Final score: Basingstoke Bison 1-4 Telford Tigers (League)
By Matthew Church
Saturday 12th March 2022
Refs: Jarvie and Poulton – Linos: Cook and Gottlibet
With less than a month left in the regular season, the GalxC Cooling Services sponsored Basingstoke Bison were looking to push as high up the league table as possible, with the next team in their sights being sixth-placed Peterborough Phantoms. Tonight’s opponents were much higher than this though, as table-topping Telford Tigers were in town for the last time this season and they would likely provide the Herd with a stern test.
An early Hooking penalty of Brendan Baird at 3:05 handed the visitors a superb opportunity to assert their dominance in the opening stages but thankfully the Herd were switched on and managed to survive the powerplay without loss. The tight first period saw both teams working hard to create chances and it wasn’t until 14:43 that the game’s opening goal finally arrived, although to the disappointment of the Bison fans, it was the Tigers who found themselves ahead. With the extra man in an attacking move, a drop pass into space found Andy McKinney (assisted by Finley Howells and Sam Watkins) who fired a one-time shot into the Bison net with precision. Not to be put off, the home side continued to pressure Bradley Day in the Tigers net and managed to bring themselves deservedly level inside the final minute of the first period. A break down the left wing saw import Alex Roberts (Harding, Milton) fire towards goal from distance and although netminder Day made the initial save, he could not handle the sheer pace of the shot and the puck continued through him and crawled over the goal line at 19:49, to cheers in the stands as the Bison went into the first period break level at 1-1.
The middle 20 minutes were a cagey affair as both sides appeared evenly matched and seemed to cancel each other out, with Bayley Harewood going closest for the away side and Zack Milton twice being denied smartly by Brad Day in net. Not long after the halfway point in the contest, the Bison felt they had gained their first lead of the night when Ryan Sutton fired through a crowd of players in front of net, however, the officials decided to cancel out the goal by saying the net was already off its moorings, to the displeasure of the home crowd. A late Interference penalty on Thomas McKinnon handed the Herd their only powerplay of the game, but unfortunately they were unable to convert the opportunity and it meant that after 40 minutes, the game remained 1-1.
Disaster would strike less than one minute into the final frame when the Tigers retook the lead with a goal timed at 40:34, when Jack Hopkins (McKenzie, Mitchell-King) was found in space down low and he neatly sent a backhand shot over the shoulder of Lawday in net for a 1-2 lead. Effort was certainly not lacking from the Herd and George Norcliffe would use his customary burst of speed to twice go close to a leveller but just like his team-mates, he could not find a way past an inspired Tigers netminder. With only 5 minutes remaining, the game was still in the balance but at 55:57, this swiftly changed when the visitors capitalised on a defensive error and extended their lead once more. Veteran forward Rick Plant (McKenzie, McKinney) found space in front of the net with nobody around him and calmly slotted home, putting the Tigers into a commanding 1-3 lead.
Before the Herd even had a chance to consider pulling the netminder in a last-gasp attempt to come back into the game, the away side sealed the result in unequivocal fashion at 58:09, once again taking advantage of a turnover in the Bison defensive zone before Austin Mitchell-King (Hopkins) sent a bullet past Lawday in net with no hope of it being saved, handing his side a 4-1 lead that was fully deserved for a clinical final frame performance. The final buzzer sounded to leave the Bison empty handed and wondering what could have been.
There is always next time to bounce back and the Herd’s next home game is on Saturday 19th March, against Peterborough Phantoms. With both sides fighting each other for 6th place, it’s sure to be a cracker. See you there!
Match Stats:
Bison stats: Harding 0+1, Milton 0+1, Roberts 1+0
Netminder: Jordan Lawday 25/4 (84.00%)
Tigers stats: Hopkins 1+1, McKenzie 0+2, McKinney 1+1, Mitchell-King 1+1, Howells 0+1, Plant 1+0, Watkins 0+1
Netminder: Brad Day 27/1 (96.30%)
PIM: Bison 4 – Tigers 2. SOG: Bison 27 – Tigers 25.
Bison MOM: Cain Russell – Tigers MOM: Brad Day
