OUR 23rd win on home ice this season on Sunday brought us our first League Championship in 23 years.

Where better to do this than on home ice in front of fans who have so loyally supported ice hockey in Basingstoke for so many years. This was an occasion which will live long in the memories of all those present.

The evening was set up by a hard-fought win in Telford on Saturday, attended by many of our fans. It took time to get control of the game, but once that happened we’ve learned how to adapt our play to hold on to the lead.

Sunday evening could not have been more exciting, right up to the final buzzer. This was a Championship win we had to earn, as Swindon pulled their netminder for the final seconds to try to force a draw.

The celebrations that followed were captured by Bison TV and placed online within hours. Just watch it, again and again!

This is my second spell as a coach with Bison, the first from the bench. We’ve been consistently among the top teams for the past four years. All credit to this team for finally achieving such a milestone in a 54-game season.

It hasn’t been a straight forward journey. We lost Joe Rand during season and Tom Karpov, at the time the leading goal-scorer, was injured. But we found ways, and players, to keep on winning.

John Neville oversaw our move from the Elite league to the English Premier League. We owe him our thanks as we do Paul Baldwin and all our sponsors who have enabled the Bison to function so successfully.

On Sunday the league champions play the EPL Cup winners in the final league game of the season. This will most likely be the last time Joe Greener will pull on a Bison shirt in a league fixture.

I’ve spent the last six seasons playing along side Joe, most of this time as his line mate. Its been a real pleasure and he’s a huge reason why the Bison have been so successful in recent years.

He will exit as a champion, lets hope a double winning champion.

Thanks for all the memories and everything you’ve done Joe. Best wishes to you and your family in your new life together in America.

Come and join us as we ready ourselves for the play-offs. And have a look at the trophy.