Doug Zywina
Recent struggles continue for Kings
The Dauphin Kings are showing signs of coming out of their slump, but they are not getting the results.
The Kings lost two of three games, last week, including a pair of home ice losses to the division-leading Virden Oil Capitals.
Virden scored a 2-1 win, Dec. 5, and a 4-3 triumph, Sunday.
In between was a 4-1 Kings victory over the Winnipeg Blues, Saturday.
In their last 11 games, Dauphin has a 3-7-1-0 record and have scored just 24 times in that span, while allowing 32 goals against.
With a 16-9-1-0 overall record, the Kings now sit in third place, one point behind the OCN Blizzard and they now trail Virden by nine points. Dauphin has two games in hand on both teams.
Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley, who is serving a 10-game suspension for a gross misconduct assessed in a 5-1 loss to Steinbach, Nov. 24, said the Kings have gone through a stretch where the work ethic wasn’t good.
“And prior to that, we were winning games, but finding ways to win. We got away from our what our strengths were and doing little things well. It finally caught up to us in certain games where we lost one-goal games,” he said. “We got away from being patient. We got away from playing on the right side of pucks and managing pucks. Basically, right now, we’re finding ways to give games away instead of finding ways to win.”
Sunday was an example of that.
After Virden built a 3-0 first-period lead, the Kings slowly chipped away and tied it in the second.
But the Oil Capitals took advantage of some sloppy play on the first shift of the third period and scored what proved to be the winning goal.
“It starts from goaltending out. You have to have goaltending. You have to have guys buying in and getting into shooting lanes and making smart plays and reading off teammates,” Hedley said. “The last two weeks there’s been some individual play rather than team play. We’ve just got to figure it out and get better.”
Among the positives the team can take from Sunday’s loss is the comeback from that early 3-0 deficit.
“There’s a lot of little things we can get better at. We know we’ve got a good hockey club. It’s just a matter of staying on course and thinking about the process it’s going to take,” Hedley said. “The league is getting better and we’ve got to get better.”
The Kings have relied on balanced scoring all season, with Jordan Bax, Logan Walker and Blake Boudreau leading the way.
But they got offensive contributions from Gavin Nemis and Madden Murray on Sunday, and Rylan Gibbs and Alex Senf on Saturday.
“We knew coming in that the back end was going to run (things) and help us win games. But right now we’re at a point where the forwards have to start contributing regularly,” Hedley said. “We have done a lot of experimenting, moving guys in and out and different line combinations. And the last few games, we’ve been creating opportunities. For a while there we weren’t.”
The great start the Kings had at the beginning of the season, Hedley said, allows the team to go through some adversity.
“But we’ve got to find our way here, soon,” he added.
The Kings have two games left before the Christmas break.
They are in Selkirk, Friday, before visiting the Flyers in Winkler on Sunday.
Both games will be tough.
“Selkirk is playing really well. They’re beating some good teams lately. And they always play us tough at home,” Hedley said. “We’ve got to get hungry on the road. It’s the Christmas break, guys have other things on their mind. But at the same time, it sure would be a good way to finish with two road wins.”
Annual fund-raiser a success
Don Tarrant of Reit-Syd Equipment draws the $100,000 winner of the Dauphin Kings annual tractor lotto, Sunday.
Normand Gagner of Winnipeg was this year’s grand prize winner, while Chastity Ek won $10,000 and Tim Lendvoy and Alice Prestayko each won $5,000.
Bob Mazer and Kevin Boyachuk each took home $2,500 and winning $1,000 each were Derek Yanke, Paul Pachkowski, Doug Westhouse, Stephen Durston, Debby Gusnoski, David Fulham, Mark Dewar, Libby Moroz, Bob Mazer and Nick Chudobiak.
Roger Lungal, Paul Van Dekerckhove and Phil Fafard each won a lawn tractor, while Lee Stirling of Grandview won the 50/50 prize of $30,940.
Clippers capture provincial bronze on home court
The Dauphin Clippers senior girls volleyball team entered the Manitoba High School Athletic Conference AAA Volleyball Provincials as the third seed and that is exactly where they finished, capturing the bronze medal on their home court, Saturday.
Dauphin opened the tournament in the power pool, with the other top four teams. When all was said and done, the Clippers came out in fourth place, losing to Westgate (25-14, 14-25 and 12-15), Neelin (16-25 and 18-25) and Linden Christian (25-23, 22-25 and 6-15).
All four teams earned automatic berths into the quarterfinals.
That is when Dauphin faced Balmoral Hall, earning a 25-20 and 26-24 victory.
In the semifinals, the Clippers again faced Linden Christian, losing, 18-25 and 21-25.
In the bronze medal game, Dauphin defeated Westgate, 17-25, 25-22 and 15-13.
Clippers coach Chris Wolfenden was proud of his team and what they accomplished on their home court.
After losing the first set, Wolfenden told his team to just have fun.
