Image (C) Jo Loat
Final score: Basingstoke Bison 3-4 Sheffield Steeldogs (League)
By Matthew Church
Saturday 1st April 2023
Refs: Belfitt and Brooks – Linos: Olczak and Prior
For the final time in ‘regular season’ mode, the GalxC Cooling Services sponsored Basingstoke Bison took to home ice against the Sheffield Steeldogs, with the Herd still locked in a battle to decide whether they would finish 7th or 8th in the standings.
An early powerplay opportunity for the Herd saw them go agonisingly close to taking the lead but they were unable to find a way past netminder Nick Winters, before the visitors then stormed up the other end and Jason Hewitt was denied by a diving save from home netminder Jordan Lawday. Having created more chances throughout the opening period, it was no surprise that the Steeldogs took the lead at 14:04, Jordan Buesa (assisted by Vulkanovs and Dermott) tucking home from in close after an initial save was made, following a Bison turnover to the left of goal.
Thankfully, the Herd knuckled down and restored parity a few minutes later courtesy of George Norcliffe (Milton, Wilson) at 17:26, as a broken play was laid off to the left wing for the Bison captain to blast home with a one-timer. Unfortunately the joy was short lived by the home crowd, as the lethal Jason Hewitt (Turner, Morgan) accepted a drop pass in space and moved forward to fire home into the top corner past Lawday at 18:57, putting his side 1-2 ahead after 20 minutes. Barely had fans returned to their seats for the middle frame, when the Steeldogs doubled their lead to two goals at 20:24. A goal-mouth scramble was poked home by Vladislavs Vulkanovs (Morgan, Buesa) to leave the Bison firmly in trouble and needing another miraculous comeback to rescue a result.
Approaching the halfway point of the frame, a powerplay was awarded to the home side and they took full advantage to move themselves within a single goal of the visitors. A fierce shot saw the puck rebound out to the right circle where George Norcliffe (Milton, King) struck for a second time, as he slapped another one-timer into the goal at 27:28 for a 2-3 scoreline. Despite being outshot, the Herd continued to probe at the Steeldogs defence and fine saves from netminder Winters were the only reason his side remained in front as the second period break loomed.
However, another powerplay chance for the home side meant there was just enough time, before the intermission, for the ‘super Georgey Norcliffe’ fan club to reach peak delirium as the Bison captain completed his sensational hat-trick at 39:22 to level the game at 3-3. In similar fashion to the second tally, a rebound came back out to the right circle where this time, Norcliffe (Landsbergs) took his time and edged closer before clinically firing past Winters in net to lift the roof off the rink and give his side real hope, heading into the final period.
A tense third frame saw the game-winning goal arrive relatively early on, but to the despair of the home fans it would be scored by the Steeldogs. A crafty pass from behind the goal was fired home from close range by Matt Bissonnette (Bonner, Hewitt) at 44:19 to move the visitors 3-4 in front. Not dissimilar to the previous weekend against Leeds, this was another close game against a top-ranked side where the Herd had pushed hard, played well and arguably deserved more, but ultimately the better sides pull through more often than not and this was the difference tonight. As the period moved along, the Bison continued to work tirelessly in the hope of finding a way past Nick Winters in net, but the Steeldogs’ defence held firm until the final buzzer to take the 2 points back up to Sheffield.
It was another loss for the Herd, but the performance was encouraging given that they were missing a couple of key players, which leaves hope heading into next weekend.
Match Stats:
Bison stats: Norcliffe 3+0, Milton 0+2, King 0+1, Landsbergs 0+1, Wilson 0+1
Netminder: Jordan Lawday 33/37 (89.19%)
Steeldogs stats: Buesa 1+1, Hewitt 1+1, Morgan 0+2, Vulkanovs 1+1, Bissonnette 1+0, Bonner 0+1, Dermott 0+1, Turner 0+1
Netminder: Nick Winters 17/20 (85.00%)
PIM: Bison 6 – Steeldogs 12.
SOG: Bison 20 – Steeldogs 37.
Bison MOM: Peacock – Steeldogs MOM: Bonner
Playoff hockey is here! Having finished in 8th position, the final home game of the season sees the league-winning Leeds Knights back in town on Sunday 9th April, for the second leg of the play-off quarter final tie. Not many are giving the Bison a chance of victory, but anything can happen in play-off hockey and with nothing to lose, the team will undoubtedly go all-out to pull off a monumental upset and make it to the POFW in Coventry. See you all there!
Tickets for Sundays game which faces off at 5.30pm are still available to purchase online from the following link: https://iceaccount.co.uk/basingstoke-bison?Reference=Bison-Website
