With a double-header against Sheffield this weekend to end our season, it's hard not to feel as if the wheel is coming full circle with the return of Brad Cruikshank to the rink. His decision to safeguard his family's future by moving to Sheffield was one we all understood.

But we also knew it would have far-reaching consequences for the club. His decision last season to re-sign for the club had signalled to us the seriousness of Bison's intent to make this anniversary year one of celebration. He was the point of contact for the imports pre-season as the roster was being put together and rumours about the situation in Basingstoke swirled across the Atlantic.

Once the season started, Brad kept everyone around him honest whether on the ice, on the bench or in the locker room. And we all knew what Bison meant to him.

Now he returns, playing with Bison's highly successful past player-coach Doug Sheppard, and Dan Green, as members of this season's Elite League winning team while we are rooted firmly at the bottom of the table.

This is a good time to remind ourselves of that night last November when we beat Sheffield in one of the most exciting games of the season. That went down to penalty shots, and I can still feel the tension as I write, remembering how I hung over the boards watching two goal-tenders on top of their game, hoping that our penalty-takers would hold their nerve. And then the elation as we rushed on to the ice and the noise from the crowd erupted. The buzz from that game seemed to last for ages, for players and fans alike.

I know that that is very different from our performance last week when we gave up so many odd - man rushes against Manchester and failed so often to defend properly. We have often talked in the locker-room about how it must feel for fans when their team is in a losing streak. I hope you appreciate how it feels for the players.

You didn't seem to have lost your sense of humour when our single goal was greeted with a blast of "Hallelujah" and a cheer that almost matched the one that greeted our win against Sheffield in November.

It hasn't been an easy journey, but you've been great company.