Doug Zywina
Bryant is the OT hero as Kings advance to semifinals
The Dauphin Kings are moving on to the Manitoba Junior Hockey League semifinals after surviving a late surge by the Swan Valley Stampeders in the quarterfinals.
After taking a three-games-to-none lead, the Kings dropped two straight games, 6-3 in game four, Apr. 4 in Swan River, and 5-4 in double overtime, Friday in Dauphin.
But Kaden Bryant’s goal 13:15 into double overtime of game six, Sunday in Swan River, put an end to Swan Valley’s season, propelling Dauphin into a semifinal series with the Winkler Flyers.
Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley felt Swan Valley’s record was not a good indication of how good the Stampeders really are.
“I don’t think they performed up to their capabilities all season. I think they under achieved all year. They’re a good hockey club,” he said. “They’re an older team. They’ve got as many 19 and 20 year olds as anybody.”
Hedley cited Swan Valley’s two-game sweep over the league-leading Steinbach Pistons in Steinbach in mid-January as an indication of how good the Stampeders really were.
“Wolfie (Swan Valley head coach Barry Wolfe) got the best out of them and they played hard. They showed flashes of this in the regular season,” Hedley said. “We knew they were a good hockey club. The standings sure didn’t reflect how good they could be. It was a good series.”
Stampeders goaltender Kobe Grant was the difference in Swan Valley’s two wins. He made 47 saves in game four and 52 in the game five double overtime win.
“Goaltending in any playoffs in huge and the kid played very well. He kept them in a few games. He played very well. Credit to him. He was outstanding. Kept them in every game they played and it came down to two games back-to-back in double overtime,” Hedley said.
When the Kings got up 3-0 in the series, they got away from paying attention to the little details, Hedley said.
“You’re not as good away from the puck. You don’t work hard to get back on top of the pucks or right sides of battles. And I think it cost us in the end. We started going back and forth and we lost some attention to our rush defence and they scored a couple big goals off the rush, especially in game five in Dauphin,” he said, adding the defensive awareness wasn’t as good as it had been earlier in the series.
“And I thought we got back to it in Swan (in game six) and played very well away from the puck. We limited their rushing chances. And I thought that was one of Carson Cherepak’s best games he played in the series.”
Hedley feels the adversity the team faced against the Stampeders will benefit them heading into the series with Winkler.
“When you get through it, I think it does make you a bit stronger down the road. It challenges your dressing room. It challenges guys to work harder. It challenges guys to stay together and stick to what makes us successful,” he said. “So I do think it creates a bit more strength and a little more comradery in the dressing room. Hopefully it continues on against Winkler.”
The Flyers finished second in the East Division with a 33-16-3-2 record, 12 points behind the Kings. But Winkler won both games against the Kings in the regular season, 6-4 in Dauphin, Jan. 7, and 4-3 in overtime the following day. Cherepak was pulled after 40 minutes of the game in Dauphin and missed the rest of the month with an injury before returning to the lineup in early February. Led by league scoring champion Justin Svenson, the Flyers will present a tough challenge for the Kings.
“It’s going to be a good series,” Hedley said. “Obviously, Svenson and (Jaden) McCarthy and (Troy) Hamilton are all good players. Their top line can score goals. Their backend has (Trent) Sambrook, so anytime you put him into the mix, they’re tough. He’s a very good player. We’re hoping our guys can step up.”
The series is expected to begin this weekend. Tickets for game one in Dauphin are expected to go on sale Wednesday.
Something for everyone
The 33rd annual gun and hobby show was held at the Ukrainian Orthodox Auditorium, Saturday and Sunday.
Featuring about 85 tables full of displays, there was something of interest for everyone who walked through the doors.
Firefighters recognized for dedication
From left, Devon Pylypchuk, fire chief Cam Abrey, 2021 Firefighter of the Year Ryan Murray, Fabien Carriere, Brendan Greening and Chris Davidson were honoured at the City and RM’s appreciation dinner, Apr. 6.
The City and RM of Dauphin hosted the Firefighters Appreciation Evening, last Wednesday at the Aspen Lodge in the Parkland Recreation Complex.
Several firefighters were recognized for their many years of service.
Devon Pylypchuk, Fabien Carriere and Mark Bass received recognition for five years of meritorious service to the Dauphin Fire Department and Ray Lofgren was recognized for 15 years of meritorious service.
Daniel McKay, Brendan Greening and Chris Davidson were presented with their department badges for their accomplishments in training for the NFPA 1001 Fire Fighter certification.
Fire Chief Cameron Abrey was presented with the Governor General’s Fire Services Exemplary Service Medal for 20 years of service to public safety.
Due to the pandemic, the Firefighter of the Year Award for 2021 was not presented last year as the Firefighters Ball was cancelled. So the Jack Carey Memorial Firefighter of the Year Award was presented, Wednesday, to Ryan Murray.
Murray was selected by his peers for going above and beyond the normal call of duty. Murray, not once, but twice put his first aid training skills to work at his regular place of employment, demonstrating his commitment to public safety.
Murray was in disbelief after receiving the award.
“Pretty shocked, actually. I didn’t know I was nominated. So I was quite shocked. I’m really speechless,” he said.
Murray moved to Dauphin about two years ago and has been welcomed with open arms. So receiving the award means a lot to the new firefighter.
“It’s a great group of people. A family. I’m still pretty new to Dauphin, so it’s quite nice being recognized. But I feel like everyone on the fire department is deserving. Everyone does a lot of work for the community. So I feel like everyone should get the award,” he said, adding he has been with the fire department for just over a year.
“I’m new to the town, so I wanted to give back to the town.”
Welcoming spring
The Watson Arts Centre hosted a Hello Spring Market, Saturday.
The market saw more than 25 home-based businesses and makers offering their wares to interested patrons.
