Nell: An Entertaining Night For Everyone But Me

Swindon Wildcats' head coach Aaron Nell struggled to compose himself following the final buzzer at the Swindon Ice Arena, as his side emerged victorious in one of the most dramatic games SN5 has ever witnessed.

Despite entering the third period leading visitors Bracknell Bees 7-1, a flurry of goals during 30 minutes of pulsating action saw the tie head into overtime with the score locked at 8-8.

With overtime not enough to separate the two sparring titans, penalty shots were required to distinguish a victor; a challenge the Wildcats would come out of on top.

Nell told Total Sport after the match: "It was complete and utter craziness, we were in control of the game all night, I think we just had six or seven minutes of craziness but it happens to every and, you know what, we got the two points.

We know that we can't do that again (concede seven goals in one period). We got the two points which is important, and that's three in a row now. We're going to go into the Christmas break and we'll be ready to come back on the 26th."

Nell revealed his attempts to steady the ship as the Bracknell onslaught gathered momentum, but his efforts were simply in vain.

"When it got to 8-5 I called a timeout and said right boys the joke's over now, but then they (Bracknell) just kept on scoring and scoring and we were shell-shocked. Fair play to them they didn't quit, and good for them - they've had a tough year really and to do what they've done there was pretty incredible, but we got out of jail," said Nell.

"Stevie (Lyle) made an unbelievable save in the shoot-out, and you won't see many better saves than that, Janny (Kostal) scored a massive goal and Hards (Adam Harding) got the big winner. We'll bounce back but we got our two points and that's what matters - I guess it was entertaining for everyone else but me!," he added.

Entering the final period in cruise control, it was easy for Nell and his troops to feel a false sense of security, as the head coach outlined:

"At 7-1 going into the third, by my experience I thought we had won the game. We had a wobble but we bounced back with a massive kill at the end. At the end of the day we're two points closer to where we want to be.

Everyone in the rink got their moneys worth tonight and it was something you will probably never see again. For 50 minutes we were great ... but they (Bracknell) scored a couple of sloppy ones and then they got the bit between their teeth. We panicked, and I've never really seen that before," said Nell.

The Swindon Ice Arena was packed to the rafters for Saturday's clash, as the team spread Christmas cheer by donning their specially designed, one-off Christmas shirts. Nell insisted all those fans who turned out to spectate certainly picked the right match in which to do so.

"I think we had 1,300 people here tonight, and after that maybe they will come back," said Nell.

"When it got to 8-8 we did dig in, and we were good on the three-on-three and were unlucky not to score. Nine times out of 10 in a shootout we're going to win, but tonight was crazy and it'll be a night to be remembered," he added.

The win comes as the third in as many matches for Swindon Wildcats, who have begun to build a strong run of momentum as the season races towards the new year.

"The last six weeks we've been excellent and now we'll keep on pushing. We'll be ready on the 26th to play a really tough game against Basingstoke and then we play these guys (Bracknell) again on the 28th. We're going to be very good after Christmas and push our way up the league as high as we can," said Nell.

"If we turn up every night I don't care where it takes us, we could end up eighth or first, it'll all about turning up and building upon each week, but we can have a very good year," he added.

Due to a player shortage as a result of several of the Wildcats' regular personnel being called up for the U20 World Championships in France, Nell had no option but to call upon a few starlets from the club's Okanagan Hockey Academy.

Adam Finlinson, Jordan Kelsall, Harry Gulliver, Ben Nethersell and Kyle Smith all made their bows for the Wildcats senior side, and their respective impressive performances did not go unnoticed by the eager-eyed head coach.

"We've seen Adam before and he was as good as he's ever been," said Nell.

"The two D (Nethersell and Smith) were excellent and I thought Jordan and Harry were great - both two young lads around 17-years-old but they didn't look 17 out there, they played really well and hopefully they'll get another opportunity.

"We had to cut at the end because it went so crazy - but they were very good and should be proud of their performances tonight," Nell added.