AARON Nell hopes a rare Saturday off will help the Swindon Wildcats go hell for leather and strike down Milton Keynes Lightning for a second weekend in a row.

The Cats were narrow 4-3 winners at Planet Ice in Milton Keynes six days ago and the two sides will now resume battle on Sunday.

Swindon built up a 4-0 cushion but then had to survive a final-period scare as the hosts fought back.

They should have no excuses for a below-par performance at the Link Centre as the fixture is their only one of the weekend.

Player/coach Nell believes an extra day’s rest will allow his side to come out all guns blazing as they seek a third straight victory.

“I think it helps in the preparation as there is only one team we have to think about,” said Nell.

“It will be a bit unusual only having one game instead of the two and there are good things and bad things as it can get you out of your usual rhythm but we will focus on the positives and try to keep this good run of form going.

“I think the scoreline was quite nice to them last Saturday as we panicked a bit in the last 10 minutes. We are a young team and will have blips like that but the most important thing is that we still managed to gather ourselves and get the win.

“For 45 minutes we were very good and we dominated the game. Hopefully we can perform at the same intensity this weekend too.”

Nell has no plans to get some extra time on the ice with no fixture on Saturday and instead will reward his troops with a rare evening off.

“We will train a bit harder on Thursday and Friday than we usually would and then maybe a few guys will get together and go to the gym on Saturday morning but we will let the lads have the night off,” said Nell.

“It’s nice to let them have some time with their family at the weekend which is pretty rare during the season.”

The Cats have no injury concerns ahead of the contest, Nell’s main issue being getting all of his in-form players enough match time.

“There are some people we’d like to get on the ice more, particularly the younger guys, but it’s difficult when our third line are playing so well at the moment,” said Nell.

“It’s tough trying to find that balance but it’s a nice problem to have.”

Meanwhile, Wildcats are offering corporate hospitality packages at the Link Centre over the festive period.

Parties of 12 to 25 guests can be entertained for as little as £300, with seating in the royal box on a match night or a party in the VIP corporate lounge amongst the options.

Contact marketing manager Sally Price on 01793 886857.