A BRACE from Ben Campbell was enough for Guildford Flames to burn any hopes of Swindon Wildcats closing the gap between the two sides in the English Premier League.

After a goalless first period, two goals in 21 second-period seconds from Tom Duggan and Campbell put the hosts in front before Jonas Höög pulled a goal back from close range in the 37th minute.

Campbell netted his second of the game in the 42nd minute and that was enough to secure the hosts a 3-1 victory on the night.

Having killed an early penalty after Stevie Whitfield was given two minutes for cross-checking just 27 seconds into the contest, the visitors began to assert their dominance on the game.

Floyd Taylor and Jordan Kelsall both forced Dean Skinns into good saves to keep the scores level in the opening five minutes.

Swindon continued to work efficiently moving forward through the thirds but their composure in front of goal was letting them down as Jonas Höög fired wide before Thomasz Malasinski was found in space at the back post in the aftermath, only for Skinns to get across his goal and deny the Polish international.

Guildford were then forced to hang on a man light after Sam Godfrey entered the bin for roughing, but it was the visitors who ended the period the stronger, with Stevie Lyle saving well from Kari Sihvonen’s close-range effort.

Guildford started the second period how they ended the first and Lyle had to be alert to Andrew McKinney’s front-post effort before Andrew Hemmings found himself bearing down on goal one-on-one with Lyle in the 26th minute.

However, the Swindon netminder stayed big to deny the Guildford forward, who found himself in the bin three minutes later for tripping.

With Santavouri finding his way into the box just 73 seconds later, Swindon had the chance to take control of the game but let it slip with barely a shot fired in anger.

Instead it was the hosts who took command in the 34th minute when Santavouri put the puck on a plate from the right for Duggan to fire a powerful shot past Lyle.

It got worse for the visitors just 21 seconds later as Campbell popped up at the back post to tap the puck into the Swindon net and double the lead.

Having called a timeout immediately, Aaron Nell’s side were able to claw their way back into the game when a scramble in front of Skinns’ net led to Höög pulling a goal back in the 37th minute.

Guildford restored their two goal cushion less than two minutes after the restart as they make their man advantage count, with Jan Kostal in the bin for tripping, as Campbell was set away down the right and lifted the puck over Lyle's left shoulder.

Swindon were unable to find a way back into the game and in their desperation, they pulled Lyle with two minutes left and it was the hosts who went closest to scoring when Dan Meyers hit the post, aiming at the empty net from distance.