A difficult weekend for your Swindon Wildcats as they faced back-to-back defeats to the Basingstoke Bison.
On Saturday night the Wildcats suffered a 6-2 defeat at the Link Centre and the following night the Bison secured the double with a 7-4 win in Basingstoke.
Despite the results this weekend it was nice to see new signing Russell Cowley ice for the Wildcats picking up 3 points across the two games as well as a crowd of over 1100 on Friday night. The Wildcats have seen crowds over 1000 for several weeks now and are working to build upon the game night experience by improving catering & period break entertainment to deliver an all-around game night experience that is exciting for fans. With the introduction of Franklins Food, improved CAP prizes, post game signings, as well as Live Bands such as Talk In Code (who are performing this Saturday) the club is working to keep the increased attendance and fan engagement on game nights.
Swindon Wildcats vs Bison (Friday night match report)
The Wildcats started off the period very strong with lots of pressure on the Bison net but just couldn’t find that finishing touch.
With 44 seconds left of the period the Bison got the first goal of the game with Zack Milton receiving a pass from Gael Lubwele and slotting the puck past Marr.
End of 1st period Wildcats 0-1 Bison
The Bison grabbed their second of the game with a very unfortunate bounce falling to Aiden Doughty who passed the puck into the empty net.
The Bison then extended their lead to three with Brenden Baird firing the puck into the bottom corner.
With the Cats getting themselves into penalty trouble, The Bison capitalized on this with George Norcliffe tipping the puck past Marr.
Bison’s new import Lubwele topped off the period for the Bison with a lovely shorthanded goal to extend their lead to 5.
With 16 seconds left of the second period the Wildcats got their first goal with Balint Pakozdi firing the puck past Mettam.
End of 2nd period Wildcats 1-5 Bison
With just over 10 minutes to go Colby Tower got a short-handed goal as his shot went into the top corner.
However, the Bison got their four-goal lead back on the powerplay with Doughty flicking the puck into the top corner.
Despite the Wildcats pressure in the last 10 minutes, the Bison defended well and took the win.
End of game Wildcats 2-6 Bison
Wildcats vs Bison (Saturday night match report)
The Bison carried on their momentum from Friday night with Edgars Landsbergs racing away and slotting the puck past Skinns.
The Bison then got another breakaway goal shorthanded with Marcel Balaz firing the puck into the net.
Despite the Wildcats piling on the pressure, it would be the Bison who made it three with Norcliffe breaking away and slotting the puck in the net.
The Bison top line were on fire this weekend as Milton and Lubwele combined again to make it four.
The Wildcats however managed to pull one back with one second left in the period through Pakozdi as he squeezed the puck past Mettam.
End of the 1st period Wildcats 1-4 Bison
New signing Russell Cowley grabbed his first goal for the Wildcats as he found space and picked out the top corner to reduce the deficit to two.
With the Cats heading onto the powerplay they got within one as Chris Jones bundled the puck into the net.
However, the Bison got their two-goal lead back on the powerplay with Doughty first timing the puck past Marr.
The Bison managed to grab another with Paul Petts squeezing the puck through Marr.
End of the 2nd period Wildcats 3-6 Bison
The Wildcats started the period very well with Aaron Nell snapshotting the puck into the top corner to give the Wildcats hope.
But it would be Milton and Lubwele who combined together again to score and make it seven.
End of the game Wildcats 4-7 Bison
Your Bespoke Guardian Swindon Wildcats are back in action next weekend with a double header against the Raiders IHC.
