Swindon Wildcats fell to an overtime defeat against Bristol Pitbulls following a dramatic encounter which saw the visitors emerge as 5-4 victors.

The game began briskly, with both sides battling for dominance. Swindon opened the scoring inside three minutes, as Glenn Billing found the net securing his 100th point for the Wildcats, which was assisted by Jake Bricknell and Tomasz Malasinski.

Bristol quickly responded, with Mason Lipsey wasting no time in finding the back of the net to level the game up following the frantic early stages.

A goalie change for Swindon followed shortly after, with Renny Marr taking over between the pipes. However, he could do nothing to prevent the lead from changing hands as the period closed with Bristol capitalizing on a short-handed opportunity as Bayley Harewood scored in the ninth minute, putting the Pitbulls ahead 2-1.

The Wildcats struck back midway through the second period when Bricknell raced through and buried the puck having been assisted by Billing. 

Swindon regained the lead early in the third with a power-play goal. Ryan Wells was the one to convert having been assisted by Ed Bradley and Bricknell, bringing the score to 3-2.

The Wildcats then managed to extend their lead before the third period was out when Bricknell netted his second of the night with another memorable individual display.

The Pitbulls mounted a strong comeback, starting with a power-play goal by Nick Pryce, assisted by Bari McKenzie and Tanner Butler to reel Swindon back in.

Shortly after, Tanner Butler tied the game 4-4 with not long left, with help from Reece Cochrane and Ewan Hill to send the game into overtime.

The extra period was intense as both sides sought the winning goal after what had been a thrilling encounter from start to finish.

Ultimately, Bristol were the ones to land the killer blow as their late-game momentum carried into the additional time. Pryce scored his second of the game to snatch the victory after their spirited late comeback, with Tanner Butler and Bayley Harewood combining to set up the deciding goal. The goal sealed a 5-4 victory for the Pitbulls.

It was a hard-fought contest, with the Wildcats showing resilience throughout. Despite the loss, standout performances from Bricknell getting two goals and two assists and Billing kept Swindon competitive until the final buzzer. The result also brings to an end the fine run the Wildcats had been on, scoring 17 in their last two with back-to-back victories.