Photo (C) Jo Loat
Final score: Basingstoke Bison 2-4 Sheffield Steeldogs (League)
By Matthew Church
Saturday 29th January 2022
Refs: Brooks and Matthews – Linos: Cook and Prior
For the final home game of January 2022, the GalxC Cooling Services sponsored Basingstoke Bison welcomed the Sheffield Steeldogs to town for the third and final time in league action this season. The Herd had a tough task ahead of them with multiple players missing through injury, not ideal when facing a strong team which included talent such as the lethal Jason Hewitt. An even opening period saw both sides fighting hard to establish their dominance as Aidan Doughty and Alex Roberts both went close for the Bison, with Lee Bonner looking extremely lively for the visitors.
Clear cut chances were hard to come by and there was only a sole penalty called in the opening frame, with the Herd’s Adam Harding guilty of a Hooking offence at 18:49 but thankfully the home team were able to successfully negate the powerplay and remain level at the first period break.
The Bison would survive another penalty early on in the middle period, however, a few minutes later their opponents would take a deserved lead through Brady Doxey (assisted by Jason Hewitt and Lee Bonner) at 28:04 for a 0-1 lead. Needing to muster a quick response, the Bison put the pressure on the Steeldogs but found netminder Zimozdra in fine form.
When Nathan Ripley was called for Hooking at 35:41, the Herd saw a golden opportunity to bring themselves level on the powerplay but unfortunately, the complete opposite occurred and the Steeldogs doubled their lead whilst shorthanded. A mix up saw Jack Brammer (Doxey, Smith) sent in alone towards the Bison goal and he calmly slotted home past Lawday in net at 36:33 for a 0-2 lead, leaving the home crowd feeling perplexed. No further goals saw the visitors carry their two goal cushion into the second period break, meaning the Herd had a mountain to climb in the final frame.
(c) Jo Loat
To the delight, and relief, of their loyal fans, the Bison made a superb start at climbing that mountain early on in the final period when Hallam Wilson (Petts), someone who had out-performed some of his more experienced team mates all night, scored the home team’s opening goal at 42:45 as hard work from Paul Petts forced a turnover and Wilson fired home from the slot. The Herd were beginning to find their groove and saw efforts from Tait and King go agonisingly close to levelling the score, but the Steeldogs held firm and re-established a 2 goal lead at the 50 minute-mark, when their deadly duo struck. A stretch pass saw the Bison lose position and Jason Hewitt (Bissonnette, Kirk) was all alone to take a pass from behind the net and slam home past Lawday, putting his side 1-3 ahead.
Chasing the game once again, the Bison were fighting hard to claw their way back into the contest and some reward came at 55:51 as they scored their second goal of the night. Leading from the front, player/coach Ashley Tait (Baird, Harding) expertly tipped home a slap pass from Brendan Baird to pull his side within one goal again at 2-3 and resurrect hopes of another famous comeback.
In a final roll of the dice, netminder Lawday was pulled from the Bison net in favour of the extra skater but unfortunately, the gamble failed to pay off this time, as an empty-net goal from Matt Bissonnette at the red line (Hewitt, Morgan) timed at 59:15 sealed the Herd’s fate and handed the Steeldogs a deserved 2-4 victory.
The Bison have two away games this coming weekend before returning home on February 12th, against the table-topping Telford Tigers. See you all there!
Game Stats:
Bison stats: Baird 0+1, Harding 0+1, Petts 0+1, Tait 1+0, Wilson 1+0
Netminder: Jordan Lawday 28/3 (89.29%)
Steeldogs stats: Hewitt 1+2, Bissonnette 1+1, Bonner 1+1, Doxey 1+1, Kirk 0+1, Morgan 0+1, Smith 0+1
Netminder: Dmitri Zimozdra 26/2 (92.31%)
PIM: Bison 6 – Steeldogs 2. SOG: Bison 26 – Steeldogs 29.
Bison MOM: Hallam Wilson – Steeldogs MOM: Lee Bonner
