ON-THE-BUZZER MATCH REPORT: Swindon Wildcats 7-3 Sheffield Steeldogs

The Swindon Wildcats eventually cruised to a 7-3 win over the Sheffield Steeldogs after two periods of topsy-turvy hockey.

Swindon took the lead at 8:48 when Tomasz Malasinski tapped home from point-blank range after Swede Jonas Hoog had his shot saved by Sheffield netminder James Hadfield. 

Sheffield tied the game up at 10:10 though when Pavel Mrna got on the end of Tomas Brcko's assist to make it 1-1.

The Wildcats restored their one-goal advantage through Max Birbraer at 12:52 with Neil Liddiard contributing the assist, but an awful minute led to Sheffield overturning the score.

First, Liam Charnock reacted quickest during a goalmouth scramble at 17:02 and 42 seconds later the Steeldogs had completed the turnaround.

Brcko went from provider to scorer at 17:46 which led to Wildcats netminder Stevie Lyle to throw his stick in the air in frustration. Period one ended 2-3.

The Wildcats were back level in this yo-yo match just 18 seconds into period two though when Sam Bullas' shot nestled in the back of the net after assists from Malasinski and Hoog.

Turnaround number two of the match occurred at 37:28 thanks to Malasinski second goal of the game that was assisted by Birbraer and Hoog to turn the game back on its head in the Wildcats' favour and, after period two, Swindon led 4-3.

At 42:37, Jordan Kellsall gave the Wildcats the crucial two-goal cushion which gave the hosts a bit of breathing space and, seconds later, Swindon were cruising at 6-3.

Birbraer scored the goal, while Hoog and Ryan Aldridge were credited with the assists and the Wildcats were flying due to being three goals ahead of the Sheffield counterparts. 

The lead was stretched to 7-3 by Kyle Smith at 54:49 to put Swindon in cruise control as they owned the third period and, ultimately, the match.