THE Basingstoke Bison travel to Belfast tonight with confidence high in the camp after last weekend's maximum points haul.

Tomorrow (6.30pm) the Bison return home to face the British National League's Dundee Stars in the first meeting between these sides.

Last Saturday, new Canadian duo Steve Gallace and Jason Norrie made their debuts as the Herd won 5-3 in Nottingham and then followed that up with a 3-2 victory on home ice over the Belfast Giants.

That game saw Giants netminder Martin Kempa dismissed for kicking, which means he will be suspended tonight, so Irish goalie Chris McGimpsey will get the start.

So far this season, the Bison have won twice and drawn once against Belfast, but, even with McGimpsey in goal, the fixture will still be a tricky one, as Giants boss Tony Hand will no doubt ice his top 10 players for most of the contest.

However, Bison boss Mark Bernard will be looking for another stampede of points from this weekend.

He said: "The new guys have added a new jump in the team and they returned seven points last weekend, which took the pressure off our top line."

An added bonus from the last two wins was that Tony Redmond's all-British forward line also chipped in with a goal in each game.

Bernard said: "Tony showed he was a true professional, playing with the young Brits and having a great weekend."

When Redmond steps out onto the ice tonight, he will equal Anthony Page's club record of 312 league appearances for the Basingstoke outfit.

Talking about tonight's game, Bernard said: "We have had a lot of success against Belfast this season and we will look to add to that and start to get a nice little run of wins going."

The club have also announced this week that they are to retire Kevin Conway's number 10 shirt at the Hull game on Sunday, February 27.

The Canadian is the all-time top goalscorer with the club, and will be present with his family on the evening.

The retiring of shirts is a way of honouring players and is a common practice in North America, but this is a first for the Basingstoke Bison.

Bernard said: "Kevin was a great servant to the club and we look forward to welcoming him on his special night."