Swindon Wildcats head coach Aaron Nell said that he is hoping his side keeps up their momentum ahead of the playoffs.

The National Ice Hockey League playoffs will begin next weekend and the Wildcats will face the MK Lightning, Raiders IHC, and whichever team ends up finishing sixth in the standings after the final weekend.

Swindon will get the opportunity to scout out their opponents this weekend as they have a final doubleheader of the regular season against Raiders and Peterborough Phantoms, who could still finish in sixth.

Nell said that he was hoping his side could keep up their great form of five wins in six in the final weekend ahead of the post-season beginning the following week.

He said: “I think that it is good that we are playing Raiders in the last game because it means we can see what they are about, we haven’t played them in a long time.

“We want to get through the weekend with all of our players available for the week after, but you also want that good feeling going into the playoffs.

“In the game that we lost in the last six we played a really good game, so it is about making sure things are going in the right direction.

“On Saturday [against MK Lightning] was the best game we have played in six weeks, so I have been really happy with the team.”

Nell added that he felt it was important that he and his team continued to work on developing positive habits and developing as a team ahead of the business end of the season.

He said: “I am sure that all of the other teams will be thinking the same of getting to see us at the weekend and also wanting to get through it with all of your players available for the playoffs.

“If you win then you are going to be happy, but if you lose then you aren’t going to read too much into it.

“It is about having those good habits and being ready for when it kicks up a notch next week.

“What we are speaking about with ourselves is you can think what you want about the other teams, we are just focusing on making sure we stick to our game.

“I couldn’t have asked for more from the players this season and now we just need to finish it in the right way.”