Bullas wants fast start as Cats seek instant revenge (From Swindon Advertiser)

Bullas wants fast start as Cats seek instant revenge

6:00am Monday 31st December 2012 in Ice Hockey By Sam Morshead

SAM Bullas has urged Swindon Wildcats to “come out hard” at Guildford Flames on New Year’s Day as they look to make up for their crazy second-period collapse against the same opposition last week.

Cats conceded five goals to the Flames in a little over 10 minutes on Friday night to end up losing 7-5, despite more than matching their third-placed guests for the rest of the encounter.

An instant chance for redemption comes in the shape of a trip to the Spectrum tomorrow, where forward Bullas has said Swindon must ice with intensity right from face-off if they are to match their 5-4 EPL Cup success in Surrey on October 31.

Reflecting on the defeat to the Flames last time out, he said: “It was a five-minute lack of concentration in the second period that really killed us. Otherwise I think we played pretty well, we had some good opportunities, it was just that second period when we took our foot off the pedal a little bit.

“They’re a fantastic team. They’ve got some really big names over there but, when we work as a unit and we play as we have been for the last few weeks and did for most of the game last time, I think we’ve got a really good chance of beating them up at their place.

“Obviously the mood was not great (on Friday night) because everyone wants to win in the team. We’re here to win not just to show up, but I think the boys were quite happy with the performance. If we didn’t have that blip in the second period it would have been a totally different game.

“When we score five goals in a game we should be winning.

“(The Spectrum) is a fantastic rink. They’ve always got a good crowd and they’ve got a lot of support over there. They’ve got a point to prove because the last time we were over there we beat them, so they’ll come out hard but we’ve got to come out harder or match them early on and take it to them.”

The clash is the first of a tricky double-header for Swindon, who entertain table-topping Basingstoke Bison on January 2, and Bullas stressed that the two games present the perfect chance for the Cats to show the rest of the EPL what their intentions are for 2013.

“These next few games are really big,” he said. “We’re playing some of the top teams. We had a good streak before Christmas – although they were against teams we should be beating.

“With these games it’s about showing what we’re all about for the rest of the year and how we’re going to perform.”