SWINDON Wildcats signed off their pre-season programme with a hard-fought victory away at Bracknell Bees this evening.

Stevie Lyle’s side were given a stiff examination at the Slough Ice Arena but came through to make it back-to-back victories over their M4 rivals following an emphatic 12-2 success at home in the first of this double header 24 hours earlier.

The result sees the Cats head into the season proper in good spirits with a third successive pre-season triumph under their belts and Lyle’s new-look side will have plenty of confidence that they can be a force to be reckoned with in the English Premier League.

Player/coach Lyle was the first of the netminders called into action as he thwarted Scott Spearing and trouble looked on its way for the Cats soon afterwards when Matt Selby was sent to the penalty box.

However, instead it was the visitors who took the initiative as skipper Jan Kostal broke the deadlock, winning possession in the middle before bursting forward to beat Bees stopper Tom Annetts.

Chances were at a premium throughout the remainder of the first period, although Miroslav Zalesak was twice denied by Annetts, while only the post prevented Bracknell from getting back level as Lukas Smital beat Lyle but not the frame of the goal.

Zalesak continued to come off second best in his personal duel with Annetts early in the second period as he was again kept at bay by the Bees netminder but where he failed, his team-mates succeeded as the Cats raced clear with a quickfire double.

First, Sam Bullas made it 2-0 when a mazy run ended with him slipping the puck past Annetts at his near post, before a cracking Cats move down the left eventually found its way to the unmarked Corey McEwen to tap home.

However, that served to sting the Bees into life and they got two goals themselves in quick succession.

Frantisek Bakrlik got his team on the scoreboard, lashing past Lyle after the Cats were caught short in defence and Smital was on target as well soon afterwards, racing in one-on-one after a lightning break from the home side.

But the visitors soon regained their composure and a brilliant run and finish from Sami Rhyanen gave them breathing space heading into the final 20 minutes.

Bakrlik then gave Bracknell hope as he cut the gap back down to one midway through the final period when he got his second with a close-range finish after a surge of home pressure.

Although there were a few heart-in-mouth moments when Neil Liddiard was sent to the penalty box with six minutes to go, the Cats survived unscathed and clung on until the final buzzer to claim the win.