Basingstoke got into the festive spirit, spurred on to a win by DJ Bavy, dressed up as a Rooster!

A vital win for Basingstoke as they opened up a 3 point gap between themselves and Hull with this victory and now have some breathing space. Hull are now only one win in their last eight.

A single strike in the first two periods gave the home side the edge, David Vychodil (3rd) got the home side off the mark at 1.58, with a neat spin required to drive the puck into the net. Then with Stingrays in double trouble in the sin bin and starting the second period short handed, the hosts netted with a 5 on 3 powerplay goal from Derek Campbell (11th) 45 seconds into the period.

A shorthanded goal as Stewart got a breakaway and Greg Owen (10th) buried the rebound off goalie Kudrna at 50.42 to seal the win for the Hampshire team. Curtis Cruickshank lost his chance of a shut out as the Stingrays netted a late consolation goal at 58.04 from Lee Esders (2nd).

Period Scores: 1-0, 1-0, 1-1
Penalty Mins: 30-12
Powerplay: Bas 1/6 - Hull 0/10
Shots On: Curtis Cruickshank 35 - Ladislav Kudrna 37

Other Saturday results:

Cardiff Devils 2 Newcastle Vipers 1 (OT)
Edinburgh Capitals 4 Manchester Phoenix 5 (OT)