Hat-trick hero eager for playoffs after striking MK Lightning

It was all about Carlo Finucci on Wednesday night at the Swindon Ice Arena, as the Wildcats forward hit the back of the net three times to successfully tie up a 3-2 victory against Milton Keynes Lightning.

Finucci capped off a fine evening of linking up with fellow import Jonas Hoog by plundering a hattrick past Jordan Marr between the Lightning pipes to ensure full points remained in Wiltshire.

Speaking to media following the final buzzer, Finucci said: "I thought we played pretty well. We have some pretty good systems that we work on and I think they work well, especially on our smaller ice pad, compared to some of the bigger ice pads in the league, and we showed it again tonight."

The Canadian reserved special praise for netminder of the evening, youngster Jordan Hedley who filled in for the missing Stevie Lyle.

"Hedley played great and it was great to get him a win against his old team. We had a lot more chances, I thought it could have been a lot more goals for us but luckily we were able to get three by there and Hedley held the fort for us," said Finucci.

Talking through his finishes, Finucci explained his telepathic relationship with Hoog and how lapses of concentration from the opposition helped him to take advantage.

"I was going to change shift but I saw the D-men were letting me get space in behind, so I saw Hoog had the puck so I opened up myself and the pass just missed me but I was able to be the first guy in to get the puck," said Finucci.

"The goalie kind of got caught in an awkward position and I had enough speed that I was able to pick up the puck without thinking twice and just went around the net. I figured even if he got up i'd still be able to make a pass, that was my first instinct, to get around the net," he added.

"It was at the end of a powerplay, I think they might have fallen asleep a little at the end. I just threw it up to Hoog and got myself back up the ice as quick as I could, and everyone shifted over. He ripped it back over to me and I just let the puck go. I think the goalie got a piece of it but it got in there," Finucci said of his second finish.

The import's majestic form comes on the back of a return from injury, following a spell on the side lines after receiving a blow to the knee against Peterborough Phantoms.

"It was tough coming back from injury, I don't like saying it but I was a bit hesitant of not playing my style completely, getting in there and second guessing, maybe passing when I should have been shooting, just all those kind of things were creeping into my head," said Finucci.

"I was able to get myself going a few weeks ago and it's a good time for me to get going, especially before play-offs," he added.

As a senior import the Wildcats' number 40 is now shouldering the responsibility of hauling his side over the line, to ensure the best possible finish ahead of the play offs.

"I've put the onus on myself from the beginning and those guys have been carrying us throughout the year, Malasinski and the Nell, Hoog line," said Finucci.

"They're usually scoring but if our third line can chip in with a goal then we're probably winning the games. So I put that on myself all year and it's going in the back of the net now, and I'm picking up some assists - it means we're scoring goals and winning hockey games," he added.