SWINDON Wildcats captain Jan Kostal praised his side’s strength of character after they signed off the season with NIHL Cup final glory against Sheffield Steeldogs.

After drawing the first leg in Sheffield 2-2 last Saturday, Kostal struck the second of four Wildcats goals in the second leg at the Link Centre 24 hours later to hand the home side a four-goal aggregate lead.

However, the Steeldogs responded with two markers of their own, and although that shook Aaron Nell’s side, the Cats shut out the visitors in the third period to earn a deserved 6-4 aggregate win.

It meant the Cats – who prior to this season were without a major trophy since 2001 – earned their second honour in less than a month after also lifting the Autumn Trophy.

Kostal said: “I’m very happy we won both trophies.

“All season we played as a team, not individually.

“I know we struggled at times, but we showed how good we can be at the end of the season during the most important moments.

“In finals and semi-finals, we were strong. We had that strength at the end of the season to do that.”

Kostal pin-pointed the Cats’ success on the ice to having a strong atmosphere inside the locker room.

The Czech international added support from the fans throughout the season acted as a ‘sixth man’ on the ice.

He said: “We had a great atmosphere in the locker room.

“Every player had something positive to bring to the team. A great atmosphere made it nice to play with the team.

“The key to ice hockey is to have a strong atmosphere in the locker room. We had a lot of fun, it can be compared to a family.

“The fans were amazing too. I was really surprised how many fans travelled not just to Sheffield but everywhere else.

“People wanted to support us, and that was great to see.

“You can hear them when you’re playing. They’re like an engine to a car – it helped us a lot.”

Despite lifting two championships, Kostal admitted he would’ve liked to register more goals this season.

But at the same time, he added he’s looking forward to enjoying some rest time in the Czech Republic this summer.

“I’m happy with this season,” said Kostal.

“I think I can score more goals. Sometimes I was struggling to score when I had plenty of chances.

“I wasn’t thinking about it at the time, I just wanted to bring my best to the team.

“I’ll be staying here in Swindon in the summer for work.

“Then in July, I’ll head back home to Czech Republic for a couple of weeks.”