THE Basingstoke Bison maintained their four point lead at the top of the English Premier League, thanks to a thrilling 4-3 overtime win at the Hull Pirates.

The home side scored the only goal of the first 20 minutes, thanks to their Finnish import Tommi Laine at 14:11.

The Bison took just 50 seconds of the second session to level things, as Stuart Mogg scored assisted by Alan Lack and Ciaran Long.

The Herd then took the lead at 24:43, as Joe Greener converted a penalty shot, after he had been hauled down by Nathan Salem.

The visitors added a third goal from captain Aaron Connolly, as he fired home Shaun Thompson’s pass at 28:51.

Hull got themselves back into the contest, as Dominic Osman scored off the helmet of Bison netminder Jon Baston, which saw the Herd goalie slump to the ice.

However, Baston was able to continue and the Bison still led 3-2 at the second break.

The final session saw the Herd look to extend their lead, but with under four minutes left, the home side levelled things, as Laine netted his second of the night, This sent the game into sudden death overtime and it was left to Matt Towalski to score the winner at 63:46, assisted by Ryan Watt and Kurt Reynolds.

After a four point league weekend, the Bison can now focus on their EPL Cup semi-final second leg tie in Guildford on Wednesday night.

They trail the Flames by a single goal, after a 1-0 loss in the first leg in Basingstoke last Wednesday.