Basingstoke Bison 1 Coventry Blaze 3

TWO goals in 13 seconds early in the final period made the difference between two teams battling for second spot in the league.

This was very much a dual of two netminders as both Scott Hay and Jody Lehman turned in impressive displays.

The Bison, minus British forward Paul Berrington due to flu, promoted Ryan Aldridge to the second line.

The visitors opened the better and scored at 5:41. Ron Shudra ghosted in from the blue-line to convert a Steve Chartrand cross.

Soon after, Steve Carpenter hit the post but the home side pulled themselves into the contest as Lehman was tested.

As the period came to a close, tempers flared with Andreas Moborg and Chris Crombie clashing and then Daryl Lavoie and Shudra had a few not-so-friendly words.

Referee Dave Cloutman decided to ignore the first incident, sending just Lavoie and Shudra to the sin bin, but 10 seconds later they were joined by Moborg and Crombie as the pair continued their disagreement.

The best chance of the final five minutes of the period fell to the Wella-backed Bison as Steve Moria fought his way through to force Lehman to save close-in.

The Bison had a great chance to open the scoring in the opening minute of the second period. Chris Crombie stole the puck from Shaun Johnson and his cross found Peter Campbell but Lehman pushed away his shot.

Moments later, Mike Ellis tried to set up Daryl Lavoie but he failed to get his shot away and then Dwight Parrish's pass left Moria all set to score but some-how Lehman kept it out.

Back came the Blaze, with Hay making a good stop from Shudra close-in and Johnson missing a great chance. With the goal at his mercy, he failed to connect with the puck at 24:40.

A bad hit by Kurt Irvine on Nick Cross amazingly earned the Blaze penalty king a talking-to by Cloutman but seconds later he departed to the sin bin for roughing.

This increased to a two-man advantage when Moborg caught Moria on the chin with a high stick, which should have earned him more than just a two-minute penalty.

Any chance the Bison had of an equaliser disappeared 30 seconds later when Mike Ellis departed for slashing Steve Carpenter.

The visitors lost defenceman Mathias Soderstrom at 34:05 with a shoulder injury as the home side were on another powerplay, which time they made count at 35:03.

Ellis' cross to the back-post saw Moria convert giving Lehman no chance.

The start of the final period saw the Blaze win the contest with two quick goals. The first came from Tom Watkins on the right-wing and the second from Steve Chartrand close-in. From then on, the home side were chasing the game and Lehman was equal to everything the home side could throw at him.

The Bison pulled Scott Hay in the final minute but were still unable to score. With 11 seconds left, the visitors looked to have pushed the net off but no penalty shot was given.

Bison player-coach Steve Moria said: "I felt we matched them for the whole of the game except for the minute in which they scored twice. From them on they were able to sit back and soak up the pressure."

Coventry coach Paul Thompson said: "Basingstoke have improved a lot from the last time we played them and no team this season has put 35 shots on our net. I was just pleased to come away with the two points in the end."

Scoring, Bison: Moria 1+0, Ellis, Campbell 0+1; Blaze: Steve Chartrand 1+2, Tom Watkins 1+1, Ron Shudra 1+0, Hilton Ruggles 0+1.

Shots on goal: Hay 45, Lehman 35.

Penalties: Bison 14min, Blaze 14.