Lightning out to show Wildcats they're top dogs

Milton Keynes Lightning ice hockey team want to start their New Year celebrations early at their final home game of 2010 by beating Swindon Wildcats (Thursday 30 December, face off 7.30pm).

The reigning EPL champions were unable to deliver festive cheer to their supporters when their Christmas week matches at home to Manchester Phoenix and away to Bracknell Bees were cancelled after heavy snowfall made travelling too risky for both teams and their fans. In their last match on 12 December, MKL cruised to a dominant 8-3 win over Bracknell Bees.

Milton Keynes have beaten Swindon on each of the three occasions they’ve met so far this season, slotting home an impressive 16 goals in total and conceding only five - taming the ‘Cats on their own ice at the Link Centre in two of those three matches.

Defeat at the Wildcats’ hands at Planet Ice last April knocked Lightning, exhausted after a long league season and cup campaign, out of the EPL play-offs.  So when Swindon returned to Milton Keynes in early December, Lightning and their army of loyal supporters were determined to exorcise the ghost of that painful defeat.  Revenge was sweet: Adam Brittle cancelled out Sam Bullas’s opener then former Wildcat Michael Farn scored his first goal of the season to put Lightning ahead.  Bullas struck again to equalise, but MKL skipper Adam Carr catapulted the home side into the lead with two fine goals in under three minutes. Imports Lukas Zatopek and the ever-influential Monir Kalgoum added their names to the scoresheet to help the home side to a 6-2 victory.

Nick Poole’s team recovered admirably from an injury-hit period early in this season’s campaign and have won 15 of their 23 games to date, and have conceded the fewest goals of all teams in the EPL so far.  Meanwhile Ryan Aldridge’s Swindon side has endured a mixed first half of the season, winning only six of their 25 league games to date.

Poole won’t, however, allow his side to take anything for granted.  “You can’t just assume that you can automatically beat any side, no matter what their recent results,” he said. “But we’ll have the advantage of playing on home ice and after a good break for the guys to have had a rest and recharged their batteries.  Hopefully our supporters have had a fantastic Christmas, and are ready to come back to the rink in full voice and help us show the Wildcats that we’re up for a fight!”

Swindon recently announced the departure of Estonian Toivo Suursoo, and the signing of Jonas Höög from Swedish Division 1 side Nacka HK.