RYAN Aldridge reckons there is no way Swindon Wildcats should have seen their long winning run come to an end after they were beaten 3-1 at home by Guildford Flames on Saturday night.

The Cats arrived at the Link Centre on a ten-match winning run dating back to mid-November but found the 11th hurdle just one too many as Flames extinguished that hot streak.

The defeat was largely down to an inspired display by Guildford netminder James Hadfield, who kept Swindon at bay with a string of excellent stops throughout the night.

Cats had just Henri Sandvik’s early strike to show for their dominance in the first two periods and it seemed almost inevitable that they would come unstuck in the third.

And so it proved as Flames netted three times without reply, with a quick-fire double from Marcus Kristoffersson and David Savage in the space of 20 seconds turning the game on its head.

Kristoffersson then put the icing on the cake for Flames in the final minute, adding a third goal as the hosts withdrew keeper Stevie Lyle and flooded forwards in search of a leveller.

Although disappointed by a first defeat in six weeks, Cats boss Aldridge is adamant it will not affect his side’s confidence.

“I thought we were the better team on the night, from start to finish, and when you outshoot a team that heavily especially with the style we played I don’t think you deserve to lose,” said Aldridge.

“I thought James Hadfield had an outstanding game. He made some outstanding saves and also some he didn’t know he made but he had a great night.

“With the amount of shots we had there’s no doubt we should have had more than one goal. We should have taken some of our chances but we also played against a great netminder.

“The boys were a little bit flat after the game but we realised it was always going to come to an end and we’ve talked about that.

“That’s the best we’ve played for a while and we lost so we need to learn from that.

“It could have come to an end on a very sloppy performance where we’ve been heavily beaten and we could have lost all confidence, but we’ll keep our confidence going now because we were the better team.”

Flames stopper Hadfield may have taken the plaudits at the Link Centre but Cats own keeper, Lyle, was equally as impressive.

The Swindon star pulled off a string of fine saves himself and his heroics played a large part in allowing the home side to keep their noses in front for so long.

Aldridge added: “I can talk about Stevie after every game. He’s been outstanding for us all year and Saturday night was no different, he was outstanding.

“Hands down he’s the best in the league.”