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Final score: Basingstoke Bison 4-5 Swindon Wildcats (Playoff group)
By Matthew Church
Saturday 23rd April 2022
Refs: Brooks and Matthews – Linos: Earl and Sore
For the final time at home this season, the GalxC Cooling Services sponsored Basingstoke Bison took to the ice still with an outside chance of qualifying for the Playoff Finals weekend in Coventry, as they welcomed the Swindon Wildcats to town.
Knowing that the pressure was firmly on, the home side were happy to have two early powerplay opportunities but could not convert on either and that would soon cost them dearly, as Chris Jones (assisted by Pakozdi) slipped past a Bison d-man and tucked the puck home at 8:44 for a 0-1 lead. The Herd would successfully kill off a penalty on Brendan Baird shortly afterwards and no further goals meant they remained one goal down after 20 minutes.
An early goal for the visitors in the second period threatened to derail the home team’s playoff hopes as captain Sam Bullas (Nell, Malasinski) took advantage of a turnover behind the Bison net and slammed home at 23:33 to double their lead. Thankfully, the Herd began their fightback almost immediately as man-of-the-match George Norcliffe (Sampford, Banner) scored the first of two sublime goals at 25:17, taking a stretch pass in behind the Wildcats before sniping past Dean Skinns in net. With Edgars Bebris in the penalty box on a 2+2 penalty, player coach Ashley Tait (Jones, Sampford) stepped up to level the game with an absolute rocket at 29:17, with players and fans all jumping for joy.
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Having negated a Hi-Sticks penalty on Brendan Baird late on in the period, there was still time for the Herd to take the lead in an almost carbon-copy of their opening tally. A pass up ice saw George Norcliffe (Baird) race in on goal alone and snipe home past Skinns at 35:07 to scenes of delirium in the stands, as the Bison crucially put themselves 3-2 in front as the middle frame concluded.
An early powerplay goal for the home team doubled their advantage to 4-2 courtesy of import Alex Roberts (unassisted), who collected a loose puck before weaving his way through the Wildcats’ defence and calmly slotting home over a stricken Dean Skinns in net at 45:23.
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As Bison fans were starting to believe the impossible was actually possible with a little over 10 minutes remaining, the dream began to shatter at 49:49 when import forward Emil Svec (Sayers, Jones) broke across the blue line with speed and fired past Mettam before he had a chance to react, bringing the away side to within one goal. Barely had the Herd managed to re-organise themselves, when the visitors took advantage of the momentum to score again and level the game at 4-4, as Aaron Nell (Malasinski) danced forward and ripped home at 51:24.
Needing at least one point in this game to keep their chances of making Coventry alive, it was the cruellest of blows to see those hopes shattered as the Wildcats scored the game winning goal at 59:33 through a speculative shot from Emil Svec (Bebris, Jones) that crept over Mettam and into the goal. Clearly heartbroken, the Bison players tried to rescue the situation by pulling Mettam in favour of the extra skater but it was to no avail, as the visitors took the 4-5 win by the smallest of margins. Knowing their hopes of qualifying for Coventry had been dashed in the worst of ways, the fans were left speechless as the players sank in despair.
On a positive note, for a team that had been given little hope by many of making the Playoff Finals weekend, to come so close showed that they have a locker room full of talent and determination which is not far off achieving something special. Perhaps, that something special will come next season!
Until then, enjoy the weekend in Coventry for those who are attending and have a fantastic summer to everyone reading! See you again in September!
Match Stats:
Bison stats: Norcliffe 2+0, Sampford 0+2, Baird 0+1, Banner 0+1, Jones 0+1, Roberts 1+0, Tait 1+0
Netminder: Alex Mettam 34/5 (85.29%)
Wildcats stats: Jones 1+2, Malasinski 0+2, Nell 1+1, Svec 2+0, Bebris 0+1, Bullas 1+0, Pakozdi 0+1, Sayers 0+1,
Netminder: Dean Skinns 31/4 (87.10%)
PIM: Bison 8 – Wildcats 12. SOG: Bison 31 – Wildcats 34.
Bison MOM: George Norcliffe – Wildcats MOM: Dean Skinns
