SWINDON Wildcats suffered a devastating blow in their quest to poach National League’s top spot from Telford Tigers this weekend as they fell to narrow defeats against Bracknell Bees and Peterborough Phantoms.
Hosting Bracknell on Saturday night, Wildcats never really clicked on home ice and found themselves three goals down at the end of the first period – Doughty, Malinik and Gabaj notched the visitors’ three goals.
Ryan Webb added a fourth for Bracknell at 20.23, before Chris Jones pulled a goal back for Aaron Nell’s roster only 19 seconds later.
Hopes of completing a comeback were quickly quashed, though, as Josh Martin stuck Bees’ fifth.
Tyler VanKleef and Edgars Bebris notched Cats’ second and third goals. And when Sam Bullas added a fourth at 41.25 the game was suddenly for the taking.
Bracknell played a smart game, and confirmed their victory when an empty net goal was registered late in the third.
Reflecting on Saturday night, Nell said: “We put ourselves in too much of a hole, it’s frustrating.
“We did enough to pick up a point, but it was two points we didn’t need to lose. We had chances in the third period, but couldn’t score.
“With Renny (Marr) out, we would’ve taken two points this weekend. It was just one of those nights, three or four bad minutes cost us.”
Cats’ weekend went from bad to worse when Peterborough landed a 7-6 victory on Sunday night in a game that ebbed and flowed.
Conceding after just 13 seconds in Peterborough the Cats were behind the 8 ball from the start. Before at the end of the first period a late Tyler Plews goal, to go along with Floyd Taylor’s strike from earlier in the first saw the first stanza end 3-2 in favour of the hosts.
Going into the second period and the Cats fortunes felt like they were turning it around when goals from Chris Jones and Tyler Plews, with his second of the evening, saw the Cats take the lead for the first time in the game. Another spell of two quick goals just 30 seconds apart saw the lead switch back to Peterborough.
At 33:25 Ben Nethersell scored his first goal of the season to tie the game back up at 5-5 but late in the second period Conor Pollard make it 6-5 in favour of the Phantoms.
Phantoms led 6-5 at the end of the second and quickly made it 7-5 once play resumed through Nathan Pollard. Player Coach Aaron Nell gave the visitors hope at 50:40 with a well taken breakaway goal but the hosts did what they needed to do and closed the game out keeping the points in Peterborough.
The Wildcats go again this weekend when Raiders come to town on Saturday night followed by a trip down the M4 to take on the Bracknell Bees on Sunday evening.
