THERE are three competitions in an ice hockey season – the cup, the league and the play-offs.

It is the last of these that gives every game an extra edge as the season comes to a close, as league position will determine who will play who in the knock-out finals.

That’s why we were pleased to continue our winning home run and to pick up three more points last weekend.

Home and away, we’re proving to be a match for any team in regulation time.

It’s clear that the fans also sense the increasing importance of each game.

Saturday’s game against Bracknell was celebrated noisily, especially by our Polish fans who added to what was already a great atmosphere in the rink with their horns and balloons.

We’ve been scoring a lot of goals lately, but as coach I was especially pleased with our defensive performance.

Stuart Mogg and Muzzy Wales are playing out of their normal positions and doing a great job for the team.

It was also good to see Dean Skinns getting a shut-out.

We concluded our series against Manchester on their ice on Sunday.

These matches have been very close all season and it took overtime and penalty shots for Manchester to draw the series three all.

The guys were given a lift when Matt Selby came down to be with the team.

You will remember that Matt was playing for us early in the season, when we were also enjoying a good run of wins.

Matt is still showing symptoms of his head injury, but we all look forward to the time that he can pull on a Bison shirt again.

In the meantime, our thoughts and best wishes go to him, as we battle to build on our present success.

All the best,

Doug