WE’VE all got our eyes on the play-offs now as the season comes to a close.

The rescheduling of fixtures has fallen in our favour as we no longer have to face a hectic log-jam of games this month.

Ice hockey is a punishing sport and the guys will have time to rest up and make sure they’re ready, mentally and physically, for the final stretch.

That sounds straightforward, but as last weekend showed, hockey is not that simple.

It started well as a full squad took to the ice on Saturday night for the first time in a few months. Joe Miller has fully recovered and Stuart Mogg and Ivan Antonov had returned from their international duties. We dominated Hull in all aspects of the games. Our line of Antonov, Davies and Long carried most of the offence.

The special teams were effective and the short-handed goals were especially appreciated by the fans who once again had packed out the arena.

During the game Ciaran Long became Bison’s all-time English Premier League top points scorer.

He’s a smart, talented player with a great work ethic. When he’s not scoring or assisting, he’s contributing all over the ice for the team. And he’s got lots more years ahead of him.

But by the end of the game we had lost Dan Scott through an injury and Matt Towalski had picked up a suspension which meant he was not available for the return game in Hull on Sunday. Still, we had won 7-1 and looked forward to a four-point weekend.

It wasn’t until we stepped up our game in the third period to draw level that a win looked likely, until, frustratingly, a penalty a few minutes before the end handed the game back to Hull.

See you Saturday.