Wildcats' Weekend: Five Things We Learned

It was a mixed bag of a weekend for Swindon Wildcats, who defeated Hull Pirates in front of their biggest home crowd of the season, before losing away to Manchester Phoenix in emphatic fashion. Total Sport's Danny Gallagher takes a look at five things we learned.

1. The side are too overly reliant on Stevie Lyle

It is no secret that most players within the Wildcats' set-up view veteran netminder Stevie Lyle as the finest in the league - and they would not be far off the mark at all. Since his return to the Wildcats' roster after stepping down as head coach Lyle has been in imperial form, pulling out candidate after candidate for save of the season. Building upon a solid netminder is always a good method, but in recent week the Wildcats have become overly reliant on the ever reliable Lyle digging them out of a tight space. Going forward for Nell's side, this has to end.

2. The lead of the imports needs to be followed

During Saturday's Pirates clash the Wildcats imports stepped up to the plate when it mattered the most. Polish international Tomasz Malasinski, who head coach Aaron Nell has on various occasions labelled as one of the top three players in the league, shocked the visitors by tucking away a sublime hat-trick. But, with 36 shots on netminder Stevie Lyle coming from the Pirates, the team as a whole need to emulate the performances of their big hitters and be able to turn on their A-games at the flick of a switch.

3. The pre-Christmas clinical edge needs to be rediscovered

As the periods ticked away in Deeside, Wildcats squandered chance after chance to get themselves onto the score board - something Nell later admitted in his post match comments was simply not good enough. Nell himself and Jonas Hoog linked up on various occasions, but their efforts were not enough to beat Phoenix netminder Stephen Fone, who stood fast to achieve an impressive 5-0 shut out. Working on their attack in the final third will serve Wildcats well for their important fixtures on the horizon.

4. Payback needs to be dished out, quickly

Wildcats have a prime opportunity to do this, as they come face-to-face with Manchester Phoenix immediately this weekend, as they welcome their northern counterparts to SN5. After the 5-0 drubbing, taking to the ice with the Phoenix so soon after has the potential to provide welcome relief and inject a much needed confidence boost into the side. With Swindon's league position still looking healthy, the dip in form may have conversely come at a good time for Nell's side, who can now continue 2016 afresh. 

5. Fans need to continue their passionate support and high spirits

Despite their 3-1 win over Hull on Saturday it is fair to say Wildcats struggled to get the victory over the line, with many of the players leaving the ice with faces of relief. A large portion of the credit can rightly go to the vocal home crowd, who packed the Link and made noise until they were red in the face. Likewise, Sunday's hefty defeat to Manchester Phoenix also saw the home crowd rally strongly behind their side, who have been struggling both on the ice and off it financially. A weekend of ups and downs, but one which certainly highlighted the importance and power of the fans.