IT WAS a top-versus-bottom clash at The Hive on Sunday evening, writes Dave Wright.

But there were times in this EPIHL encounter when tailenders Bracknell Bees more than held their own against clear leaders Basingstoke Bison.

The 5-3 scoreline was a true reflection of the game as a whole, however it wasn’t until the last 20 minutes when Bison netted their fourth and fifth goals.

Bees net minder Alex Mettam felt that their fourth goal was the killer blow.

“It came about 30 seconds before the end of the second period,” he said.

“Had we gone in [to the dressing room] at 3-3, I think the outcome of the game could have been different. But in the end we fell a bit short unfortunately.”

In front of a good-sized crowd, there was early cheer for both sets of supporters.

There were just 69 seconds on the clock when Ciaran Long put Bison ahead with the first of his three goals, but 46 seconds later Bees were on level terms, with Josh Smith finishing off a move involving Lukas Smital and Carl Graham.

Home skipper Matt Foord brought out a smart stop from Jon Baston before Bison had both Long and Dan Lackey sent to the sin-bin.

And Bracknell took advantage of the power play to regain the lead in the 10th minute through Vanya Antonov (pictured) with Jan Bendik and player-coach Smital providing the assists.

Bees were buzzing and James Galazzi and Smith were not far away from increasing their side’s advantage with Scott Spearing also giving the Bison defence an anxious moment.

So it was a very encouraging opening period, but just 31 seconds after the resumption the scores were back level with Tomas Karpov squeezing the ball home from an angle.

Bracknell were back in arrears on 29:02 when their defence was split wide open by a slick move involving Long and Rene Jarolin which was finished off by Long.

There was a scare for Bees fans when Mettam came racing out out of his area and was left stranded when Matt Towalski fired in a shot, but Antonov, having read the situation, was on hand to clear off the line.

Talented youngster Antonov, along with Smith, were involved in the build-up which led to Graham making it 3-3 on 37:31 with a shot that went through Baston’s pads.

Graham was pleased to get on the score-sheet for reasons he revealed on the night, commenting: “Unfortunately, for me personally it hasn’t been the most productive season and being out for four to five months really made it difficult to get get anywhere near my best this year.”

But just over two minutes later Declan Balmer’s shoulder-high snap shot whistled past Mettam to make it 4-3 at the end of the second period.

Bracknell’s hopes of hauling themselves back level ended just before the 46th minute when Long, the best player on the ice by a long chalk, scored a short-handed goal to complete his hat-trick.

Smith was voted Bracknell’s player of the match on a night which was dedicated to the armed forces, with several service personnel attending the game.

Bracknell had previously been crushed 4-0 at neighbours Guildford Flames last Wednesday.

The first period proved an even affair until two goals in three minutes from the home side resulted in them taking a firm grip on the game – Marcus Kristoffersson opening the scoring before Matt Towe found the back of the net.

Visiting Bees began the second stanza on the powerplay after Rupert Quiney picked up an interference minor at the end of the first period, but they could not find a way past Gregg Rockman in the Flames net.

In an end-to-end middle period it was the Flames who extended their lead after seven minutes as Kristofferson again found a way past Mettam.

Although Bracknell defied another powerplay with Smital penalised, an early goal for the Flames near the start of the final period effectively killed off the game.

Jens Eriksson was on target this time – after three and a half minutes – and despite their efforts, the Bees simply could not beat Rockman at the other end.

Their final chance to break the Flames’ netminder’s shutout came with four minutes remaining in the game as Lee Esders took a holding-the-stick minor, but they were were kept at bay and the Flames saw out the remaining minutes to seal the win.

Bees will target a win when they play Manchester Phoenix twice this weekend – home on Saturday (6pm) and away on Sunday (6.30pm).