Tomasz Malasinski provided some overtime magic to give the Swindon Wildcats a four-point weekend over the Sheffield Steeldogs. The in-form duo of Aaron Nell and Tomasz Malasinski picked up a whopping 14 points between them this weekend.
The Wildcats battled hard to get a 4-3 win on Saturday night at the Link Centre and secured the four-point weekend with a 5-4 overtime win in Sheffield, on Sunday.
The Wildcats saw Scottish duo Renny Marr and Tyler Plews back in the team this weekend after recovering from injuries. Marr had an excellent weekend saving 44 shots and grabbing himself an assist with a spectacular save leading to a shorthanded goal on Saturday. He also got a well-deserved man of the match on Sunday.
Player coach Aaron Nell spoke after the game and said ‘it’s massive having Renny back, We build our team around Renny and he saved a lot of shots’
He added ‘they were two excellent games and we are looking forward to next week’
Swindon Vs Sheffield 15.01.22
Swindon started the game off very well and nearly grabbed the first as Aaron Nell struck the post. Sheffield then got a one on one but Jack Brammer was denied by Marr. Sheffield then got into the game and had lots of shots on Marr and finally got their reward through Tim Smith who wrist shot it into the top corner.
End of first Swindon 0-1 Sheffield
Swindon got their first very early into the second period through Malasinski as he wrist shot it past the goalie, there was a lengthy discussion between the officials but the goal was given. The Wildcats then got a two on one break and Svec made no mistake one timing the puck into the net, thanks to a lovely cross-ice pass from Bebris.
Swindon then increased their lead through Nell who broke away on the shorthand and put it in the top corner. Sheffield got one back soon after through Matt Bissonnette playing a lovely pass to the back door and Haywood tapped it in.
However, Swindon then restored their two-goal lead with another shorthanded goal. Marr made an extraordinary save from point-blank range which lead to Malasinski breaking away and passing across to Nell who made no mistake.
The Steeldogs then mounted on the pressure and got another through Jack Brammer who’s shot just crept through.
End of the second Swindon 4-3 Sheffield
The final period was a very tense period for the Cats as Sheffield spent the majority of the period pushing for the equaliser. Renny Marr was like a brick wall in goal keeping out shot after shot from the sticks of the Steeldogs players. The Steeldogs pulled their goalkeeper with two minutes remaining and nearly scored as Marr got caught out but the defence stood strong and the Wildcats secured the two points.
Final Score = Swindon 4-3 Sheffield
Swindon Wildcats Vs Sheffield – 16.01.22
The first 10 minutes was very back and forth with both teams trying to figure each other out, and open the scoring. It was the Wildcats who got the breakthrough with Nell receiving a pass from Malasinski and struck the puck between Zimozdra’s legs. They then extended their lead to two, this time Malasinski getting on the end of a rebound from Nell’s shot.
The Steeldogs then got a stroke of luck as when the Wildcats went to breakaway it hit the linesman and the Dogs grabbed the puck and Jason Hewitt tapped it in. However, like Saturday night Nell extended the lead to two as he received a pass from Malasinski and stuck it in the bottom corner.
End of first period Swindon 3-1 Sheffield.
Renny Marr then continued his impressive weekend making an unbelievable diving save stopping a certain goal with the Dogs on the man advantage. The Steeldogs then had a great spell putting a lot of pressure on the Wildcats net and got the reward with Alex Graham jamming in the puck, to reduce the deficit to one.
End of second period Swindon 3-2 Sheffield
Sheffield then came out all guns blazing and got the equalising goal just 18 seconds into the period with Bonner slotting it into the net on the powerplay. But the Wildcats took back the lead with Floyd Taylor slamming home his own rebound a couple of minutes later.
With the Wildcats getting into penalty trouble the Steeldogs took full advantage of this and Bonner got his second thanks to another shot through Marr’s legs. It was a very tense last five minutes of the period and Zimozdra made an unbelievable save on Svec who thought he scored, but despite this the game then went to OT.
End of third period Swindon 4-4 Sheffield
The Wildcats started overtime with a four on three-man advantage, courtesy of a late Ben Morgan penalty. They took full advantage of this as Malasinski showed a lovely piece of skill to cut inside and roll it into the bottom corner to hand the Wildcats the win and more importantly, a well earnt four point weekend.
Next weekend the Wildcats have a top of the table double header clash against Telford Tigers.
Words by Jack McCarthy
