SWINDON Wildcats came off second best in their Charity Challenge against Bracknell Bees after slipping to an 8-4 defeat on aggregate last night.

The Cats carried a narrow 3-2 advantage from the first leg at the Link Centre on New Year's Day, but they were well beaten on the road in the second leg on Wednesday, going down 6-1 at the John Nike Leisure Complex.

The NIHL South One rivals have kicked off 2019 with a pair of friendly matches to raise funds for charity Young Epilepsy.

Just one goal was scored during an even first period on Wednesday, with Harvey Stead on target for Bracknell to level the scores overall.

The home side then began to pull clear in the second session and further efforts from Roman Malinik and Vanya Antonov saw them move 5-3 clear on aggregate.

The one-way traffic continued in the final period as Josh Smith and Zach Milton got in on the act for the Bees to increase their advantage even further.

Swindon were 5-0 in arrears on the night before they finally made an impact on the scoreboard, however, there were less than three minutes left on the clock when player-coach Aaron Nell hit the back of the net.

There was to be no dramatic late comeback, though, as Bracknell had the final word as Shaun Thompson struck in the final minute to cap victory both on the night and overall for his side.