THE Basingstoke Bison will have the chance for quick revenge this evening, when the Milton Keynes Lightning come to town.
Last night, the sides clashed in MK and the home side came out on top winning 5-3.
The Lightning took the lead on their first powerplay of the evening, as Liam Stewart was able to beat Bison man of the match Alex Mettam from the top of the circle.
The visitors replied on 13 minutes exactly, as Ashley Tait scored with a crisp wrist shot after Michal Klejna won the face-off.
Just 39 seconds later, the home side took the lead from last season’s Bison fans’ favourite Russ Cowley, after great work from Cale Tanaka.
The Lightning then made it 3-1 at 15:07 thanks to Robin Kovar as he put the puck over the pads of Mettam.
In the final minute of the first period, the side’s swapped great chances with MK’s man of the match Dean Skinns saving a Tait bullet shot and then Mettam denied Tomas Kana.
Just 34 seconds into the second session, Bison’s Adam Jones took a two minute roughing call.
However, while he sat in the sin bin, his teammates reduced the lead, after Klejna was released by Tait and scored a lovely shorthanded marker.
A minute later, Bison import Klejna was heading to the penalty box for a hooking call, which he took exception to, which earned him an additional 10-minute misconduct penalty.
Despite the loss of their leading goalscorer, the Herd tied the game up at 31:11, as Tait finished a nice move which involved Adam Harding and Jones.
The home side hit straight back 46 seconds later, as Cowley scored his second of the night, putting away Kana’s rebound.
The visitors had their chances to draw level again with three powerplay opportunities during the rest of the final period, but former Bison man Skinns came up with the saves to keep them out.
The home side then scored their fifth and final goal of the night at 58:20 from Stewart, as he tipped in a Kovar shot.
This made sure of the victory for MK, their sixth in seven games.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here