SWINDON Wildcats were unable to make it narrow victories over Milton Keynes Lightning on successive Saturdays as they were beaten in a penalty shoot-out at Planet Ice this evening.

Aaron Nell’s side had overcome the side sitting second in the English Premier League table in overtime a week ago at the Link Centre but they were unable to repeat the trick on the road.

The Cats had built up a two-goal cushion early in the third period but Lightning came roaring back to extend the contest into an additional five minutes.

Neither side could force a winner there and it was the home side who kept their composure as the match moved to penalty shots, claiming a 2-0 triumph.

The contest got off to a combative start, with penalties outnumbering shots early on as Cats captain Jan Kostal and Lightning man Jordan Cownie both sent to the penalty box with less than three minutes on the clock.

Swindon were almost caught out the moment Cownie returned to the ice as he had virtually half the rink to himself after coming back on and darted forward to force a good save from Stevie Lyle in the first big chance of the night.

Phil Hill was then the first Cats player to test home netminder Przemyslaw Odrobny, while Lyle flicked away a shot from distance from Tom Carlon at the other end.

Tomasz Malasinski and captain Kostal then went close for the Cats before Adam Carr carved open the Swindon defence, only to be thwarted by a stunning reflex save from Lyle.

Lyle was having a blinder between the pipes and Frantisek Bakrlik was the next player to be denied after pouncing on a loose puck in front of the Swindon goal.

After waiting almost the entirety of the opening period for a goal, two arrived in the space of a minute in the dying stages.

Despite having Luc Johnson in the penalty box, Milton Keynes broke the deadlock while short-handed as they countered at pace and Craig Scott fed Blaz Emersic in front of the Cats net and he diverted the puck past Lyle from close range.

However, the lead lasted less than a minute and Swindon headed back to the locker rooms all-square when Hill and Robin Kovar combined for the latter to level with just 34 second left in the first period.

Swindon were first to threaten after the restart and Kostal forced a save from Odrobny, while they were then almost caught out at the other end when Lyle moved away from his net but Lewis Hook could not convert at the back post.

Malasinksi then twice threatened the Lightning net before having a big hand in Swindon getting their noses in from just after the half-hour mark. The Polish import brought the best out of Odrobny, who could only parry into the path of Kovar to lash home through a crowd of bodies on the angle, although it took a lengthy conference between the officials before the goal was finally able to stand.

Milton Keynes’ Bakrlik and Cats duo Kovar and Kostal had the best chances for further goals before the second buzzer sound but there was no addition to the visitors’ slender advantage on the scoreboard.

The visitors came out flying for the final period moved two goals to the good in the opening 90 seconds. After netting the Cats' first two goals, Kovar turned provider as he found Malasinski to rifle home.

Lightning soon hit back and Mikolaj Lopuski darted forward unopposed and Lyle could do nothing to keep out his powerful effort as it returned to a one-goal game.

Antti Holli then looked on course to level things up when he darted clear of the Swindon defence but Lyle stayed big and smothered the chance.

Milton Keynes continued to ramp up the pressure and Scot was the man to make it pay with four minutes to go with a close-range strike to haul the host level.

The Cats were given a golden chance to win it when the home side were made to play two of the final two-and-a-half minutes a man down as Bakrlik was sent to the penalty box, however, they were unable to capitalise and the game headed to overtime.

Even an additional five minutes could not separate the sides and Swindon were unable to cope under the pressure of the shoot-out as both Malasinski and Kovar missed their efforts, while Lopuski and Holli ruthlessly despatched theirs to hand the home side the extra point.