Ben Callaghan: Why kids go free nights are huge for Cats

Swindon Wildcats fans and On The Prowl blogger Ben Callaghan writes for Total Sport every Wednesday. Giving his thoughts, views and insight into the world of ice hockey...

Tonight is the first midweek match-up in this year’s EPL for Swindon Wildcats. Swindon, over the last few years, have become known as ‘Wednesday Warriors’. Midweek games are something pretty special if you’re a Cats fan.

Our midweek record is pretty decent, I don’t know what it is about Wednesday night matches but we always seem to do pretty well. We’ve had 2-0 wins down in Basingstoke in recent years, along with last gasp OT winners against sides like MK also. The players always seem up for the Wednesday matches and hopefully this season will be the same.

It’s also our first kids go free game of the season, which is vital, as young fans are the future of the club. When I was younger the Kids Go Free matches (or KidZone) was the main reason I got into the sport. I went along with my parents and, at no further cost to them, a new fan was raised. I’m now a season ticket holder and will be for seasons to come. Being a fan for so long, I want to put back as much into the club as I can, hence why I do On The Prowl. It may only be a small thing but if I help just one fan come along to the Link Centre to watch the Cats, then I’m happy.

This is why Kids Go Free games are so important. If you get a youngster hooked on the games at an early stage, they’ll come along with their friends and continue to remain a fan in the coming years. That’s what I did, and hopefully the game this evening will lead to many more kids coming along and becoming future fans.

MK Lightning will be a tough opponent tonight, they’ve significantly improved over the summer and credit must go to Pete Russell for that. Pete is a very good coach and is someone known to Swindon fans very well. It’ll be odd to see him on the opposition side-lines, but on the flip side it’s good to see him back at the Link. While it’ll be great to see Russell back however, I do hope Cats ensure he has a night to forget.

Cats need to bounce back from the 6-0 loss on Sunday and hopefully a motivated midweek game will be exactly what they need. As aforementioned, MK will be a tough side to beat. They’ve got big imports like Rene Jarolin and Marko Luomala and they’re going to be a threat. Another familiar face will be returning to Swindon in the shape of James Griffin. Griff has probably been Swindon’s best junior in recent years. He’s risen through the ranks in Swindon and went onto make a name for himself with Coventry. He should be one of the better D-men in the EPL this year, and it’s a shame his Link Centre return will see him in the opposite locker room and not the Wildcats one.

Hopefully tonight will be a good one for Swindon and we can get the 2 points we need to begin climbing to the top spots in the league, as well as qualify for a cup semi-final.