ALEX METTAM admitted Bracknell fell “just a bit short” in their efforts to try and topple league leaders Basingstoke on Sunday.
Defeat at the Hive in a game which Bees one point led 2-1, along with a 3-2 win for Manchester Phoenix over MK Lightning on the same day means any outside hopes of making the play-offs have now been extinguished.
Josh Smith, Vanya Antonov and Carl Graham were all on target for Bracknell, but it was a Ciaran Long hat-trick and strikes from Tomas Karpov and Declan Balmer which saw Bison to a win which extended their lead at the top of the standings to eight points.
“It was a tough game and everybody tried hard,” said netminder Mettam, who once again pulled off a number of vital saves to prevent Basingstoke from adding to their final tally.
“We fell behind early on, but to get up to 2-1 we looked good, but unfortunately they were always going to push in that second period and got a couple of goals and we were then chasing the game and that is always going to be hard to get back in it.
“Luckily we have not been blown out by anyone this year. Everyone has worked hard and that is because we have not quit and not thrown in the towel.
“Obviously they (Basingstoke) are a good team and play a very good solid game and are top for a reason, but we held our own against them, as we have done all season against all of the teams, but we were just a bit short unfortunately.”
One of Mettam’s first tasks on the night was to scoop the puck out of his net. This was after Long had opened the scoring through a strike from over on the left with the contest just 69 seconds old.
It looked as though the shot had taken a deflection via a team-mate as it made its way past the goaltender, but the forward was credited with the goal.
Bracknell, however, were to crack up the entertainment levels witnessed during the early exchanges a notch when Smith swept home the equaliser just 46 seconds later.
The strike was engineered by player-coach Lukas Smital, who set off on a trademark surge down the wing before squaring the puck to his unmarked team-mate, who took a touch before coolly stroking a shot beyond Job Baston in the Bison goal.
The minutes which succeeded this explosive start failed to live up to expectations as both sides began to get a feel for one another.
But it was following both teams falling into penalty trouble when Bracknell turned the contest on its head.
Following Josh Tetlow and Basingstoke’s Long, both for crosschecking, into the box was the visitors’ Kurt Reynolds, who was punished for a holding of the stick offence.
This left Bees on a four-v-three power play, and they duly took advantage.
But they had to be patient. The trio of Smital, Jan Bendik and Antonov all saw a number of phases broken down by stubborn opposition.
However, another Bendik pass sprayed out to Antonov over on the right hand side presented the young forward with a sight of goal, and he would make no mistake when firing between Baston and his near post for a 2-1 lead.
It was just desserts for Bracknell, who were now taking the game to their local rivals – and they were unlucky not to grab a third when James Galazzi broke clear.
Having stolen in just short of centre ice, the forward set off for goal, but could only drag his shot wide when well placed.
Despite the miss, Bees would head into the first break holding a slender advantage, thanks only to both Mettam and the ironwork, however.
The ‘keeper did well to thwart both Joe Baird and Aaron Connolly from close range before the latter rattled a post when letting fly from just inside the blue line.
Bracknell’s goal continued to live a charmed life once play resumed after the break, but the session was just a little over two minutes old when the scores were tied once more.
A host side missing defenceman Lewis Turner though injury were founding wanting down their left side, where Czech forward Karpov did well to work himself into space before firing across Mettam and into the opposite corner.
Hooking an opponent saw Smital having to sit out two minutes soon after, but as did his victim, Miroslav Vantroba, who was deemed to have made the most of the incident and was binned for embellishment.
The following two minutes went without reward for either side, but it was a devastating counter attack produced by the Bison midway through the stanza which saw the visitors grab the lead for a second time.
Working the puck out to the right and with the opposition stretched, Long was to produce the telling touch when converting an accurate pass from close range with Mettam committed.
Basingstoke were almost in a fourth too just moments later.
Mettam was to come racing out of his crease to swallow up a dumped puck, only to be robbed off possession with his unattended goal gaping.
The chance to score fell to former Bee Matt Towalski, but with players racing back the angles tightened up.
The forward did well to shirk off an attempted interception – only to see his eventual strike at goal blocked by Antonov on the line.
It would prove to be a pivotal miss, too, because Graham was soon making it 3-3.
And it was a goal which was to catch most by surprise, both Graham and Batson included.
For the D-man’s drive from the blue line appeared to be a routine save for the netminder, but the puck was to squirm under his grasp and trickle into the net.
It looked as though Bees had now done enough to remain on level terms heading into the final period.
Such hopes, however, were dashed when Balmer produced a stunning strike from the point for a 4-3 lead. In finding the net, the centre managed to avoid a clutch of bodies in front of him, with the puck flashing over the shoulder of Mettam and into the top shelf.
Conceding so late in the period was clearly a blow for the hosts, yet they were to be hit by a sucker punch early in the final stanza.
This is because Long would complete his hat-trick when making it 5-3 after a team-mate had to take a too-many-men minor.
Instead of trying to defend their own goal, the table-toppers went and attacked the other, albeit through some brilliant individual play by Karpov.
A determined run took the player down the left wing and around the goal, where he held off an opponent before unselfishly cutting the puck back for Long to complete the hat-trick goal with a simple finish.
While defeat leaves Bees only playing for pride between now and the end of the regular season, it was another harsh lesson for the side, who racked up just 15 shots on goal during the second and third sessions, compared to the 29 unleashed by the Bison.
“I think tonight puts us out of the play-offs so that one has probably gone,” added Mettam.
“We will just try and do each other proud and try and get as many wins as we can towards the end of the season and we might be able to throw a spanner in the works.”
Bees remain bottom of the table on 20 points ahead of a double header with Manchester Phoenix this weekend, with the first taking place at The Hive on Saturday (6pm).
