KENTON Smith may have felt like he was ‘sucking wind’ midway through the first period of the Swindon Wildcats’ dramatic win at Bracknell Bees last weekend, but he was nonetheless delighted to be back on the ice.

The experienced Canadian D-man returned to Ryan Aldridge’s line-up for the first time in six weeks as Swindon claimed a 3-2 victory up the M4 corridor courtesy of Tomasz Malasinski’s late winner.

Former Cardiff Devil Smith hadn’t been in action since the Wildcats’ win at Peterborough Phantoms on December 7 and had been forced to bide his time as Wildcats coach Aldridge plumped for all of his attacking imports.

The 35-year-old says that he could definitely sense some rustiness following his spell on the sidelines but felt that he eventually clicked into gear.

“I felt it definitely in the first – I was sucking wind pretty good,” said Smith.

“But throughout the game, I started feeling better and a little more comfortable handling the puck and skating, so we’ll see what happens next weekend.

“If you’re a professional hockey player, you’re always wanting to get back on the ice.

“I wish I was ten years younger but it is what it is. I try to work hard for the team every night and do what’s best for the team.”

Swindon led 2-0 at the bottom-of-the-table Bees through goals from Malasinski and Kostal before the hosts hit back to set up a gruelling final period.

But Malasinski’s second of the evening, which came as Bracknell unsuccessfully appealed for a foul in the build-up, settled matters.

Despite their opponents’ lowly league position, Smith reckoned that the victory highlighted the competitiveness of the English Premier League.

He said: “It obviously felt good to get back playing with the guys and it’s tough to come to that barn and win but we greased out a road win and it’s always a good thing.

“They do work hard. They’re a last-placed team but you can’t take anybody lightly.

“They have a lot of guys that can still put the puck in the net and they compete every night.

“You can’t take anybody lightly in any league – as soon as you do that, that’s when you start losing. Everybody’s really happy with the two points.”