on the break. Just when the home crowd could practically smell victory, it was snatched away with only 18 seconds left in regulation as the Knights, with the netminder pulled for the extra skater, equalised courtesy of a bullet from Adam Barnes (Solder, Brown) at 59:42. Therefore, off we went to Overtime!
(C) Jo Loat
As usual, Overtime proved to be a nerve-wracking watch with both sides having chances to take the glory in dramatic fashion. Sadly, it would be the Knights who ruined the party and took the extra point, when a scramble around the Bison net saw Cole Shudra (Zajac) lift the puck over a sprawling Alex Mettam and despite the net being off its moorings, the goal stood, meaning the Herd were left with an agonising 2-3 defeat.
However, there is no time to dwell as we now move on to… playoff hockey! With the groups set and fixtures official, the Herd will play 3 more home games (out of a total 6 games) in their quest to reach the Playoff Finals Weekend in Coventry. First up, is a battle against the Sheffield Steeldogs on Sunday 10th April. See you all there!
Match Stats:
Bison stats: Milton 1+1, Roberts 1+1, Doughty 0+1
Netminder: Alex Mettam 33/3 (90.91%)
Knights stats: Barnes 2+0, Brown 0+2, C. Shudra 1+0, Solder 0+1, Zajac 0+1
Netminder: Sam Gospel 32/2 (93.75%)
PIM: Bison 13 – Knights 11. SOG: Bison 32 – Knights 33.
Bison MOM: Liam Morris – Knights MOM: Adam Barnes
