| Basingstoke Bison | |
|---|---|
| City | Basingstoke, Hampshire, England |
| League | English Premier Ice Hockey League |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Home arena | Planet Ice Silverdome |
| Colours | Black, White, Red & Green |
| Owner(s) | Planet Ice |
| Head coach | Steve Moria |
| Captain | Nicky Chinn |
| Media | Bison TV |
| Franchise history | |
| 1988-95 | Basingstoke Beavers |
| 1995- | Basingstoke Bison |
The Basingstoke Bison are an English Ice Hockey club from Basingstoke. They currently compete in the English Premier Ice Hockey League and have previously been members of the Ice Hockey Superleague and its successor the Elite Ice Hockey League
Contents |
Formed in 1988 as the Basingstoke Beavers, the club soon became the butt of jokes when it was realised that Canadian players would not sign for a club whose name is Canadian slang for a part of the female anatomy.
The "Beavers" became the "Bison" in 1995. Their team logo (see right) is very similar to that used by the Buffalo Sabres from 1996-2006.
Joining the Superleague in 1996, the Bison dropped out in 1998 and joined the British National League. In 2003 they joined the newly formed Elite Ice Hockey League.
Despite being one of the lower budget teams in the EIHL, the Bison have maintained their fan base and greatly enhanced local sponsorships and doubled their season ticket sales.
This success is mainly testament to the hard work of Mark Bernard, who occupied the General Manager and Head Coach role with the club during the 2004/05 and 2005/06 seasons. Bernard also stepped into the Netminder's role part way through the latter season after Jayme Platt had left the team!
In May 2006, Bernard left the club to take up the Assistant General Managers post at American Hockey League side the Norfolk Admirals. Prior to his departure, Bernard secured the services of a number of the players that made up the 05/06 roster.
In June 2006, Planet Ice announced that the new player / coach of the club would be former club captain Doug Sheppard, with former Bison and London Racers defenceman Duncan Dalmao returning as player / assistant coach. Shepherd set about building his roster around the core that he had inherited from Bernard.
Bison embarked upon a successful year under Shepherd, securing their highest ever Elite League finish, and taking many points off the top sides in the League.
In April 2007, David Taylor, owner of Bracknell Bees, purchased the Bison. He appointed Ryan Aldridge as the Head Coach of the team, signalling the end of Doug Shepherd's reign. Shepherd went on to join rivals Sheffield Steelers.
Following financial problems, which had resulted in the departure of a number of players (including starting netminder Stevie Lyle), Taylor relinquished ownership of the Bison and the team's new owner was announced as Tomas Enerston by Planet Ice on November 8, 2007.
Less than a year later, following further financial difficulty, Planet Ice put together a rescue package to keep Bison on the ice until the end of the 2008/09 season.
On the 25th of March 2009, the Bison released a statement confirming that they will be joining the EPL for the 2009/10 season.[1][2] Entry to the EPIHL was confirmed on 15 April 2009,[3] and Steve Moria took over as Head Coach the following day.[4]
| Goaltenders | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Catches | Acquired | Place of Birth | ||
| 47 | Davey Lawrence | L | 2009 | Barnsley, England | ||
| 95 | Tom Annetts | L | 2009 | Reading, England | ||
| Defencemen | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Shoots | Acquired | Place of Birth | ||
| 03 | TBC | Viktor Kubenko | TBC | 2010 | Zvolen, Slovakia | |
| 4 | Sam Zajac | R | 2009 | Whitley, England | ||
| 7 | Kurt Reynolds | L | 2008 | Basingstoke, England | ||
| 20 | Tony Redmond | R | 2009 | Scotland | ||
| 21 | Sam Oakford | R | 2009 | Kingston upon Hull, England | ||
| 33 | Mindaugas Kieras | R | 2009 | Vilnius, Lithuania | ||
| Forwards | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Shoots | Acquired | Place of Birth | ||
| 5 | Jamie Line | R | 2009 | Luton, England | ||
| 9 | Joe Ciccarello | R | 2009 | Calgary, Alberta, Canada | ||
| 13 | Shaun Thompson | R | 2010 | Slough, England | ||
| 16 | Andy Hemmings | R | 2008 | Guildford, England | ||
| 19 | Steve Moria | L | 2009 | Vancouver, B.C., Canada | ||
| 27 | Nicky Chinn | R | 2009 | Cardiff, Wales | ||
| 28 | Chris Wiggins | R | 2009 | Guildford, England | ||
| 44 | Scott Spearing | L | 2009 | Swindon, England | ||
| 67 | Ondrej Lauko | L | 2009 | Topolcany, Slovakia | ||
| 71 | Tom Long | R | 2009 | Colchester, England | ||
| 91 | Oliver Brönnimann | R | 2008 | Fribourg, Switzerland | ||
Basingstoke have only retired the number of one player, that being Kevin Conway's number 10 in 2005 following his initial retirement from ice hockey. In the 2005–06 season, Tony Redmond was honoured with a testimonial season. In September 2009, it was announced that Don Yewchin, the original ice hockey coordinator for the Beavers in 1988 would have his number 12 jersey retired before Basingstoke's league game with local rivals Bracknell Bees on Saturday 10 October 2009. In a fantastic twist of fate, Basingstoke won the game 12-0[5][6]
Greg Wood Curtis Cruickshank Greg Chambers Brad Cruickshank