When you look at stats they give you a very one dimensional picture of events. Take last weekend, for example. November 15th, Bison 6 Edinburgh 5. Sunday, November 16th, Coventry 1 Bison 4. Shots on Bison goal, 66.

Put some flesh on the numbers, set them in the context of yet another turbulent week and you begin to get a real measure of what the team achieved last weekend. There isn't a way I know of quantifying character and that is what I think all the guys showed in abundance.

We'd had the benefit of two weekends without road trips so the energy levels were high. But we'd had the upset of Curtiss Patrick and Joe White leaving mid-week. How was that going to affect us? We would be going into a tough weekend short-benched to play Edinburgh, which was a must win game for us as we looked to move off the bottom of the league, followed by an away match against the League leaders.

Fans shouldn't underestimate the cost of being short-benched. Imports are used to playing on smaller ice-pads and being part of teams which dress eighteen players. North American teams can roll 3 1/2 lines and include 6 defenders. We'd be playing with 3 defenders and 2 lines of forwards.

Go full throttle on the ice for 15 seconds and it hurts. Lose your man and you haven't got the reserves to make that extra stride you need to get back in control of the situation.

Edinburgh, predictably, played a chippy game, hitting hard and trying to intimidate us physically. We enjoyed the penalty shots that decided the result just as much as fans who seemed as exhausted as us by the excitement of the night.

Offensively, we've been taking our chances. Defensively, we'd concentrated hard in practice on working as a five man unit. Get the basics right, stay disciplined and we can compete with anyone in the league.

Throw in a hat trick by Danny Stewart and an awesome performance by Kevin Reiter and we leave the rink in Coventry with a well-deserved win to a standing ovation from one of the most passionate home crowds in the League.

We're not here to make up the numbers, to turn up for fixtures. We're here to compete, to make the play-offs, to repay the loyalty and support the fans have shown us. Join us on Saturday.