TOMAS Karpov scored a hat-trick, but it was all in vain as the Basingstoke Bison lost 8-4 at their local rivals the Guildford Flames.
The home side got off to a great start as they led 2-0 inside five minutes, thanks to two powerplay strikes from Kevin Phillips and Marcus Kristofferson.
The Herd replied with their own powerplay goal from Ciaran Long, but Matt Towe made it 3-1 at the first buzzer.
The only goal of the second session saw Guildford doubled their lead as Andrew McKinney found the net.
The final period saw the Bison stage a great comeback early on, as Karpov scored 39 seconds after the interval and the same player made it 4-3 40 seconds later.
However, this was as good as it got for the visitors as two goals in two minutes from Jens Erikisson and Sam Duggan made it 6-3.
Erik Piatak then added the Flames' seventh, before Karpov completed his hat-trick and then 14 seconds later Matic Kralj made it 8-4.
The Bison will hope to return to winning ways on Saturday night (6.30pm) when they entertain the Bracknell Bees.
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