IT WAS great to bounce back to our best form in front of our home fans on Saturday evening.

Like us, they want to see us lift the league title this year, so beating last year’s title holders in a high-quality game was especially satisfying.

Ciaran Long’s return to the side after injury proved significant and he thoroughly deserved his man-of-the-match award.

He has a knack of scoring special goals at important moments in a game.

It was a great team effort, and they carried this attitude in to our game on Sunday in Sheffield.

Our loss against Bracknell the previous week had been a wake-up call, especially when we failed to capitalise on a five-minute powerplay.

Against Sheffield, we had another extended powerplay and this time we executed efficiently, putting the game out of the home side’s reach.

Even when they pulled a goal back, there was no way we were going to let them back into the game.

Having sat out a two-match suspension, Aaron Connolly brought great energy back to the team.

Muzzy (Michael) Wales has also just returned to the team. Not only is he a leader on the ice, but he has the versatility to drop back into a defensive role, given the absence of Matt Selby.

We are on the road next weekend, so that will be a test of how well we can sustain our competitive edge.

If we play to our full potential, we can beat any team in the league. If we lose that edge, any team could win, whatever their position in the league.

Our belief in the importance of developing young players brought its rewards last week when three young Bison players, Matt Selby, Declan Balmer and Cameron Wynn, were all selected for the Great Britain under-20 squad.

All the best,

Doug