THE Basingstoke Bison have made a triple whammy of re-signings to show they mean business in their first ever season in the National Ice Hockey League Wilkinson Conference.

The trio of returnees are British forwards Vanya Antonov and Dan Davies, along with British defenceman Dan Scott.

All three made their Bison debuts last season and were key members of the Herd.

Exciting young starlet Antonov arrived from local rivals Bracknell and the Russian-born 20-year-old is also a Great Britain junior international. He finished his first campaign in Basingstoke with 20 goals and 24 assists from 47 games.

London born Davies arrived in Hampshire last summer from Telford. A more defensive and play making forward, the 27-year-old returned 43 points hitting the net 10 times.

Blue liner Scott came to Basingstoke in the middle of last season from Telford. The solid stay at home 25-year-old defenceman scored twice in one play-off game.

Bison head coach Doug Sheppard is delighted with his first three re-signings and said: “Yanya is a very exciting young player and one who is only going to get even better. He has a lot of skill and speed which makes him a real threat.

“Dan (Davies) is a great two way player and a solid centreman who can play in any situation which makes him a great asset to the team.

“Dan (Scott) has established himself as a top defenceman and also brings a lot to the locker room.”

Sheppard added: “As a start to our team for this season I am very excited.”