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Buzzer Report: Swindon Wildcats 9 Bracknell Bees 8
Swindon Wildcats took to the ice to face Bracknell Bees on Saturday, clad from head to toe in their unique Christmas edition kit. Christmas is notorious for bringing surprises, but few people could expect what was to unfold at the Swindon Ice Arena. Ben Callaghan reports.
Over 1300 fans witnessed a game of ice hockey no-one could have ever imagined on Saturday evening, when the Wildcats ran out 9-8 victors over Bracknell Bees after penalty shots. Despite leading 8-1 in the third period, Bracknell produced a stunning comeback to take the game into overtime.
Swindon started the game in perfect style when Aaron Nell converted the first shot of the match, giving the home side a 1-0 lead after just eight seconds. Bracknell pressed hard and managed to tie the game up at 16:26 when Milan Kostourek broke through one-on-one with Lyle and scored on the backhand. The Cats continued to drive forward and with the period dying down Jonas Höög scored his first of the evening sliding the puck through the legs of Alex Mettam, to give the Cats a 2-1 lead going into the second.
The second period would be all Swindon, who began converting the good chances they were getting. Adam Harding added the Cats third at 21.23, when some great work by Adam Finlinson and Jan Kostal saw the Welsh youngster open with all the room in the world to fire into the empty net. Aaron Nell scored his second of the night in confusing circumstances when the majority of the players and crowd thought he had hit the post, only for referee Stefan Hogarth to award the goal to the Cats player/coach. Sam Bullas joined the party shortly after with a well placed shot into the top corner, with the assist going to Alex Mettam.
Swindon continued to press on and convert their shots. Captain Jan Kostal got his name on the scoresheet with a huge powerplay slapshot at 33.43 and the crowd were soon sensing a massive Swindon victory with the score sitting healthy at 6-1. Tomasz Malasinski scored the Cats seventh when he pounced on a stunning pass from Jonas Höög and skated around the Bees D to fire through Mettam. Swindon ended the period well in control of the game with the score at 7-1.
If the middle period was Swindon’s the final period was certainly Bracknell’s. The Bees pulled off one of the best comebacks ever seen on the Swindon ice pad as they found seven goals to force the game into overtime. The Cats scored first though, when Floyd Taylor converted a rebound into the back of the net at 42.31. The floodgates then opened for Swindon and Bracknell began their incredible comeback. Another breakaway goal from Milan Kostourek was the first of the seven goals the Bees, scored at 43.46. Bees then scored six goals in three and half minutes to tie the game up at 8-8. Lukas Smital, Alex Barker, Josh Smith, Alex Barker, Carl Thompson and then Lukas Smital again the scorers for the Bees. The goals varying from scrappy rebounds in front of the net to lovely top shelf finishes which no netminder would have stopped.
The overtime period beckoned and again both netminders produced good saves to make sure their sides were kept in the game. Despite the ridiculous scoreline and the erratic nature of the game, penalty shots loomed. Even then, the penalty shots needed to go to round six before a winner could be determined. For Swindon, Aaron Nell and Jan Kostal scored in the first five rounds, with Tomasz Malasinski, Jonas Höög and Floyd Taylor all missing their shots. For Bracknell Milan Kostourek and Lukas Smital scored with Alex Barker, Jan Bendik and Matt Foord each failing to find the target. Into round six the game went. Carl Thompson stepped up for Bracknell, but Lyle produced a stunning save to keep the Cats into the contest.
Adam Harding then stepped off the bench for Swindon and scored the winning penalty shot, sliding the puck underneath Alex Mettam to earn the second point and the third win in a row for Swindon. In what was a crazy game of hockey Swindon can be pleased with the two points, but credit must go to Bracknell for the comeback and the way they took the game into the overtime period. The Cats now relax until boxing day when they’ll go again against high-flying Basingstoke Bison in a 5:45 face-off.
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