SIX unanswered second period goals saw the Basingstoke Bison go down 8-3 to the Raiders in Romford on Sunday night.
However, after the first 20 minutes the Herd led 2-1, having taken the lead at 7:31 thanks to unassisted Adam Jones strike.
The home side levelled from former Bison captain Aaron Connolly, but the Herd edged in front again after Tom Ralph finished a nice move involved Richard Bordowski and man of the match Adam Harding
Just 53 seconds into the second session, Bison captain Elliott Dewey was sent to the sin bin for tripping and the Raiders made it 2-2 as Blahoslav Novak scored.
Within a minute, the home side took the lead they were never to surrender as Jake Sylvester scored.
At this point, the visitors called a time out and soon after Jack Flynn took a 2+10 boarding penalty, giving the Bison a great chance to level things.
However, disaster struck as the Raider's new import Lukas Sladkovsky scored shorthanded and then two goals in the space of 15 seconds made it 6-2 at 26:51, as Mason Webster and Sladkovsky both netted.
Connolly then scored the home side's second shorthanded marker of the game to make it 7-2 at the second break.
The Raiders drew first blood in the final session as Webster scored on the powerplay with Liam Morris in the penalty box for roughing.
It was left to Bison to complete the match scoring as George Norcliffe scored at 54:34 assisted by Josh Kelly and Ashley Tait.
The Herd will look to bounce back to winning ways on Saturday, when the Bracknell Bees buzz into town for a game which has a 6.30pm face-off.
.
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 The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.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