BASINGSTOKE Bison bounced back to winning ways with a 4-2 win at Swindon Wildcats, despite being minus injured trio Matt Selby, Michael Wales and Andy Melachrino.

The victory was an important one for the Herd after their loss the previous night at Milton Keynes as once again it counted towards both the English Premier League and English Challenge Cup.

It was the Bison who took the lead on Sunday night, as Ciaran Long converted a Joe Greener pass from close range, but Swindon levelled four minutes later as Jan Kostal scored shorthanded.

However, before the first buzzer, the Bison led again as man-of-the-match Aaron Connolly scored with a powerplay strike.

The second period saw the Wildcats tie the game again from their top Brit Aaron Nell.

The Herd then took full advantage of their only powerplay of the session, as Miroslav Vantroba fired in with a crisp blue line shot.

The third period saw both sides have chances as the tension grew, but Swindon’s hopes of getting anything out of the game were dashed in the final two minutes.

This was after Stephen Whitfield picked up a tripping call and he was followed to the sin bin by Kenton Smith.

With a two man advantage, the Bison added a fourth goal 17 seconds before the final buzzer from Joe Rand.

The Herd return to home ice this Saturday for what is sure to be a derby day battle with the visiting Bracknell Bees (face-off 6.30pm).