DEFENCE man Shane Moore claims the 2014 Swindon Wildcats side are the best he has been involved with in his eight years at the club.

The results back up the Moore hype as the Wildcats’ seven-game winning run has taken them to third in the English Premier League table and their two wins in the past week have made the division sit up and take notice.

Last week they travelled to Milton Keynes and routed the Lightning 11-3 and on Saturday they got the better of runaway league leaders Telford Tigers 5-4.

Moore, 27, said: “This year we are a lot stronger across the team. In previous years we have relied heavily on a few players, whereas this season we have three strong lines.”

With his team in great form, Moore believes they have what it takes to make the play-off finals again.

“I believe 100 per cent that we can go to the finals again this year. I spoke to people at the start of the season and said we should be aiming for the EPL Cup and the Coventry finals and that hasn’t changed.

“We are more than capable of beating any team on the day, so I’m excited to see how the season goes.”

Last Wednesday the Cats fell 2-0 behind early on at Milton Keynes, prompting a time-out from head coach Ryan Aldridge. That seemed to do the trick as his side fought back with goals from Aaron Nell, Jan Kostal and Jonas Hoog which gave the Cats a 3-2 lead at the break.

The Wildcats exploded in the second period and scored six, stunning the home crowd. Tomasz Malasinski scored a second period hat-trick while the others came from Henri Sandvik (2) and Hoog, making it a big night for the imports.

Captain Jan Kostal brought up double figures for the visitors before Sam Bullas notched a rare goal to complete the rout.

The side then produced a heroic performance to defeat Telford 5-4 at the Swindon Ice Arena on Saturday.

The Wiltshire side took an early lead through Adam Finlinson as the youngster buried a rebound past Thomas Murdy.

Telford hit back with two quick goals, but Aaron Nell ensured the first period ended tied as he was provided with an easy finish for arguably the Cats’ goal of the season following some exquisite passing.

The Cats started the second frame in top gear and Tomasz Malasinki fired a roaring slapshot home to give his side a 3-2 lead. Telford responded a mere 30 seconds later as some shoddy defending left Scott McKenzie with too much time and space.

Aldridge’s men played some great hockey in the middle period and were rewarded when Nell bagged his second of the night at the halfway point.

The Wildcats were clearly running out of steam during the final 20 minutes of action, but they showed a lot of desire and Adam Harding netted what would be the game-winning goal.

Telford’s Canadian captain Jason Silverthorn scored with five minutes to play to set up a tense finale, but Swindon put their bodies on the line to record a huge victory.

With seven wins in a row and plenty of goals being scored, Swindon are the in-form team going into the festive break.

Next up for the Wildcats is the visit of struggling Bracknell Bees on Saturday, December 27.