By Xanthe Boursier-Gazzard 

The Bristol Honda Pitbulls faced a 5-0 shutout in the pound last night as they took on the Swindon Wildcats in their final home game of the year.

Heading into the game, the home team was without Tanner Butler due to a two-game suspension and Ewan Hill through illness.

The puck dropped for the first period, and both teams were swiftly battling it out for possession, with Tomasz Malasinski taking a deflected early shot chased by Jacob White-Sey, who was denied by the pads of Renny Marr. The home side applied pressure on Marr in spells throughout the first twenty minutes; however, the Wildcats were persistent in clearing the zone and keeping the scoreline at zero.

Despite a goalless first period, Jake Bricknell was the one to open the scoring just under five minutes into the second, getting the Wildcats onto the board and giving them a lead that both teams had been eager for. Both Reece Cochrane and Nick Pryce attempted shots in the following minutes; however, Marr held his own and kept the game at 1-0 for the remainder of the period.

The Wildcats came out in the third with determination to extend their lead, putting the Pitbulls on the back foot. Penalties were exchanged between teams in the opening minutes, but it wasn’t until a Pitbulls penalty expired that Bricknell was able to tip the puck into the back of the net off the back of Chris Jones’ initial shot. Jones was quick to make it back to the net following this, bouncing the puck past Tommy Nappier on the power play, giving them a three-goal cushion. Another two goals came from the visitors in the final six minutes, with both Glenn Billing and Dylan Lipsey scoring evenhandedly, finalising the score at 5-0.

Man of the match for the visitors went to Jake Bricknell and to Cam Hamill for your Bristol Honda Pitbulls.

Image : Pete Fears