SWINDON Wildcats player/coach Stevie Lyle says he is satisfied with how his team is shaping up for the new campaign after bringing the curtain down on their pre-season programme with a hard-fought 4-3 victory away at Bracknell Bees tonight.

The Cats 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 with a third successive win under their belts and Lyle has plenty of confidence his new-look side can be a force to be reckoned with in the English Premier League, starting in next Saturday’s opener at home to Peterborough Phantoms.

“We have still got another week of practice now. Hopefully all the rubbish is out of our legs and out of our heads,” said netminder Lyle.

“Every team is in the same situation, it’s about guys buying in and playing as a team. We know we’re a good team but it’s about keeping it going every night.

“In the first two or three games I was just changing lines constantly to see what we had but I think I have found what I think is the right formula going forwards now.

“Hopefully everyone is fit and raring to go next Saturday.”

Cats captain Jan Kostal’s strike was the difference between the two sides in the first period before a quickfire double from Sam Bullas and Corey McEwen early in the second pulled the visitors clear.

However, that stung the Bees into life and they got two goals themselves in quick succession through Frantisek Bakrlik and Lukas Smital.

The visitors soon regained their composure and a goal from Sami Rhyanen gave them breathing space heading into the final period.

Bakrlik then got his second of the night to give Bracknell hope but the Cats clung on until the final buzzer to claim the win.

Lyle added: “We knew it was going to be a tough game, they were missing their top import last night, which obviously made a difference as he scored two goals tonight.

“We just made a couple of bad decisions tonight which ended up costing us.

“We are a very good team but we have got to do the same thing as we do going forwards coming back. We’ve got to play defence as well, we are not going to score 12 goals every night.”