By Anthony Russell
26th/27th November
It was a frustrating one game weekend for the Bison last time out but let’s see how the rest of the National Division got on.
Saturday
It was a fight of the felines in Swindon as the Wildcats and Tigers met. Telford were on the board first, Vladimiar Luka’s goal having the visitors ahead at the first break. However the hosts wrestled the lead back as Balint Pakodzi and Tomasz Malasinski put Swindon ahead. Sam Bullas made it 3-1 to the Wildcats but a second of the night from Luka made it 3-2 with 20 minutes to play. However it was the hosts who would take the spoils as they found a way through in the third. Russ Cowley and a second of the night from Pakodzi were enough to give the Wiltshire side a 5-2 win.
Cats in Swindon, dogs in Bristol as the Pitbulls and Steeldogs clashed. The Yorkshire side were ahead first through Alex Graham as he batted a puck out of the air past Will Kerlin. The lead held most of the way through the second period until an error from the visitors saw Elliott Lewis score his first national league goal to tie the game at 1-1. With time running down in the third, Graham’s second of the night seemed to have Sheffield on the way to victory but Ed Bradley levelled with just over 4 minutes to go. Overtime couldn’t separate the sides and Graham had the decisive goal in the penalty shots to make sure two points headed north.
The Hanger in Slough played host to the Bees and the Phantoms, Dan Rose putting the hosts ahead but Luc Johnson equalised to have the game at 1-1 heading into the second period. Duncan Speirs gave Peterborough the lead in the second with Austin MitchellK-King making it 3-1 but a second of the night from Rose had the score at 3-2 heading into the third. Mitchell-King added his second of the night to make it 4-2 but Will Stead kept the hosts in the game with 6.38 to play in the third. The Bees tried to make something happen but the visitors gutted out a 4-3 win.
Leeds looked to keep their good form going as they welcomed a Raiders side bolstered by the addition of former Bison forward, Alex Roberts following his release by Bristol. It wasn’t the most auspicious of debuts for Roberts as two from Zack Brooks and goals from Matt Haywood, Kieran Brown and Adam Barnes had the score at 5-0 at the end of the first. Brown’s second of the night made it 6-0 and goals in the third from Grant Cooper and Tate Shudra saw the game finish 8-0. Sam Gospel faced just 22 shots for the shutout.
Sunday
After a disappointing night against the Knights, the Raiders headed back home to take on Swindon. The Wildcats had the better start, going 1-0 up through Chris Jones. Jake Sylvester made it 1-1 but Reed Sayers’ goal just 25 seconds later have the visitors the lead at the first interval. Brandon Ayliffe would tie the game in the second but two goals from Colby Tower and goals from Tomasz Malasinski and Aaron Nell gave the Wildcats a commanding 6-2 advantage heading into the final period. Ashley Jackson got one back for the Raiders but a second of the night from Nell saw the game finish 7-3 and give Swindon a 4 point weekend.
Peterborough welcomed Bristol and the sides played out a feisty but goalless first period. The Pitbulls took the lead in the second thanks to Caly Robertson and Morgan Clarke-Pizzo doubled the lead minutes later. Rarely rattled, the Phantoms came steaming back as a powerplay goal from Ralfs Circenis and after a couple of disallowed efforts, Duncan Speirs tied the game at 2-2 at the 39 minute mark. In the third, the hosts took the advantage as Glenn Billing made it 3-2 in the 47th minute and Ales Padelek extended the lead. With time running down, the visitors pulled Will Kerlin for the extra attacker and it paid dividends as Jay Warren found the net with 3.40 to play. A late powerplay gave Bristol the 6-4 man advantage but the Phantoms held of to stay second with the 4-3 win.
Sheffield welcomed MK to Yorkshire for the Lightning’s only game of the weekend. Deivids Sarkanis got the Lightning off to a good start and Sam Talbot made it 2-0 with 24 seconds left in the first period. The visitors would go 3-0 ahead in the second thanks to Sean Norris but a goal late in the frame from Alex Graham would get the hosts on the board and give them a bit of confidence heading into the third. It took them a bit of time but Sheffield would get a second as James Spurr netted on the powerplay. Tim Wallace restored MK’s two goal lead in the 53rd minute but Jon Kirk’s late strike put the game on a knife edge with time winding down. Dmitri Zimozdra was pulled for the extra attacker but a disciplined performance at the back from the Lightning saw them take the game 4-3.
After their win in Basingstoke, the Hull Seahawks looked to get a first 4 point weekend as they took on Leeds. The hosts shocked the league leaders as they lead at the end of the first thanks to Nathan Salem’s goal. However the Knights came roaring back; Adam Barnes tied the game then gave the Knights the lead before Grant Cooper scored his 50th point of the campaign to make it 3-1 at the 40 minute mark. Kieran Brown made it 4-1 in the 45th minute before a second of the night from Cooper and a goal from Matt Haywood rounded out a 6-1 win and keep the Knights firmly at the top of the National Division.
Telford looked to rebound from their loss to Swindon as they took on the Bees at home but were behind early to Will Stead’s strike. Charlie Webb tied the game up in the 15th minute for the Tigers but a powerplay goal from Brendan Walkom made it 2-1 to the Bees at the first buzzer. The Tigers would take the lead in the second as Sam Watkins and Vladimir Luka found the net but it was 3-3 at the 40 minute mark as Lewis English beat Brad Day. Walkom’s second of the night made it 4-3 to the visitors in the 46th minute but Jason Silverthorn would level the scores at 4-4 with 9 minutes to play. However Silverthorn would be thrown out just over a minute later after getting a match for a check to the head on Bees netminder, Adam Goss. On the ensuing powerplay the Bees took advantage as Ryan Webb made it 5-4. The Bees would hold on to condemn the defending league champions to a 0 point weekend and take the points back to Berkshire.
Anthony Russell is the writer of Banners On The Wall (http://bannersonthewall.wordpress.com) which has covered the Bison and British hockey for the last 11 years. He hosts the BOTW What’s Current Stream, the NIHL’s live show for news and views, Wednesday night at 8pm at Twitter.com/BannersOTW
