Team Talk - with Stevie Whitfield

23 year old D-Man, Stevie Whitfield, has been icing for a Swindon team his entire hockey career. He was trained in the Wildcats Junior Academy and has been a Wildcat ever since. Through the years we have seen him not only evolve as a player and we have also been treated to a diverse range of moustache and other 'stylish' facial hair! We are all looking forward to his Play-off beard!

After Wednesday night's phenomenal over-time victory against the Milton Keynes Lighting we sat him down to answer some of our questions. Stevie talks about the road to the Play-offs and how the current team have helped him grow as a player.

S.W.S.C: Congratulations on the win tonight! It was a very tight game. What was the feeling on the ice and on the bench?

Stevie: Really good! We needed to grind out a win, you know, because we had a very bad run. This one was always going to be a bit difficult but I think we worked really hard. We got back to what we were doing maybe two weeks ago and got the result.

S.W.S.C: So what did you do to prepare this time. Milton Keynes have really been your nemesis this season.

Stevie: There wasn't much special preparation. We just made sure we had a good practice yesterday, worked hard and I think the boys just wanted it tonight. Maybe more than they have done in the past few weeks.

S.W.S.C: So going into this weekend, what's the game plan?

Stevie: Same again really. There is chance we can win against them. So, we've got to work towards that and keep going.

S.W.S.C: We still have some games in hand so it would be nice to take advantage of that.

Stevie: Yeah, it's important to win those so that we can start climbing up the table a bit more and get in a good position for the Play-offs. We are trying not to concentrate too much on what other teams are doing because everyone beats everyone at the moment. So, it's just make sure we do our job and the rest will take care of itself.

S.W.S.C: So Stevie, let's move away from the game now and on to you. You have been with the Cats for a good few years now. How have you seen yourself evolve as a player?

Stevie: I think the best way to say it is I'm a bit more independent than I used to be. I used to play with Jan Melichar last year, a lot. And now I can play with some more, different players. I'm able to kill penalties. Defensively I've got a lot better and now I'm trying to work on my first pass and contribution when we're in their end.

S.W.S.C: The quality of the teams in the league has improved a lot this year. As a consequence have you seen a difference in the way you are being coached? Is there more pressure on you to produce in your position?

Stevie: Em, I feel the main difference is there's no night's off. There used to be there was a couple of games you thought, oh well we'll just turn up and play okay and we'll get a win but now you've got to prepare for every team. every teams good and you've got to be ready, otherwise you will lose.

S.W.S.C: Is there any particular player you play with at the moment that you feel you are learning a lot from?

Stevie: You can play with players like Aku (Pekkarinen) and Jan (Kostal) and while they are not as vocal as some of the imports we have had before, you kinda just get better being around those guys: playing with them and seeing how they play and what they do. With Stevie (Lyle) behind as well. He talks a lot during the game so he's a big help too.

S.W.S.C: So looking at other teams in the EPL, is there any player that you would like one day to have the opportunity to play with and learn from?

Stevie: I guess out of anyone Tony Hand maybe (Laughs). It seems he takes players from anywhere and they go to Manchester and all of a sudden the turn into top point players! You know, someone like Ciaran Long. He's obviously a very good coach.

S.W.S.C: A hard question for you now then. Where do you see yourself in three years?

Stevie: Ooh, that is tough! I don't really plan that far forward. Still playing hockey. Possibly still in this league. Possibly still in Swindon, you never know (Laughs) I do like it here and hopefully we're a bit higher up the league by then!

*****

The Cats next take to the ice on Saturday 22nd February when they take on the Telford Tigers. Face-off 17.45. See you there!

Supporters Player of the Month January: Aaron Nell

What a way to welcome back Aaron Nell! Last week you put pen to paper and voted for him as your Player of the Month for January. Aaron has only been back since Christmas but in that time he has achieved a lot. Not only has he bolstered the lines and with it the confidence of his team-mates he has also managed to squeeze in a heck of a lot of goals. For the statisticians among you, he has scored 22 goals, with 10 assists in a mere 14 games.

Aaron remains one of the most down to earth, humble sportsman you will meet. We spoke with Aaron after the presentation to capture his reaction and get some insight into his last month with the Wildcats and a little about the future.

S.W.S.C: Congratulations on your nomination as the S.W.S.C Supporters Player of the Month for January. Do you have any words?

Aaron: Thank you! It's always nice when the fans think that you have done well. Overall we've had a pretty good month. We've had a few tough games away from home where we've been disappointed but I think the whole team has had a good month and we're ready to keep on going until the Play-offs. The last few weeks we have't been great but we can't beat teams 7 or 8-1 every week. Every team in the league is good. Even Slough, they've got a low budget but they work very hard. You know, you can't take teams for granted.

S.W.S.C: Looking at the rest of the league: there seems to be a lot of surprises at the moment, any team can take the win. We have moved down into 7th (09/02), what do we need to do to keep us in that play-off spot?

Aaron: It's a long season. I don't know how many games we have left. We can look at the table at the end of the season. It doesn't matter where we are now as long as we make the Play-offs and whoever we get we take our chances and play well and get to Coventry. Last week we were in 5th, the week before ninth. It will keep changing. They are all good teams now. There used to be two or three teams who were really terrible and it's not like that now. We can't really panic about that.

S.W.S.C: So, Basingstoke yesterday (08/02). Just how close was it? What was the feeling on the bench?

Aaron: I think we played really well yesterday. They have a very experienced team. Their first line has three top Bristish players on. I think we got robbed last night! Henri scored and it was a goal! There was a very bad call by the referee and we were robbed. I think we played really well against a very good team. We were very unlucky.

S.W.S.C: Unlucky calls happen throughout the league unfortunately.

Aaron: Yeah, there isn't any team winning every game right now. Your going to lose some games, you just want to try to lose the least number possible. Just got to take it game by game. If you don't take the two now you just have to take them next time.

S.W.S.C: What lessons have you been able to take from the recent games?

Aaron: Where we've lost we've only been beaten by a goal. The only game we really 'lost' was against Manchester. So we're doing well. We just lost three games is row but then we were winning the games and either lost in over-time or the last five minutes, and against three tough teams. There are no easy games any more. You've got to be disappointed but then move onto the next game.

********

Next Home Game: Wednesday 19th Feb versus Milton Keynes Lightning, FO 19.45, Kids Go Free.

See you there!