WILDCATS head coach Ryan Aldridge is hoping that his side have gained a major confidence boost from their first-ever victory at the Manchester Phoenix.

Swindon had never tasted victory at the Altrincham Ice Dome since the Phoenix's entry into the Premier League in 2007 but a 4-3 shootout triumph this evening got Cats' league campaign off to the perfect start.

The visitors twice came from behind, with Aaron Nell, Ollie Betteridge and Tomasz Malasinski scoring to tie the scores at 3-3 before shootout goals from Jan Kostal and Malasinski, and two saves from Stevie Lyle, secured victory for Aldridge's men.

“We've never won in this building. Since we've been in the league, that's the first time we've beat them,” said the Link Centre chief.

“It's a confidence-builder, I think. We needed that. To come here and get points is great.

“It's huge for everyone, even the young guys. Tomasz scored some big goals for us tonight, in the shootout and in regulation too.”

Aldridge was also delighted with a performance full of character from his side, which lasted the entirety of all three periods.

The Wildcats coach said: “We've been shouting and screaming about playing go 60 minutes and tonight, we did. I think that from start to finish, our boys worked hard and good things came from it.

“I said before the game that you can't take five minutes off because they'll hurt you.

“The first goal was a bit of a strange one. It was bad gap-control from our D and we talked about that when there was blood on the ice and in the changing room.

“But it was positive all night for me.

“We played a different system tonight from what we normally play to try and break down their game and to be fair, the boys stuck to it to a T – I've got nothing but praise for our boys.