BECOMING League Champions after a 54 game season is something everyone associated with Bison looks on with pride.

Following it up by securing our place in the play-off finals next week makes a great season even better.

That’s a trophy we won two years ago, and that was enjoyed by many of our fans who were cheering us on last Sunday.

They know what it is like to change up from the league format to two weekends of sudden death hockey.

By beating Manchester home and away, we can get our hands on that trophy again, by winning two games next weekend in Coventry.

Ice hockey at any time is fast and intense. That’s why fans are so passionate about the sport. The play-off format makes everything go up a notch. Yes, you’ve got to limit your errors, but there’s a greater sense of urgency.

So we’ll be playing in front of our biggest crowd all season, with supporters from all the hockey clubs in the league enjoying the spectacle together. I think we had a taste of that this weekend. The fans of Manchester were applauded at the end of the game for the support they showed throughout the game for a team that has had a difficult time off-ice this season.

This year teams were able to choose their opponents for the quarter-finals rather than follow a formula based on League placings.

I think it’s quite easy to over-think your choice and was quite happy to choose the team we would have been allocated under the old system.

We had an addition to the Bison family this week. Look out in 10 or 15 years time for Jackson Rein Rand in a Bison shirt. Congratulations Heidi and Joe.

See you in Coventry on Saturday and, we hope, Sunday.