Bison netminder Lawrence suffered a torrid third period

Manchester Phoenix exploited defensive errors from Basingstoke Bison to mark their debut in ice hockey's Premier League with an away victory.

The teams spent the first two periods evenly matched until Bison goaltender Davey Lawrence allowed a soft fifth goal which transformed the game.

Phoenix added two more goals to finish 7-4 winners, Ed Courtenay scoring four.

"Davey's going to be upset," admitted Bison player-coach Steve Moria. "It wasn't his night and wasn't our night."

Basingstoke started brightly and had the better of the first period in the opening-day battle between the Premier League's two new-boys.

Both teams elected to drop out of the Elite League over the summer and are expected to dominate the Premier League, which makes results between the two all the more important.

Manchester took a 4-2 lead midway through the second period with their line of Courtenay, player-coach Tony Hand and Jaakko Hagelberg cutting through with frightening ease.

Bison pulled the score back to 4-4 by the end of the second to head into the break with their tails up, but a howler from Lawrence, who let the puck slide between his legs to put Manchester back in front, destroyed their momentum.

Basingstoke's defencemen lost their composure and within minutes, Phoenix had pulled three clear.

"I thought Basingstoke were all over us in the first period. They came out of the traps hard and we were flat on our feet, we weren't getting loose pucks," Hand told BBC Sport.

"In the second period we got the upper hand a little bit but they scored two goals I was disappointed in.

"We got to the third period and the fifth goal we got, the goalie would like that one back.

"Give him his due, he made some big saves as well, but that changed the rhythm of the game and Basingstoke were chasing it."

Hand praised Courtenay for his four-goal performance, having only just arrived in the country.

"Ed came in yesterday morning and, like me, hasn't skated all summer - he got four goals, so that was pretty good.

"I said before the game tonight that Basingstoke will be one of the top teams in the league. We've got to beat them in our series and to get two points tonight is huge."

Moria said Lawrence and the rest of his team would recover from their opening defeat.

"In the first two periods we played very well and were unfortunate to be 4-4, I thought we outplayed them throughout the first two but we couldn't get that lead.

"The fifth goal was a bit of a soft one but those things happen and we never really recovered. It's something we have to learn from.

"Possibly I should have called the time out at 5-4 or even 6-4 to get our heads back in it. But we lost it a little bit and it's unfortunate.

"The positives are we're creating a lot of scoring opportunities and working hard. We're going to win a lot of hockey games."

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