BASINGSTOKE Bison head coach Doug Sheppard has paid tribute to former Herd team mate Ryan O’Keefe who dead suddenly in his sleep at the weekend in North America.

The popular hard hitting Canadian defenceman, who had just turned 38, played for two seasons in Basingstoke between 2005 and 2007 including the club’s best in the Elite League.

Bison head coach Doug Sheppard said: “I played for two years with Ryan in Basingstoke, the second one as his coach and also in Australia, so I got to know him well. He was a great team player, he dished out crunching hits and was always ready to stick up for his team mates. It is such sad news to hear of his passing at such a young age.”

There will be a minute’s silence for Ryan at Saturday’s Bison game, when the Herd take on arch rivals the Bracknell Bees.

They will be buzzing into town looking to dent another team’s title hopes, after their excellent 5-3 success over third placed Swindon Wildcats last Sunday.

The previous day, they also took second placed Peterborough to a penalty shoot-out and with this being a local derby it has the makings of a classic.

The Bison are expected to be missing defenceman Dan Scott and Sheppard said: “They are playing better than a fifth placed team at the moment, but we are playing well and will hope to keep our winning run going.”

On Sunday evening (5.15pm) the Herd have a tough away game at fourth placed London Raiders, who now playing out of their new rink in Romford.

The Raiders will be looking for their first win over the Herd this season, but won at their new home over Swindon recently.

Sheppard added: “They are a hard working team, so we will have to out work them to stand any chance of winning.”