MATCH REPORT | PHANTOMS DIG DEEP FOR A SHOOTOUT WIN IN BASINGSTOKE

A determined effort from a short-on-defence Wendy's Peterborough Phantoms saw them take both points, after a tense shootout in Basingstoke.

It was the Bison's imports who started the game the brightest. Some early chances for Brendan Sellan and Luke Spadafora were well saved by Hayden Lavigne - setting the tone for a 69-save game from the Phantoms goaltender.

Billy Thorpe was the first to break for the Phantoms - driving a shot into Max Wright's pads. This save triggered a breakaway of Bison's own - with Joe Gretton getting down to block well - and Lavigne tidied up the follow-up efforts.

The visitors broke the deadlock at 05:04, with Circenis surging down the right side, plating the puck for Morgan Clarke-Pizzo - who found Cam Hough for a back-post tap-in.

Reece Cochrane was the first man to the box, sitting a tripping minor at 15:29. A Liam Morris shorthanded effort was the only chance of note, with the Bison returning to full strength.

A few big saves from Lavigne closed out the period - including a huge pad stop on Hallam Wilson's effort.

The second period opened with the Bison's first equaliser - with Brendan Sellan firing home Zak Shankar's setup pass at 20:49.

Joe Gretton was the next man to the penalty box, serving a 2-minute delay of the game penalty at 21:59.

Like the Bison's penalty, the only chance of note was a shorthanded one - this time from Cam Hough.

Brendan Baird cut out some good work between the Phantoms' top line, but the resulting faceoff proved fruitful.

The Phantoms retook the lead - this time it was a Luke Ferrara snapshot beating Wright following some good play by Laakkonen at 26:10.

It wasn't long before the Bison levelled the scoring again - with Milton's lifted effort awarded by the officials, following some discussion at 29:23.

The Bison were shorthanded again, not long after their goal. Liam Morris scored a hooking minor at 29:47 - with Hough almost sneaking an effort behind Wright on this powerplay.

The home side's first go-ahead goal of the game came at 33:52 - with Brendan Baird firing home from range.

A pinballed shot from Adam Harding deflected its way through before the buzzer - but landed in the grateful glove of Lavigne to see out the period.

The third period opened with some discussion between Jasper Foster, Zak Shankar and a handful of his Bison teammates.

With the Phantoms man sitting a roughing minor at 42:57 - this shift appeared to be the momentum the visitors needed.

It was less than a minute into Foster's penalty that Captain Ferrara broke shorthanded. Wright blocked his first effort, but Ferrara coolly converted the rebound at 43:39.

An equaliser wasn't enough for the Phantoms, with the wind now in their sails. Dillon Lawrence provided the go-ahead goal this time, converting from a Laakkonen play at 45:29.

With the Phantoms short on defencemen, the side began to tire. Some long shifts saw the Bison ramp up the pressure once more.

This pressure paid dividends for the home side with less than five minutes of regulation remaining, with Will Stead firing home at 55:40.

Overtime was a relatively quiet affair for both sides.

Several breakaway chances fizzled out - with Sellan and Milton seeing efforts saved, with an impressive diving block from Laakkonen taking the sting out of a Spadafora-led odd man rush.

With the shootout level after three, it was the second round of sudden death that settled the game.

Dillon Lawrence's second shot of the shootout beat Wright - sending the Phantoms home with both points.