IT IS crunch time for the Basingstoke Bison, as they try to keep themselves in the hunt for the first trophy of the season - the English Premier League Cup.

The first home and away games of the league campaign count towards the cup group, with the top four teams making the semi-finals.

After the Herd’s slow start to the campaign, they have been making up ground, but their hopes were dented last Sunday with a loss in Guildford.

This weekend, they face two vital cup encounters with a trip to the Swindon Wildcats on Saturday (5.45pm), before a home game against high flying Milton Keynes Lightning on Sunday (5.30pm).

A double defeat will almost certainly end any hopes the Herd have of final four place.

Bison boss Doug Sheppard was bitterly disappointed after last weekend and said: “It was a big game in Guildford and we never turned up. I felt the night before we did not play well even if we won.

"Things have to change otherwise I will be making changes. We have to get back to playing Bison hockey and out working teams. This is a massive weekend for the team."