BASINGSTOKE Bison will look to continue their excellent start to 2015, when reigning league champions Manchester Phoenix are the visitors on Saturday night (face-off 6.30pm).

The Phoenix have lost their last five away games – and all their away games against the Bison so far this season – but a fortnight ago, at home, they beat the Bison after a penalty shoot-out.

The Herd look set once again to be without Matt Selby, Grant Rounding and Brendan Baird, while forward Michael Wales is expected to take on defensive duties again this weekend.

This did not do the team any harm last weekend, as they recorded two impressive come from behind wins against Peterborough and Guildford.

The Phoenix encounter is sure to be a close one as their last two visits have only seen the Herd win by a single goal.

Bison player/coach Doug Sheppard said: “We have started to win at home again and I want us to keep this run going.

“We will look continue to play our high tempo physical game, but we know Manchester are good team with some good players, so we are not taking anything for granted.”

One thing the Bison boss will be keen for his troops to do this weekend is stay out of the sin bin in the closing stages of matches, after the Herd took three penalties in the final 10 minutes in their last two games.

Sheppard said: “Taking late penalties in games is one thing we have to cut out.

“We got away with it our last weekend, but this is not going to be the case every time.”

On Sunday night (face-off 5.30pm), the Bison travel to face the EPL leaders Telford Tigers hoping to repeat their victory on home ice earlier this month.

Since this game, the Shropshire side have added British defenceman Ricky Skene to their line-up.

He had a month with the Herd over Christmas and adds even more depth to their line-up.

The Bison’s last visit to Telford saw them beaten 6-1 and Sheppard said: “We played a lot better than the 6-1 scoreline suggested. We will go there looking for a result and five-on-five we can match them. We have to make sure we do not get into a special teams battle.”

One of last season’s Bison, Basingstoke-born Danny Ingoldsby, has been selected for the Great Britain under-18 team that will travel to Tallinn, Estonia for the World Championships Division 2A in March.

The teenager now plays for the Bracknell Bees and will part of a team that will face Croatia, Korea, the Netherlands, Poland and Estonia in a tournament which runs from March 22 to March 28.

They will hope to emulate the success of the GB under-20 side, which won the gold medal just before Christmas, also in the World Championships.