THE Basingstoke Buffalo turned in two five-star performances as they beat the Oxford Rising Stars 5-3 and then the reigning league champions the Bristol Pitbulls 5-2 to record their first four-point weekend of the season, writes Graham Merry.

The first game was against Oxford on Saturday on home ice and the Buffs opened the scoring in the sixth minute, as Scott Anda netted from man of the match Hallam Wilson.

Wilson then doubled the lead assisted by Ollie Reeves and Paul Petts, before Oxford made it 2-1 at the first break thanks to Aidan McGurk.

The home side were first to strike in the middle session as Cam Buckle converted a pass from Sam Compton, but Oxford then scored either side of the second break from Warren Jones and Ashlee Cave to tie the game at 3-3.

With five minutes left in the game, Wilson edged the Buffalo in front again on the powerplay, as he slotted home from Buckle.

In the last 30 seconds of the game, Oxford pulled their netminder, but the move backfired as Wilson completed his hat-trick with an empty netter.

The following night in Bristol, the Buffs took the lead again in the sixth minute as Petts finished a nice move which involved Anda and Wilson.

Will Birch this scored his first goal since returning to the team to double the advantage assisted by man-of-the-match Xander Robinson.

Within a minute, Bristol opened their account from Lee Duance, but Robinson restored the two-goal cushion in the first period, as he put away a pass from Buckle.

Just 43 seconds into the final session Bristol’s Oli Shone reduced the lead to one

However, the Buffalo were not to be denied, as Robinson netted on the powerplay from Anda and Buckle.

Robinson then turned provider for Birch to complete the victory.

Next for the Buffalo is a trip to Oxford to face the Rising Stars on Saturday.