Leeds Knights coach Ryan Aldridge on locking horns with former club Basingstoke Bison
RYAN ALDRIDGE is looking forward to facing off against former club Basingstoke Bison on Sunday – hailing their return to NIHL National this season “really cool”.
The Bison were forced to sit out the past two seasons due to the closure of their rundown Planet Ice-owned rink.
But this year’s completion of a long-planned renovation has seen their return to action for 2025-26.
Leeds Knights boss Aldridge coached the Bison for one and a half seasons in the Elite League between 2007-09 and, despite the difficulties endured, has fond memories of his time in charge.
“It’s great to have hockey back there,” said Aldridge, whose team host Bison on Sunday night. “Basingstoke is a hockey town. I’m pretty sure that their building was pretty full the other night.
“So it is a town that deserves to have hockey there - especially for the fans - and it is really cool to have them back in the league.”
The Bison arrive in West Yorkshire having endured a tough start on their return to the second tier, sitting bottom with just four points from their eight games played so far.
They have plenty of games in hand on the teams above them, though and Aldridge believes things will only get better for his former club.
“They’ve obviously had a couple of games cancelled and have had a slow start to the year,” added Aldridge, who is expected to be without injured defencemen Jordan Griffin, Lewis Baldwin and Liam Hine against Bison, as well as forwards Kieran Brown and Mac Howlett.
“But credit to all the staff and the team for sticking through it altogether because there have obviously been some bumps on the road.”