A SHORTHANDED goal scored 10 seconds before the end of the match condemned Basingstoke Bison to their first regulation-time defeat of the season at Bracknell Bees last night.

The Bison, who beat Sheffield Steeldogs 5-3 on Saturday, seemed to be on course for a four-point weekend as they led bottom-of-the-table Bracknell 2-0 at the end of the first period and 3-1 midway through the second.

However, the Bees scored twice to level the game before the second buzzer and snatched an unlikely victory with practically the final action of a bad-tempered game.

The visiting Bison got off to the perfect start, opening the scoring with just 1:42 on the clock, player/coach Doug Sheppard finding the net from Kurt Reynolds and Joe Greener.

They doubled their lead at 17:39, Michael Wales firing home shorthanded, with the assists going to Sheppard and Joe Baird.

Bracknell pulled a goal back early in the second period, Ivan Antonov scoring from Radek Hubacek, but the Bison restored their two-goal advantage at 26:42.

With Reynolds in the penalty box, Wales set up Sheppard for his second goal of the night to put Basingstoke back in control.

Bracknell were dealt another blow soon after, when they lost Chris Wiggins to a match penalty for roughing, the combative forward having decided to fight Basingstoke’s Matt Selby.

Selby also sat out 10 minutes for misconduct after mouthing off at the officials and Bracknell reduced the deficit at 36:28, Lukas Smital scoring unassisted.

Things soon got worse for the Bison as Greener and Reynolds were sent to the box in quick succession, giving the hosts a five-on-three powerplay.

They needed less than 30 seconds with two extra men to level the game, Jan Bendik netting from Lukas Smital and Ryan Watt to make it 3-3 at 37:40.

The scores remained level throughout an increasingly tetchy final period, but the Bison were handed a great chance to win the game when Scott Spearing was sent to the sin-bin at 58:36.

However, rather than winning the game on the powerplay, they lost it shorthanded, Smital scoring another unassisted goal to break Bison hearts.

The bad-tempered nature of the match continued after the winning goal, with Bracknell’s Pavel Strycek picking up a 2+10 penalty for checking into the boards. It was a hit that both Tomas Karpov and Joe Rand took exception to, with both picking up penalties for roughing.

The win saw the Bison slip to third in the table, two points behind leaders Telford Tigers but with a game in hand.

The previous evening in Basingstoke, an excellent first-period display saw the Herd on their way to a 5-3 victory over Sheffield Steeldogs.

With the Bison missing the suspended Aaron Connolly and injured Ciaran Long, youngster Alex Sampford was called up from the Buffalo for his first outing in the English Premier League.

The hosts made a good start, with Sheffield netminder Dalibor Sedlar making several early saves, but he could not prevent the Bison going ahead on the powerplay at 10:51.

Sheppard picked up the puck from Nicky Chinn and while his shot was saved, Rand was on hand to tap the loose puck into the net.

The lead was doubled at 12:02. Again the Steeldogs ran into penalty trouble, giving the hosts almost two minutes of five-on-three, and the Bison took advantage.

Miroslav Vantroba fired in from the blue line and Rand was able to deflect the puck beyond Sedlar, with Karpov also picking up an assist.

Both sides were called for penalties as the game threatened to boil over but the Bison continued to pose the greater threat and extended their lead further at 16:07, Karpov firing home from close in after good play from Andrew Melachrino and Greener.

Sedlar made an excellent save to deny Melachrino early in the second period, while Vantroba rattled the post as the hosts continued to press.

They added a fourth goal at 27:33, Wales firing home with Karpov and Vantroba getting the assists, but Sheffield pulled one back at 33:59, Tom Squires netting from Andrew Hirst and Lubomir Korhon.

The Steeldogs reduced the deficit to two goals midway through the final period, Korhon finding the net after Dean Skinns had saved Ben Morgan’s effort.

The Bison responded well, creating a few chances before making it 5-2 at 56:07, Rand completing his hat-trick shorthanded after being played in by Greener.

Korhon got his second of the game from close range at 57:43, but the winning margin could have been more as both Greener and Wales missed the empty net after Sheffield pulled their netminder, with Wales’ effort hitting the post.

SCORING

Bison v Steeldogs: Bison; Rand 3+0, Karpov 1+2, Wales 1+0, Vantroba 0+2, Melachrino, Chinn, Sheppard 0+1. Steeldogs; Korhon 2+1, Squires 1+2, Morgan, Hirst, Smith 0+1. Penalties: Bison 16 min, Steeldogs 32. Shots on goal: Skinns 16, Sedlar 37, empty net 1.

Bees v Bison: Bees; Smital 2+1, Bendik, Antonov 1+0, Hubacek, Watt 0+1. Bison; Sheppard 2+1, Wales 1+1, Reynolds, Baird, Greener 0+1. Penalties: Bees 47min, Bison 30. Shots on goal: Mettam 34, Skinns 31.