BASINGSTOKE,UK – Ten games in their Elite League campaign and the Basingstoke Bison still have yet to chalk up their first win of the season. They have come close twice losing on penalty shots in Newcastle to the Vipers and in overtime at Cardiff Devils.
Ironically the Herd having been saved by Cardiff Devils owner Matt Burge, that is where their only victory of the season has come so far in a Challenge Cup encounter.
So is it all doom and gloom in Bisonland? Of course not as the Herd have had the odds stacked against them. With the money problems at the start of the season there was no training camp and then paper work problems slowed down the arrival of their foreign legion.
In fact it took them 12 games to get all their 11 imports in place to play. The club has also been hit with not one, but two suspensions, as the Elite League decided to get tough. That was just for the opening month of the season mind you, but then everyone knew that would happen.
Captain Brad Cruikshank was forced to sit out five games the longest ban of his career, while new defenseman Curtiss Patrick found himself sitting out three games.
Add on top of that warrior and top defenseman Eric Braff has been forced to sit out the first games of his pro career due to an ankle injury, you began to think the only luck the Bison have is bad.
With the team reduced to the bare bones the games came thick and fast and mostly against the sides in the top half of the table including four games against reigning league champions the Coventry Blaze – full marks to the fixture chief for that one.
“It has a horrible start to the season, It has just be one thing after another and it has just been a case of riding through it and getting to the other side,” Head-coach Ryan Aldridge said “Maybe it will make us stronger as a team, as we are used to battled together, some nights we have been forced to play with just three defenseman and I have had to lace the skates up again.”
One light at the end of the tunnel has been the performances of Pittsburgh born netminder Kevin Reiter, the Turner Cup winner for the Fort Wayne Komets in the IHL last season.
The goalie of the year is living up to that billing with four man of the match awards in his opening eight games. He made 48 saves in the Bison’s 4-3 win in Cardiff, but is producing a string of fine performance.
“It is tough at the moment, but the guys are working hard and we are just trying to snap this losing streak, we have yet to win at home which is shame for the fans who give us such great support,” Reiter said “I am sure we will turn the corner once we have all our bodies back.”
Just a week into the campaign the Bison learnt that forward Austin Sutter had decided to stay put in North American, but that opened the door for the return of Canadian Danny Stewart for a second year in a Bison shirt.
He had been on his way to Italy to play for SG Pontebba, before visa problems stopped his Italian adventure. At the moment Stewart is still trying to get himself back into the groove that saw him collect 60 points in 64 games hitting the net 29 times last year.
That could well change in the next few weeks as he moved up to play centre in between the Bison’s leading scorer Greg Chambers and Cruikshank, so his numbers should improve.
Another good addition to the Herd has been new Canadian forward Matt Miller from Sioux Lookout in Ontario, who joins up with former Amarillo Gorillas men, now in the Bison locker room Trevor Read and Austin Sutter.
The hard nosed speedy forward travelled all day to make his debut and then just 28 seconds into his first shift was sin binned for charging. He then scored his first goal for the team the following night in Sheffield against the Steelers.
“I have always been one of if not the fastest skater on the team that is a huge part of my game, I have been tired this first weekend and I am looking forward to a full week’s practice and to help get some wins going,” Miller said. Contact the author at Graham.merry@prohockeynews.com
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