Images (C) Jo Loat
Final score: Basingstoke Bison 3-5 Raiders IHC (League)
By Matthew Church
Saturday 21st January 2023
Refs: Hewitt and Korsaks – Linos: MacPhee and Sitch-Cunningham
Riding a wave of confidence following their four-point haul the previous weekend, the GalxC Cooling Services sponsored Basingstoke Bison took on the Raiders IHC, in the first of two games against the Romford-based outfit across the weekend.
The home side looked lively early on with both captain George Norcliffe and Gaël Lubwele testing netminder Ethan James inside the opening five minutes. Their bright start was rewarded not long after as the Herd opened the scoring at 7:11 in spectacular fashion. After gaining entry into the offensive zone, George Norcliffe (assisted by Sampford and Mitchell) moved forward from the right side and sent a bullet top shelf past James in net, that went in and out so quickly it left some fans delayed in their reaction to celebrate. Without doubt, the goal was legitimate and the Bison were 1-0 ahead.
As the first period progressed, the Herd continued to nullify any real opportunities that appeared for the Raiders and were fully deserving of doubling their lead just before the intermission arrived. A well worked powerplay saw a blocked shot fall to Alex Sampford (Norcliffe, Balaz) between the face-off dots who stepped forward and sent a wrist shot into the Raiders’ net at 17:32, putting the home side 2-0 in front after 20 minutes. The visitors, however, were flying high in 6th place for good reason and they began their fightback at 24:25 through ex-Bison Aaron Connolly (Jackson, Barry) as he found space in front of goal and fired home with ease. Barely had this goal been announced before the Herd flew down the other end and reestablished a two-goal cushion at 24:42, as import Marcel Balaz (Milton, Kelly) finished off an odd-man rush during which Ethan James had made an initial save but the puck fell kindly for Balaz to put his team 3-1 in front.
Contentious penalty calls, at least in the minds of the home crowd, on Lubwele and Morris left the Herd facing a lengthy 5-on-3 Raiders powerplay and despite heroic defending, the away side eventually found the net at 37:35, courtesy of a tap in from Ashley Jackson (Gomercic, Gulliver) which saw the Bison lead 3-2 after 40 minutes.
A tense final period was in store as the Herd were on the cusp of stretching their winning run to 4 games and looked to put the game out of reach. However, the Raiders became the dominant side and missed chances by both Bison imports were punished at 52:40 as the visitors levelled the scoreline at 3-3. Matthieu Gomercic (Jackson) was on hand to flick the puck home from in tight and fully hand his side the momentum. Barely one minute later and disaster struck for the Herd, a lapse in concentration allowed Harry Gulliver (Sylvester, Relf) to weave his way through the Bison defence and tuck home past Mettam at 53:57, handing the Raiders their first lead of the night.
With victory having been ripped from Herd, a desperate final call to pull the netminder in favour of the extra forward skater was made but it would unfortunately backfire, as Aaron Connolly (Jackson) sealed the win at 59:45 with an empty net goal, leaving the Bison distraught at a 3-5 loss.
Next weekend is hugely important for the Herd in their pursuit of a playoff spot, as they welcome Hull Seahawks to town on Saturday 28th, before the short trip to face rival Slough-based Bees IHC the following night.
Match Stats:
Bison stats: Balaz 1+1, Norcliffe 1+1, Sampford 1+1, Kelly 0+1, Milton 0+1, Mitchell 0+1
Netminder: Alex Mettam 32/36 (88.89%) plus 1 ENG
Raiders Stats: Jackson 1+3, Connolly 2+0, Gomercic 1+1, Gulliver 1+1, Barry 0+1, Relf 0+1, Sylvester 0+1
Netminder: Ethan James 31/34 (91.18%)
PIM: Bison 21 – Raiders 10. SOG: Bison 34 – Raiders 37.
Bison MOM: Liddiard – Raiders MOM: Ayliffe
Tickets for Saturday’s crucial home game against the Seahawks are available to purchase from the following link: https://iceaccount.co.uk/basingstoke-bison?Reference=Bison-Website
