Image (C) Jo Loat
Final score: Basingstoke Bison 4-5 Hull Seahawks (League)
By Matthew Church
Saturday 26th November 2022
Refs: Korsaks and Pickett – Linos: Finch and George
Back home after ending their losing streak with a memorable comeback victory in Bristol the previous weekend, the GalxC Cooling Services sponsored Basingstoke Bison played host to Hull Seahawks.
A bright start was expected from the Herd in what was their only game of the weekend and the guys certainly delivered with the opening goal of the contest at 3:50. Quality forechecking turned the puck over behind the Hull net and a pass straight to the stick of captain George Norcliffe (assisted by Milton and Lubwele) was slammed home for a 1-0 lead. The visitors, boosted by the recent arrival of import Andrej Themar, looked to fight back and levelled the game against the run of play at 7:22 when Nathan Salem (Wilcox, Balmer) controlled a quick pass between the circles and fired into the net past Alex Mettam.
The first period became increasingly even as it went on, before the game was blown wide open with two goals inside two minutes. The Seahawks took the lead at 15:17 when a mistake saw the aforementioned Andrej Themar (Pollitt, Kent) break in alone and outwait Mettam to tuck home, before Themar (Pollitt, Salem) moved his team 1-3 ahead at 16:47 when puck fell to him left of the goal and he slotted home past a scrambling defence, leaving the home crowd somewhat despondent heading into the first break.
Once again, the Bison would need to produce an inspired comeback if they were to rescue a positive result from the game and at 23:17, hope was created by the Herd’s second tally of the night. Positive movement towards the net saw Alex Sampford (Landsbergs) collect a bouncing puck in tight and wrist home past McLaughlin to move the home side within a goal. Fast forward to just beyond the halfway stage and the rink erupted with delight as the Bison levelled the contest in spectacular style. Finding themselves on the powerplay, the Herd moved the puck with urgency before a blue-line blast from Gaël Lubwele (Milton, Norcliffe) sailed through traffic and into the net at 31:24, making the score 3-3.
There was still time, however, for the visitors to retake the lead heading into the second intermission as just after the Bison had killed off a penalty, Declan Jones (Towner, Pollitt) managed to deflect a long range shot past Jordan Lawday at 37:25, who had replaced Alex Mettam in net at the start of the period, to hand his team a 3-4 advantage. With their backs against the walls, the Herd came out firing in the initial stages of the final period and brought themselves level again at 4-4 when Zac Milton (Lubwele, Norcliffe) drove towards the net with purpose from the right wing, waited for the netminder to commit before stuffing the puck home at 43:33 to leave the home crowd feeling rejuvenated.
A tense affair was decided very late on with a powerplay goal, but unfortunately it went the way of the Seahawks at 57:28 as James Archer (Themar, Salem) was perfectly placed at the top of the crease, using the extra space to slam home for a 4-5 lead and crush Bison hearts once again, as the away side took the two points on their long journey back to Hull, leaving the Herd to wonder what could have been.
Next up at home for the Bison, a visit from the Telford Tigers on Saturday 3rd December. See you all there!
Tickets for Saturdays game are available by clicking the following link: https://iceaccount.co.uk/basingstoke-bison?Reference=Bison-Website
Match Stats:
Bison stats: Lubwele 1+2, Milton 1+2, Norcliffe 1+2, Landsbergs 0+1, Sampford 1+0
Netminder: Jordan Lawday 13/15 (86.67%) – Alex Mettam 7/10 (70.00%)
Seahawks stats: Pollitt 0+3, Salem 1+2, Themar 2+1, Archer 1+0, Balmer 0+1, Jones 1+0, Kent 0+1, Towner 0+1, Wilcox 0+1,
Netminder: Jordan McLaughlin 31/35 (88.57%)
Bison MOM: Sampford – Seahawks MOM: Kent
PIM: Bison 9 – Seahawks 15. SOG: Bison 35 – Seahawks 25.
