Nell returns with a goal frenzy!

This Christmas we were gifted with the return of Aaron Nell and Lee Richardson to the Link Centre. Aaron has signed a two-way contract which means he will continue to train with and gain valuable experience from the Sheffield Steelers. After last nights spectacular victory over the Basingstoke Bison we spoke with Aaron to get some thoughts on his return and what we can expect for the games to come.

S.W.S.C: We would like to take this opportunity to welcome you back on behalf of the supporters. Have you any message for them tonight?

Nell: It was a great game tonight and I hope they enjoyed. It was the best atmosphere I've experienced at a regular season game. Keep on coming and we'll keep on winning and keep on entertaining. I hope they enjoyed their night!

S.W.S.C: Can you tell us a bit more about the two-way contract you've signed? So, when are we going to be seeing you and when are we going to be losing you?

Nell: It looks like I'll be playing almost every game in Swindon now for the rest of the year. If Sheffield get into injury troubles I'll be going back there. If they want me they can have me but as long as they have no injuries, I'll be here.

S.W.S.C: Can you tell us a little about your time in Sheffield?

Nell: I feel like I've improved. We've done a lot of training, you know I've been working hard on the training. It's been an inconsistent year for us an no one is happy up there with how we've done so far. We had a good win on Boxing Day so hopefully things should turn around.

S.W.S.C: So when did you decide to come back?

Nell: We had been talking about it for about 10 days and it was confirmed on Boxing Day. It's good for Sheffield, it's good for me and it's good for Swindon. So hopefully it works in all ways.

S.W.S.C: It looked tonight as if you were hitting harder and using your own body weight a bit more than you did last season.

Nell: Yeah, I've been trying to do that more. I told Ryan, when I come back I don't care about how many goals or assists, I just want us to win and if that means I have to play a defensive role then I will do that. I've had two years of getting all the points and now I just want us to win, that's all that matters!

S.W.S.C: Well, it was a great win for Swindon tonight. You scored a hat-trick. How did that feel?

Nell: It was good! (Laughs) I haven't been feeling very well the past few days and I was a bit scared coming in. But, we played well. Ryan (Watt) made a great play on one goal and Jonas (Hoog) on the other two. Unbelievable plays so it was just kinda easy for me to put it in. You always try to score as many as you can but I didn't expect that.

S.W.S.C: So who did you enjoy playing with out there tonight?

Nell: Well it was Jonas (Hoog)! I always enjoy playing with Jonas. Everyone played well. The D were great. Henri and Jan and Sam on that other line, they played great.

S.W.S.C: Thank you Aaron. It's great to have you back. Well done tonight.



***

Keep an eye on the blog as we will also be chatting with Lee Richardson very soon.

Adam Harding

Last Saturday (07/12) we sat down with #4 Adam Harding to talk about the ups and downs of life as a Wildcat at the moment. He spoke candidly about both his own and the teams performance and what they need to do to turn the corner. Adam was awarded the Man of the Match award on Saturday for his performance versus Manchester Phoenix.

S.W.S.C: Congratulations on your Man of the Match award. Any thoughts on tonight's game?

Adam: It's good to get a Man of the Match but it doesn't mean anything. You know, we didn't play well out there. I don't think I had a really great game so I don't know why I got it to be honest with you. The effort was there but we were finding a way to lose.

S.W.S.C: We saw a great performance in the first period. Unfortunately you were unable to take the win. What went wrong?

Adam: I don't know. I mean we tried to find a way to shut it down in the second period. We battled hard. I've got to give credit to them you know they're a great team but I don't think they deserved 2 points. I think we deserved a point out of that game at least.

S.W.S.C: What lessons can you take away from tonight?

Adam: We just need to play 60 minutes! We are not playing 60 minutes. We are not playing as a team. We are not communicating. There's a lot of things we're not doing and I'm one of the biggest culprits out there as well, so we've got to come together as a team and get the win.

S.W.S.C: You were missing some of the team to GB this weekend. How did that affect the teams overall performance?

Adam: Good teams usually come together when they're short. I think we had a good performance considering how short we were. Fotjik came in and you know he hasn't played in a while. He was a big help out there. But we did miss them. They are key guys in the line-up.

SWSC: What result do you think we will be looking at in Sheffield?

Adam: We're going to win! We need a win. It doesn't matter how we get it. We've got to get a win! We're not going to take nothing from any of them. We're going to go out hard, we're going to battle. We're going to give it to them! (Final score in Sheffield on Sunday 08/12: Steeldogs 1 - 2 Wildcats).

***
Thank you to Adam for taking the time to chat.

Keeping it Interesting...

We have a great weekend of hockey ahead of us. Saturday the Manchester Phoenix come to visit and on Sunday the boys travel to Sheffield.  As we move closer to game day we want to take the opportunity to look back at last weeks game and hear from Ryan Aldridge. Keep reading for his thoughts on the team performance, new signing Jan Kostal and what's to come this weekend.

S.W.S.C: What are your thoughts on tonight's performance (versus Sheffield)?

Ryan: I think we found a way to lose tonight. Our D-zone was a little risky at times, especially in front of the net. There were far too many shots from inside 'the house'. Especially going into the third period up, we needed to play a smart game, getting pucks in, getting pucks out and we didn't do that. It cost us and penalties cost us. We didn't play how we should have played to win it.

S.W.S.C: How are you planning to prepare for next weekend's games?

Ryan: We've got a lot of guys going away with GB so it's going to be a tough one. We've also got to make sure we don't tire out our guys that are left. They've got a day off tomorrow (01/12/13). We'll do the same things again this week and work on our D-zone

S.W.S.C: So you're down a few players (Godfrey, F. Taylor & Betteridge to Team GB). How will that affect you? Will you have to ice?

Ryan: No, no. We will just have to play short again. I think that it's best that I am on the bench.

S.W.S.C: So, who was your stand out player tonight?

Ryan: Obviously Jan (Kostal). He scored three goals and you know it's what he does off the puck as well. He works hard and he's good for us. He played well tonight!

S.W.S.C: What are your predictions for this weekend?

Ryan: We'll see. It's going to be a tough weekend especially if we are missing 2 forwards and Henri. We're going to be very short. We'll have to wait and see.

***

So, here we are, less than a week later.

It has now been confirmed that Henri will not be icing. Ryan may ice himself after all.

And Tomas Fojtik is back....

The Wildcats certainly know how to keep it interesting! See you all at the game!

(Wildcats v Manchester, 07/12/13 @5.45, Swindon Ice Arena)