Lightning strike over Wildcats in Swindon

The Milton Keynes Lightning made the long trip to Swindon to take on the Wildcats in a league cup encounter. Great Britain star Aaron Nell was set to play his first game back for the Wildcats after leaving the Coventry Blaze in his second season with the team.

Swindon won the faceoff to get the game underway but it only took 28 seconds for the first goal to be recorded as Leigh Jamieson played a lovely outlet pass which found Juraj Gracik who squared it to Blaz Emersic, skating past Thomas Murdy and slotting it home give the Lightning a very early one goal lead. It was all Milton Keynes in the early stages of the first frame and they soon doubled their lead, with Emersic netting his second with a wrist shot into the top corner of the net with just over two minutes gone.

It took about five minutes for the Wildcats to find their feet offensively with Cesky, Nell and Watt all testing out 23-year-old Alex Mettam in the Lightning net. The Wildcats then turned the pressure into a goal as Aaron Nell, on his return, put a slapshot upstairs, receiving a pass from Jonas Hoog, to cut the lead to one with eight minutes gone.

The first line of the Wildcats consisting of Hoog, Knight and Nell was functioning very well and applying a lot of pressure. However, it was the Lightning, who scored next against the run of play, as Slovakian Juraj Gracik got his second point of the night from a one-timer.

This brought the end to a very entertaining first period but the Cats would of felt unlucky to be going in to the locker rooms two goals down. In the period, the Cats put eight shots on Alex Mettam and the Lightning put ten shots on Thomas Murdy.

A similar start to the second period to that of the first as the Lightning were out of the blocks quicker, with the Wildcats taking over three minutes to record their first shot on goal. With five minutes gone in the second, the first powerplay of the game was awarded to Milton Keynes as Nicky Watt was given a minor for tripping. The powerplay was very controlled and composed, with two shots generated from it but the Cats killed the penalty in their quest to cut the lead.

The Cats were coming back into the game, moving the puck well and creating some great chances and midway through the second the very impressive Aaron Nell grabbed his second of the night, putting a wrister in the top corner to cut the Lightning’s lead to one.

With around seven minutes remaining in the second period and the Cats trailing by one, the crowd started to make themselves heard and the game became quicker paced. Nicky Watt crucially went to the penalty box for the second time in the game and Luke Brittle capitalised, pouncing on a blocked shot to rifle one home and re-establish the two-goal Milton Keynes lead. Crucially the Cats were to score with just nine seconds remaining in the second, with the awesome Aaron Nell showing good awareness to slot one home and get himself a hat trick in the process.

The score at the end of the second was four to three in favour of the Lightning who again edged the shots by two in the period.

It was crucial that the Cats didn’t concede an early third period goal and they started off in the correct manor with Swede Jonas Hoog going close early on with a wrist shot. With seven minutes gone, youngster Loris Taylor came within inches of equalising as he hit a one-timer agonisingly wide.

A classy move containing slick passing game the Lightning gave them a crucial two goal lead half way through the final frame as the in-form Blaz Emersic bagged his hat trick, as Gracik and Jamieson linked well together to provide the puck on a plate for the Slovakian.

It was to be a quiet final half of the period, and with 30 seconds left Swindon pulled goaltender Murdy but couldn’t score meaning the game ended five-three to the Lightning. The Cats will have a chance to gain revenge as the two sides meet again tonight at Planet Ice in Milton Keynes.