Final score: Basingstoke Bison 1-4 Leeds Knights (League)
By Matthew Church
Sunday 20th February 2022
Refs: Belfitt and Brooks – Linos: Gottlibet and Lalonde
Fresh from an emphatic victory away in Milton Keynes on Saturday night, the GalxC Cooling Services sponsored Basingstoke Bison were looking to extend their winning streak to five games, as they welcomed the Leeds Knights down to Hampshire for a Sunday evening battle.
With just a dozen games left in the regular season, the Herd were keen to fight their way up the league table as much as possible and despite playing the previous night, which their opponents had not done, they looked the more lively team early on.
However, while slightly short on numbers, the Knights were certainly not lacking in quality and at 9:18 they scored the game’s first goal through a familiar source. Fresh from signing a contract extension, Kieran Brown (assisted by Adam Barnes and Matty Davies) took a pass in between the Bison defencemen and raced towards goal alone before dispatching past Alex Mettam in net with ease. Not to be outdone though, the Bison fought back and less than five minutes later their hard work was rewarded with an equaliser. A save by Sam Gospel fell back to the ever-lively George Norcliffe (Harding, Doughty) who glided left and tucked the puck into the Knights’ net at 13:44, to much delight in the stands as he levelled the scores at 1-1. No further scoring would see the sides enter the first intermission level, a fair reflection on the play so far.
The early part of the middle frame would unfortunately prove costly for the Bison as 2 goals in less than a minute for the visitors would see the home side needing a miracle to rescue a result. Firstly, that man again Kieran Brown (Barnes) would show his elite talent by putting the Knights back ahead at 23:43, firing home from a tight angle which went into the net off an unlucky Mettam in net.
(C) Jo Loat
Then, at 24:04, the away side pulled further in front before the Herd had even managed to regain their composure, as a breakdown in the Bison defence allowed Adam Barnes (Brown, Davies) time and space to fire past Mettam for a 3-1 lead. Back-to-back penalties against the Knights handed the Bison two glorious chances to bring themselves back into the contest but the hero of the night, Sam Gospel, continued to act as a brick wall and thwart every single attack, leaving home fans in disbelief at how their team was unable to find the net. Meaning that, after 40 minutes, the Knights were two goals ahead with only 20 minutes left.
With almost double the amount of shots as their opponents, the Herd did everything they could in the final period to rescue a result but continued to be frustrated by an inspired netminder and at 47:58, the final result was all but confirmed. With Brendan Baird in the penalty box for Slashing, a powerplay goal courtesy of Matty Davies (Brown, Hazeldine) moved the visitors 4-1 in front and sadly, this proved to be a deficit the Bison could not recover from. A continued onslaught on the Knights would not provide any joy for the home team, leaving the away side to collect a deserved two points before making the long trip home.
The Bison have been in fine form recently and they have an ideal opportunity for redemption on Wednesday 23rd February, as they play host to the MK Lightning, before another home game on Saturday 26th against fierce rivals Bees IHC. See you there!
Match Stats:
Bison stats: Doughty 0+1, Harding 0+1, Norcliffe 1+0
Netminder: Alex Mettam 22/4 (81.82%)
Knights stats: Brown 2+2, Barnes 1+2, Davies 1+2, Hazeldine 0+1
Netminder: Sam Gospel 36/1 (97.22%)
PIM: Bison 2 – Knights 6. SOG: Bison 36 – Knights 22.
Bison MOM: Oliver Stone – Knights MOM: Sam Gospel
