SWINDON Wildcats player-coach Aaron Nell admitted his side rode their luck as they left Bracknell Bees tonight with two points courtesy of a penalty shootout win.

Jonas Höög opened the scoring for the hosts in the first period against the run of play but having held off sustained periods of pressure from the hosts, they finally succumb six minutes from time when Olegs Lascenko found a way past Stevie Lyle’s defences.

However, there was no way past Lyle in the penalty shootout and skipper Jan Kostal’s strike was enough to secure the win.

The victory means that Swindon have now won four of their last five outings and following a short week that included four games, Nell is happy that the result went their way on the night.

“It wasn’t the best hockey game tonight and we weren’t at our best but we have had a long week,” explained Nell.

“At the end of the day, the result was all that mattered.

“We rode our luck at certain times but it was good to get the win and we have to move on.

“They always come hard and we knew what to expect and we would have loved to have played a bit better than tonight but we didn’t and we still won.

“We should have really tried to get one or two more to put it out of reach.

“It’s a cliché but when it is only one goal, they have always got a chance.

“It was a bad play on the blue line and a deflection and they scored.

“In the end, we were lucky to get the penalty shootout win but we deserved that bit of luck.

“We won’t remember this game at the end of the season but we got the two points and we have got to move on now and make sure we are better next week.”

Wildcats youngster Jordan Kelsall provided the assist for Höög in the 15th minute and Nell said that he has been impressed with what the 17-year-old forward has brought to the side.

“Jordan has been great and he keeps on playing and playing,” he added.

“He has been a great addition to our line-up and he is a very good player.

“He has come on an awful lot in a short period of time and he’s been given a lot of ice time and he has been doing his best.

“He is a big player for the future.”

He added: "Tonight was a game that we had to win and the six before that were all tough games.

"We went 3-3 in those six and then to win tonight, we're in a good spot.

"Tonight was never going to be pretty, it was about the win."