BASINGSTOKE, UK – The Bison have just one place left on their roster to fill for the forthcoming season their third in the EPL and that name will be unveiled along with the new shirt design at a special evening at the Basingstoke Arena on Wednesday August 3.
The player will be the an import forward who will most likely to hail from Eastern Europe.
The Herd boss has spent the summer building on a good core of players with Vancouver-born Steve Moria the only import from last season’s campaign still remaining at the club.
Defenceman Mindy Kieras decided to join near neighbours Slough, while Slovak snipers Ondrej Lauko and Viktor Kubenko the club’s leading goal scorers for the past two seasons will not be returning.
However, on the plus side as one of the top British forwards in the EPL Joe Miller, has decided Basingstoke is the place for him to get his career back on track.
He will join a useful looking top six forwards at the club which will include Moria, Nicky Chinn and leading British goal scorer last term Ollie Bronnimann all from last year’s squad.
Add to that is of course new import forward Daniel Volrab from the Czech Republic as well another yet signed import, the Bison look to have two strong lines which should match up well with any team in the EPL.
Waiting in the wings for ice time on the top two lines are highly junior Great Britain international Liam Chong and popular power forward Chris Wiggins the club’s top penalty taker from last season.
The British forwards are completed by new signings from Bracknell Craig Tribe and Milton Keynes’ Jacob Heron.
The five-man defence which is complete looks very sold with three of last year’s blue liners back in Tony Redmond, Sam Oakford and Kurt Reynolds.
New Slovakian Marcel Petran looks a useful pick-up and ENL champion winning Daniel Harris from Whitley has come highly recommended.
Between the pipes competition will be fierce for the starting job with Basingstoke goalie Dean Skinns looking to hold on to it.
This year Matthew Colclough comes to the club from a Championship winning season at Wightlink Raiders and deserves the chance to impress in the EPL.
Also on the roster is young, up and coming goalie Connor Standing who is trying out for the GB under-18 team and will be training with the Bison during the season as he takes another step towards making the senior team.
The Herd will hit the ice for the first time in competitive action on September 10, when they host a four-team tournament with local rivals Bracknell Bees and ENL outfits Wightlink Raiders and Bristol Pitbulls, whose player/coaches Jeremy Cornish and Richard Hargreaves are both former Bison players.
The competition, the first of its kind staged in Basingstoke, will start with a round robin competition with the top two team making a final.
The club are looking for a sponsor for the event which is set to raise money for charity.
“I am sure the fans are going to enjoy this as it is something difference,” said Bison player/coach Moria.
A week later, the Bison will face Guildford Flames in back-to-back challenge games the first being in Surrey on Saturday September 17 and the return in Hampshire 24 hours later.
Guildford have signed during the summer, Greg Chambers the Bison’s all-time leading points score in their Elite League era and this will be the first time he has played in Basingstoke in over two seasons.
So that is sure to add some extra spice to the games.
“Playing Guildford will give us a great indication as to where we are at as the season starts,” said Moria.
Contact the author Graham.Merry@Prohockeynews.com
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