SUNDAY evening proved a great night in the history of ice hockey in Basingstoke, as the club retired the number 10 shirt of their all-time top goal-scorer Kevin Conway.

The Canadian sharp-shooter received a standing ovation when he was introduced to the fans, many of whom had seen him in action for Basingstoke in his magnificent seven seasons in Hampshire.

Also joining him for his special accolade were wife Tracey and their children Scott and Indya.

Current Bison coach Mark Bernard, who played against Conway for Bracknell, listed the Basingstoke goal-scoring legends impressive figures, so even newer fans could marvel at his contribution to the club.

The forward received various presentations, including a couple of number 10 shirts, an engraved glass plaque and a special commemorative back page from The Gazette.

This was before a banner bearing his name was unveiled for all to see.

Conway said: "It has been a great night as it is not every day something like this happens and I thank everyone here for making it so special for me and my family.

"The banner looks very good and the rink is very much as I remember it. I have a lot of happy memories of this place, but tonight was extra special."

The joyous start to Sunday night continued for the home fans as the Herd ran out 7-2 winners against the visiting Hull Stingrays.

The Bison opened the scoring at 3:53 as Jason Norrie deflected home an Owen Walter blue line shot.

The visitors drew level on their second powerplay of the night as Slava Koulikov netted after good work by Hull's man-of-the-match Andrei Nikolaev.

Within a minute the Herd took the lead again when Brent Pope scored his first goal for the club as he drilled a shot off the crossbar.

Just 28 seconds later, Bison man-of-the-match Shawn Maltby rifled in a shot from the right wing to make it 3-1 at the first buzzer.

The same player added the home side's fourth shorthanded as the puck came off the skate of Vladimir Chernenko and Maltby skated away to slide the puck under Ladislav Kudrna.

The teams then swapped powerplay goals as Mike Ford scored for the Bison from close range before Kevin Phillips did the same for the Stingrays.

The final period saw Doug Sheppard produce a top finish and Ford grabbed his second after a nice lay-off from Maltby.

For the final 10 minutes of the contest, Dean Skinns took over from Ron Vogel and produced two good saves to deny Jeff Glowa and Koulikov.

Scoring; Bison: Maltby 2+3, Ford 2+0, Sheppard 1+2, Norrie, Pope 1+0, Walter 0+2, Thompson, Gallace, Skene 0+1; Stingrays: Phillips K, Koulikov 1+0, Nikolaev 0+2, Alipov 0+1. Shots on Goal: Vogel 35, Skinns 4; Roberts 15, Kudrna 36. Penalties: Bison 26mins, Stingrays 6.