SWINDON Wildcats boss Ryan Aldridge says his side will leave everything on the ice tonight in their quest to book a spot in the Challenge Cup final.

Cats travel away to Manchester Phoenix this evening for the second leg of their semi-final, with the contest finely poised following a 3-3 draw at the Link Centre a fortnight ago.

And head coach Aldridge is adamant Swindon will leave no stone unturned to ensure it is they who are celebrating at the Altrincham Ice Dome this evening.

“It’s finely poised from the first leg and we know what we’ve got to do – we’ve got to go all out,” said Aldridge.

“It’s a tough arena to go to and a tough game ahead of us. Manchester are a very good side but we’re looking forward to the challenge.

“The boys are buzzing for the game. They’ve been putting some hard graft in the gym in preparation.

“We’re all looking forward to it. We haven’t been in a semi-final or final since I’ve been back at Swindon and I think it’s a long time before that as well.

“This is a good opportunity for us to try to get into a final environment again and it’ll be great if we are able to get through.”

The Cats will not be short of motivation as they travel north for a sixth meeting against Manchester this season.

As well as the chance to move a step closer to silverware, they are also out to avenge the 5-2 defeat they suffered on the road in the English Premier League on Sunday.

Aldridge added: “All our games against them have been very close and I think we’re very similar sides. We’ve both got good goal tenders and we’re both strong in attack.

“We left Sunday’s result in the dressing room. We were disappointed but I don’t think the score reflected the game.

“Maybe that was a good thing as it’s a wake-up call for us and we know we need to be stronger. We know the areas where we were weak, so if we can build that up we will be okay.”

Cats have been handed a boost ahead of tonight’s match with the news Polish international forward Tomasz Malasinski is fit to return to action after missing Sunday’s clash against Phoenix through injury.

“We got the all clear from the physios that Tomasz will be back available to be included in the line-up,” said Aldridge.

“He had a little niggle at the weekend and we just wanted to give him a bit of rest and have him checked out.

“We will be a breath of fresh air in the camp and we’re looking forward to having him back.”

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