THE Swindon Wildcats were boosted last week by the news that they had acquired the services of defenceman Sam Oakford from the Nottingham Panthers initially on a short-term basis.

The 24-year-old is coming back from injury after recording 30 appearances in the Elite (top tier) League this season and is in need of some ice time.

Negotiations between both parties will take place next week, but Ryan Aldridge will certainly be keen to have the former Great Britain U20 at the club for a while.

Oakford made his debut in the 5-3 loss against league leaders Telford Tigers at the Swindon Ice Arena on Saturday.

The Cats made a costly slow start as Telford showed their destructive capabilities early on by scoring two goals in the space of 20 seconds.

To their credit, Swindon's heads never dropped and they cut the deficit in half as Aaron Nell gave the goalie no chance with a clinical finish.

A very sharp bit of individual skill from Polish forward Tomasz Malasinski tied the game late in the second period, but Telford scored with just 10 seconds remaining in the frame to take a 3-2 lead.

The next goal was going to be massive, and it was the visitors' Blahosav Novak who got it with just under 15 minutes to play.

Latvian-born youngster Toms Rutkis bagged his first EPL goal to help Swindon set up a tantalising finish, but Max Birbraer put the game to bed for Telford with a score into an empty net.

After losing to them last week, Swindon travelled to bottom-side Bracknell on Sunday knowing that grabbing two points would not be an easy task.

The Cats were treated to a rare goal from Shane Moore to open the scoring, before captain Jan Kostal doubled his side's lead on the powerplay in what was a solid opening frame from the Wiltshire outfit.

The Bees dug deep and scored twice to tie the game and set up an exciting finale.

With just over three minutes remaining, Tomasz Malasinski rose to the challenge when his team needed him as he slammed the puck home to give Swindon a crucial two points.

The win takes Aldridge's men back into the top four of the EPL, and their aim of a second-place finish is definitely still achievable.

Four more points will be the target this weekend as Peterborough travel to Swindon on Saturday before the Cats head to Milton Keynes on Sunday.