RENE Jarolin became the first player this season to hit four goals in a game for the Basingstoke Bison as they saw off the visiting Peterborough Phantoms 6-1.

The Slovak sniper had a hand in all six goals as the Herd dominated this game from start to finish.

In fact it took Peterborough 11 minutes to have their first meaningful shot on target, as Adam Long in the Phantoms net had a busy first 20 minutes.

However, he was only beaten once before the first buzzer by Jarolin, who thumped home the puck after Derek Roehl’s shot had been saved.

The second session proved to be a more even affair, but the Bison extended their lead to 3-0 by 30:03.

Declan Balmer with a blue line bullet scored the first goal and then Jarolin was released by Roehl and produced a clinical finish on a breakaway.

Soon after, Ciaran Long hit the post, before James Archer returned a Tomas Hiadlovsky poke check with interest, to keep his side’s slim hopes alive.

Bison captain Aaron Connolly was denied by a superb stick save from Adam Long as it remained 3-1 at the second break.

The Herd piled on the pressure at the start of the third period and finally it told, as they made the most of a penalty on Nathan Long, with Jarolin completing his hat-trick from close range.

Daniel Lackey then forced another great save from Adam Long, before Roehl turned provider again for Jarolin to score his fourth of the night at the far post.

Within a minute, Peterborough’s Thomas Stubley was heading to the sin bin for tripping Ciaran Long.

He had barely sat down, when Tomas Karpov fired in from the blue line, as the Bison took just nine seconds to convert the powerplay chance and complete the 6-1 win.

The victory moved them up to fourth in the table and they will stay there as long as they win in Bracknell this evening.