Skills on display
The Dauphin Kings hosted their annual spring prospects camp, this weekend, with about 65 players hitting the ice, hoping to make an impression.
Most of the 2005 players in camp are on the Kings 50-man protected list, but 2006 players had a chance to show what they can do ahead of the upcoming draft in June, as did the 2007-born players for next year’s draft.
“It’s been very good and definitely worth it, for sure,” said head coach and general manager Doug Hedley.
MVTA issues challenge
From left, Can Bennet, public relations chair for Mountain View Teachers Association, and MVTA president Chance Henderson recently presented a cheque for $1,500 to Ukrainian Folk Arts Centre and Museum president Jim Perchaluk and Selo Ukraine board member Larry Hrytsay, as Don Tarrant, owner of Reit-Syd Equipment looks on.
MVTA issued a challenge to local service groups and organizations to make a donation to the Parkland Ukrainian Family Fund in support of the permanent placing of Ukrainian refugee families in the Parkland.
Perchaluk noted 100 per cent of all donations will go to the families who relocate to the Parkland.
Kings miss chance to advance with a sweep over Stamps
The Dauphin Kings will again try to move on to the MJHL semi finals this Friday following a loss to the Swan Valley Stampeders on Monday.
The Kings took a commanding three-games-to-none lead with a come-from-behind 3-2 win in game two, Mar. 29 in Dauphin and a convincing 6-1 win in game three, Friday in Swan River.
The Stampeders held a lead in both games. They were up 2-0 early in the second period of game two only for Dauphin to stage a comeback for the win.
On Friday, the Stampeders had a 1-0 lead after the first period, but Dauphin took control in the final 40 minutes.
The Kings knew Swan Valley would come out hard in game three, according to head coach and general manager Doug Hedley.
“It was a big game for them. You have to give them credit. They came at us hard for the first half of the game,” he said, adding goaltender Carson Cherepak was solid in goal for the Kings. “He made some big saves and kept it 1-0. And we found a way to come back in the game late in the second period.”
Dauphin scored three times with the man advantage, two of them coming in the third period when the Kings scored four times to put the game away.
“They took some liberties and we capitalized on the power play. So it ended up working out well and the power play ended up being the difference,” Hedley said.
The Kings have proven themselves to be a resilient group, having come from behind on several occasions. So when they do find themselves trailing at any point in a game, they have the confidence knowing they have the ability to come back. But it is something Hedley says you never want to be consistent at.
“But we have been very good at it this year, never giving up and never quitting. And we always know that we’re in every game when you have a goaltender like Carson Cherepak or Keaton Woolsey in net,” he said. “We know our back end can create some offence. We know our four lines can contribute. As long as we stay the course and use our speed and play fast, we have good opportunities to get back in games.”
The Kings, Hedley added, have played a lot of close games this season and things have worked out well for the hockey club.
“The guys are confident whether we’re one goal down or one goal ahead. They seem to stay the course and get the job done,” he said.
Having a never-say-die attitude is important, especially in the playoffs.
“It’s huge. We’ve had a good group all year. Guys get along. They like playing with each other. They hang out. It’s just a good group that’s worked hard, that’s put the time in off the ice and on ice this year. And it’s paying dividends,” he said.
Eight of Dauphin’s 14 goals after the first three games have come from defencemen. That kind of production from the blueline does not come as a surprise to Hedley.
“We knew it was going to be our engine this year. We knew we had some good mobility, some good speed, some guys that can move pucks. It’s been consistent all year,” he said, adding the Kings have had balanced scoring all season, with five players with 20-plus goals. “It’s a spread out offence. We knew we had to create some offence by committee this year and we’ve done that. And it starts on the back end,” he said.
Friday's game five starts at 7:30 p.m. inside Credit Union Place. If needed a game six will go Sunday evening in Swan River.
Season extended
Kellan Shtykalo of the Parkland Thunder runs out of room against Virden Jr. Oil Capitals goalie Cody Cameron in the final of the Parkland Cup U11 Extended Season Tournament, Mar. 27.
Four teams gathered in Dauphin for the tournament, which began Mar. 25.
Dauphin beat Virden 5-4 in the final, while the Morden Hawks beat the Yellowhead Jr. Chiefs, 7-6 in overtime in the consolation final.
Developing their skills
Dauphin hosted the Director’s Cup West Regional Development Tournament Mar. 25 to 27.
Five teams took part, playing two games each. Saturday was dedicated to skill development sessions for each team’s group of forwards, as well as a session for defencemen and goaltenders.
Team Parkland, in grey, tied its first game against Brandon, 5-5, on Friday and beat Norman 10-0, Sunday afternoon.
Senior centre has a new handle
The Dauphin Multi-Purpose Senior Centre has a new name.
As of Friday, the facility will be known as the Dauphin Active Living Centre (DALC).
DALC president Esther Fyk said administrator and program co-ordinator Kim Armstrong kept nudging the board of directors towards changing the name of the centre.
“We wanted to see if we could deal with the idea that the senior centre is just for old people. So we wanted to see if we could change that stigma a bit. So we have chosen the Dauphin Active Living Centre, which I think is more inclusive,” she said.
While the centre was geared more towards the city’s older residents, Fyk said the centre is open to people of all ages.
“This isn’t just for ‘old people’. This is an active living centre,” she said. “We would like to see more people participate in our programs, of course. And that includes some of the activities that we have, particularly on Tuesday afternoons. We have the sip and stitch on Thursday afternoons, as well.”
Fyk said the centre would be ideal for people with jobs involving shift work looking to fill some time between shifts.
“We’re really looking forward to this name change and hoping that it will open the doors to more people participating in our programs,” Fyk said.
A new sign will be installed soon, with the date for the unveiling celebration to be announced soon, as well.