Basingstoke Bison 3 Coventry Blaze 3 (Coventry win 3-2 on penalty shots) A NAIL-biting penalty shoot-out decided the Basingstoke Bison fate as they were knocked out of the Findus Challenge Cup by their bogy side this campaign, the Coventry Blaze. In a highly-charged atmosphere at Nottingham, the loss of injured Mike Ellis and cup-tied Rob Lamey did not look to be a hindrance as the Bison raced into a 3-0 lead with 19 minutes remaining. But the Blaze hit back to tie the game and five minutes of sudden-death overtime did not split the teams, with Bison Chris Brant going the closest on a breakaway with a mere 36 seconds left. With the tension building by the second, the Wella-backed side went first in the best-of-five shoot-out, with Dru Burgess failing to get his shot away before Steve Roberts scored for the Blaze to make it 1-0. Both Derek Higdon and Claude Dumas saw their efforts saved, as did Jimmy Andersson and Steve Carpenter. Chris Brant then tied the shoot-out, only for Hilton Ruggles to make it 2-1 to the Blaze. In their final must-score penalty, Gary Clarke did not disappoint but Blaze captain Steve Chartrand booked his side's final place against Fife Flyers with the last shot - to the heartache of the Bison. It had looked so different when the Wella-backed side got just the start they wanted in the final period. Richard Little put them 3-0 up with a super strike from the left wing after 71 seconds. The Blaze finally broke Robert Schistad's shut-out at 47:10 when Dumas netted from a Roberts cross. The final power-play of the game proved costly as Matt Cote was sent to the box harshly for clipping Dumas. Stephen Cooper made it 3-2 from the blue line at 54:35 before the Blaze comeback was completed a minute later when former Bison Mike Shewan tied the game. Earlier in the contest, both teams tested the opposing netminders in the opening two minutes. The first power-play went to Coventry as Jake Armstrong departed for slashing at 2:20. The Bison defence stood firm and, at 6:46, they were given their own one-man advantage when Hilton Ruggles went for roughing Gary Clarke. After a stray Chris Brant pass saw Steve Roberts' breakaway saved by Schistad, the Bison went on the attack with Brant feeding Little. His cross found Higdon, whose low shot from the right-wing beat Ian Burt at 7:42. Both teams had another powerplay later in the period and, in the final minute of the session, Schistad had to be at his best to keep the Blaze from equalising. The opening of the second period saw Shewan set free Roberts but Schistad flicked the shot over. Two minutes later, Jake Armstrong's shot was gloved wide. At 27:35, Roberts hit the post and, within a minute, Steve Carpenter carved out a chance for himself as Coventry piled on the pressure. The Bison weathered the storm for a time and, at 34:46, Armstrong took the puck off Carpenter at the blue line but was unable to beat Burt. Soon after, the Blaze were given a power-play when Andersson went to the box but the herd kept them out. The Bison doubled their lead with 58 seconds remaining in the session as a Higdon right-wing cross was touched home by Dru Burgess. Bison scoring: Little and Higdon 1+1, Burgess 1+0, Brant 0+2. Blaze scoring: Dumas and Cooper 1+1, Shewan 1+0, Chartrand 0+2, Soderstrom and Roberts 0+1. Shots on goal: Schistad 32, Burt 16. Penalties: Bison 18, Blaze 12.