Cornish returns to UK

BASINGSTOKE,U.K- Making the Basingstoke Arena a place no team in the Elite League wants to visit, has been the main priority of Basingstoke Bison Head Coach Ryan Aldridge this summer. A major factor in bringing feet to Saturday hockey nights, will be the arrival of Jeremy Cornish, one of the top fighters in the top flight of the British league in recent years.   The Canadian who has had previous spells in the Elite League with the now defunct London Racers, as well as the Newcastle Vipers and Sheffield Steelers, will now drop his gloves for the Bison.   His addition adds even more toughness to a team, which already includes Brad Cruikshank the Herd’s top penalty taker in the Elite League era, along with summer signings Curtiss Patrick and Brent Hughes who are not afraid to fight.   Toughness is becoming a key word in team building this season among the top 10 teams in Britain. The Bison, with the addition of Cornish, have that base well and truly covered.  The 28-year-old native of Lucan, Ontario made an instant impact when he arrived in Britain from CHL Memphis Riverkings, and soon became a Racers fan’s favourite racking up 178 penalty minutes in his first season.   The demise of the Racers the following year saw him head north to join the Newcastle Vipers, ending the season celebrating play-off success in the finals at Nottingham, UK.   That split season saw his career high in points of 15 hitting the net eight times, while collecting just 99 minutes in the penalties column. He remained in the north east of England the following year scoring five times for the Vipers and returning to his London mark of 178 for PIMs.  Last season he started at Sheffield Steelers, and finished in the IHL with the Bloomington Prairie Thunder, playing on the same team as former Bison enforcer Jeff Ewasko. Once again he warmed the sin bin bench for 287 minutes. A repeat in a Bison shirt this coming campaign would set a new club record for a season, even if by only one minute over Mike Rowe’s mark.     Against the Bison last year in a Steelers jersey, Cornish picked up three points in four games including scoring the game winner on the Basingstoke first visit to South Yorkshire in a 3-2 success.   “Corny will definitely bring some more toughness to the line-up and he is player no one wants to play against and I am sure he will be become a firm fans favourite, he knows what his role is on the team on the ice and is a great guy off it,” Aldridge said “He will be playing on the third line with the two Brits and I am sure they will benefit from having him out there with them.”   Returning to the UK for his third English club, Cornish is up-beat at joining the Surrey franchise. “I am excited to be coming to the Basingstoke, the fans have always been passionate there and rivalry in that building when I was with London was great, I can’t wait to get there,” Cornish said “I think Basingstoke are putting together a good team and I know what my job is it has been the same for the last 12 years, but I will also look to bring some leadership into the dressing room and help other guys out,” “I just want to play hard, game in and game out and hopefully as a team we can win a trophy.”   Contact the author at  Graham.merry@prohockeynews.com