BASINGSTOKE UK, The Bison had a weekend of mixed fortunes, but are still level on points with EPL league leaders the Milton Keynes Lightning.
The Herd’s weekend started so well with a Tomas Hiadlovsky recording his first shut-out since joining Basingstoke in the summer in a 5-0 win over visiting Sheffield Steeldogs.
The Slovak shot stopper made 13 saves, while at the other end of the ice Dalibor Sedlar had a really busy night as he faced 48 shots.
The Bison’s leading goalscorer Tomas Karpov opened his seven point weekend with a first goal of game against Sheffield and then netted again before the first buzzer.
The only goal of the second session was netted by the Herd’s top Brit last season Ciaran Long.
Man of the match Alan Lack, who had a six minute rest in the sin bin after bust-up with Craig Elliott made it 4-0 and then Karpov picked up his second assist of the night and his fourth point when Joe Greener completed the victory.
The following night in Guildford, Karpov scored a hat-trick, but the Bison were soundly beaten 8-4 by the Flames on their own ice.
The home side got off to a great start as they led 2-0 inside five minutes, thanks to powerplay goals from Kevin Phillips and Marcus Kristofferson.
The Herd replied with their own PP marker from Ciaran Long, but Matt Towe made it 3-1 at the first buzzer.
The only goal of the second session came from Guildford’s Andrew McKinney.
The final period saw Karpov score twice in 40 seconds soon after the interval, but Flames’ goals from Jens Erikisson and Sam Duggan made it 6-3.
Erik Piatak added a seventh, before Karpov completed his hat-trick and then 14 seconds later Matic Kralj made it 8-4.
“I felt we played really well against Sheffield and were good value for the win. In Guildford we deserved nothing, the only high spot was Tomas Karpov’s hat-trick,” said Bison head coach Doug Sheppard.
The Bison will hope to return to winning ways on Saturday night (6.30pm) when they entertain local rivals the Bracknell Bees.
Their near neighbours from Berkshire beat them earlier in the season, so the Herd are out for revenge this time.
On Sunday night, the Bison have their first trip to Hull, who they narrowly beat in penalty shoot-out when the teams last met in Basingstoke.
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