THE Basingstoke Bison start the quest to defend their South One play-off crown with a double header showdown with the Streatham Redhawks.

The first game of the quarter-final tie is in London on Saturday evening at 5.30pm and the second leg is on home ice on Sunday again with a start time of 5.30pm.

So much has happened since the Bison's play-off triumph last season ,with the majority of the Herd leaving in the summer.

The new coaching team of Ashley Tait and Tony Redmond have worked wonders, with a brand new team which finished a brilliant third in the league - just a point off second.

They will now look to put the icing on the cake of a momentous campaign with play-off success.

This starts against Streatham, who they beat 5-1 in the league series, but two of the home games did go to overtime.

The Herd will still be without injured defenceman Elliott Dewey for the weekend's games

Bison player/coach Tait said: "The league results now count for nothing. You win you carry on and if you lose your season is over, which we do want to let happen."