Edinburgh Capitals 4, Basingstoke Bison 6

STEVE Ellis and Dominic Hopkins scored their first league goals of the season for the Basingstoke Bison, as they came from 3-1 down to win 6-4 in Edinburgh last Sunday.

It was the home side who struck first as the Capitals' man-of-the-match Dino Bauba netted after 83 seconds, but the Bison were level at 3:38 as Jozef Lukac fired home from the blue line.

The Capitals regained the lead before the first buzzer as Bauba struck again.

After the break, the Capitals extended their lead as Jan Krajicek scored on the powerplay at 23:51.

Back came the visitors as Hopkins netted from the blue line, and then assisted Jeff Corey with a long range effort for the equaliser at 28:10.

Krajicek then departed to the sin bin for delaying the game, but later stepped out again to give his side the lead at 32:47.

At this point Ronnie Vogel was replaced in goal by Dean Skinns, who continued his good form from the previous night against London.

Edinburgh were once again shorthanded at 37:24, as Mindaugas Kieras went to the penalty box for slashing.

This time, the Bison made the most of the extra man as their man-of-the-match Doug Sheppard scored.

The final period belonged to the visitors as Dave Trofimenkoff faced 26 shots, having only had to deal with 18 in the previous 40 minutes.

The first of only two penalties in the period saw Miroslav Droppa depart for roughing and, once again, the Herd took full advantage as Jerry Galway fired home at 45:19.

The Bison made it a two-goal cushion at 49:52 as Ellis scored after a one-on-one.

Tomorrow (6.30pm) the Bison will look to build on this victory as they face the Coventry Blaze on home ice, in what will surely be a very tight contest.

These teams have met twice before this season, with the first game in Basingstoke being drawn 4-4 and the second one in Coventry resulting in a Blaze victory 3-2.

Import defenceman Duncan Dalmao should return from injury for that game, while British forward Lewis Buckman is expected to still be out injured.

Depending on his other club commitments, it is hoped that young Brit Greg Wood will still be in the line-up.

Bison head coach and general manager Mark Bernard said: "We had a good weekend against London and Edinburgh and would like to carry that on.

"Coventry are well coached and have a good balanced side, but we have had some good games with them this season."

On Sunday, the Herd face another long trip to Newcastle in another Cross League game.

The Vipers beat Edinburgh at home 2-0 in a Caledonia Cup game and are one of the favourites for the British National League title, but their form has been inconsistent.

Newcastle's Simon Leach will be out with a broken hand, while Michael Tasker is doubtful with a back injury.

Barnard said: "It is another long trip, but one we will be looking to get two points from."

Scoring; Capitals: Krajicek, Bauba 2+1, Cingel 0+2, Kieras, N Hay 0+1; Bison: Sheppard 1+2, Hopkins, Galway 1+1, Corey, Lukac, Ellis 1+0, Ford, Maltby 0+2, Ewasko, Redmond 0+1. Shots on Goal: Trofimenkoff 44, Vogel 11, Skinns 14. Penalties: Capitals 14min Bison 10.