THE Basingstoke Bison snapped their four game away losing streak with an impressive 4-1 win at the Peterborough Phantoms.

The victory keeps alive the Herd's hopes of third place, as they are now three points behind their Cambridgeshire rivals with a game in hand with four matches to play.

The Herd thought they had scored in the opening minutes in the contest at Peterborough, but the goal was disallowed.

However, this did not stop them taking a 2-0 advantage to the dressing room after 20 minutes.

Captain Aaron Connolly scored the first as he tipped home a Joe Baird shot and then Rene Jarolin netted the second.

The Bison further extended their lead in the middle session from leading goal scorer Ciaran Long.

Tempers then flared as the Herd's Joe Miller and Declan Balmer, along with the Phantoms' Scott Robson and Will Weldon all received roughing penalties.

The Herd then ran into penalty trouble, which the home side took advantage of to score on the powerplay from Ales Padelek.

The final 20 minutes saw the visitors have the upper hand and Derek Roehl made sure of the Bison's first win in Peterborough this season with their fourth goal.

The only other major incident of the last 20 minutes, saw Balmer and Petr Stepanek exchanged blows in the final 10 minutes, which earned Balmer a six minute rest and Stepanek four.

The Herd return to home ice for their next game on Saturday (6.30pm), when local rivals the Guildford Flames are the visitors.