“And they just rallied around that. It didn’t matter where we were in the match. They were dancing on the bench and they kept it light, which meant they were loose in the match and they were able to play free. And they played freely and did awesome. So I’m proud of them, for sure,” he said.
In the final two sets, the Clippers stepped up their blocking game, scoring several points off blocks.
Check this week's Dauphin Herald for the full story!
Clippers battle Vikings
William Miner looks to make a play from behind the net in Friday’s 3-2 Clippers win over the Vincent Massey Vikings. Ronin Mouck, Liam Chartrand and Cody Zurba scored for Dauphin, while Owen Chubka made 18 saves to earn the win in goal.
The two teams met again, Sunday in Brandon, where a four-goal second period lifted the Vikings to a 7-4 win.
Tyron Sweetman, Zurba, Mouck and Jesse Hockridge had Dauphin’s goals and Chubka made 41 saves in the loss. The Clippers remain in first place with an 8-2-1-0 record, one point ahead of Vincent Massey.
Ranger’s resiliency earns a split with the Thrashers
Hockey fans who like a lot of goals would have been happy with the two games this weekend between the Parkland Rangers and Winnipeg Thrashers.
The two teams combined for 24 goals as the Thrashers scored a 10-5 win on Saturday at Credit Union Place, with the Rangers winning Sunday’s contect, 5-4.
The Rangers had a 4-2 lead after the first period on Saturday.
But Winnipeg scored in the opening minute of the second period to open the flood gates as they would score six times in the frame en route to the victory.
On Sunday, Parkland held a 4-2 lead going into the third period only to see the Thrashers tie the game by the 8:39 mark.
Unlike Saturday, the Rangers were able to rebound, netting the go-ahead goal with 2:14 left to play on a goal from Quentin Fisk and they hung on for the victory.
Rangers head coach Tyler Carefoot said Sunday’s win was a nice way to rebound from the loss the night before.
“Take away the second period of (Saturday’s game) and I think we deserved to win five out of six periods. So for that, I’ve got to give a lot of credit to the fellas,” he said.
The team has been focusing on keeping things simple, not forcing passes and being aware of where they are on the ice.
“And I think our execution to the details for the last five games has been tremendous. So all credit to the boys right now,” Carefoot said.
Read more in this week's Herald!
Clippers teams excited, ready for provincials
Dauphin is set to host the Manitoba High School Athletic Association AAA girls and boys volleyball provincials, this weekend at Credit Union Place.
Twenty-four teams will be competing for a provincial title. The last time provincials were held in Dauphin, the Clippers senior girls were crowned provincial champions.
In the most recent Top 10 rankings, the Dauphin Clippers senior girls were ranked fourth in the province.
Coach Chris Wolfenden feels the team is ready for provincials.
“We had a team function (Thursday) night and I think the excitement level is really high, for sure, with the girls. We’ve had some really good weeks of preparation. So I think we are ready, actually,” he said. “I think it’s a group that’s feeling confident and excited to play the game together and achieve something that hasn’t been there in the past. So I think the girls are excited about it.”
The team has been practicing three days a week and competed in six tournaments, which has allowed them to improve since the start of the season.
“So they put in a lot of time. I think the girls are understanding all of the concepts and team systems so much better now that they don’t have to think about those things. They can be free in the matches and be themselves. So the girls definitely improved a lot,” Wolfenden said.
The tournament will take place in a different venue than the teams are used to, often competing in school gymnasiums. But Wolfenden doesn’t think there will be much of an adjustment to playing in such a large venue.
Get the full story in this week's Dauphin Herald, which includes a special centre spread for the tournament!
Supporting a friend
Above, Colton McLeod, 13, performs his rendition of Steve Earle’s Copperhead Road to open Bruce-a-Palooza, Sunday at the Watson Arts Centre.
The event was a musical tribute and fund-raiser for Bruce Leperre, top, whose support of grassroots music is well known throughout the music industry.
Leperre was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and the funds will go towards covering mounting costs not covered by the health system, as well as allowing him to live in his home for as long as possible.
Clippers set to host provincials
With Dauphin hosting the Manitoba High School Athletic Association AAA volleyball provincials at the end of the month, the Clippers senior girls and boys had a chance to earn their way into the tournament at the interzone tournaments, this past weekend.
The girls were in Brandon, where five teams were looking to book their trip to Dauphin for provincials.
The Clippers earned an automatic spot in the semifinals, where they bested the Virden Golden Bears, 25-19, 25-21 and 25-22.
In the final, Dauphin faced the host Neelin Spartans, falling in the best-of-five set match, 18-25, 25-19, 15-25 and 17-25.
The Clippers boys team was in Neepawa, looking to earn a berth to provincials.
Like the girls, they also began the tournament in the semifinals, where they beat the host Neepawa Tigers, 25-20, 25-19, 21-25 and 25-20.
Like the girls, the boys also faced Neelin in the final, losing 19-25, 20-25 and 15-25.
Provincials will be held at Credit Union Place, Nov. 30 to Dec. 2.
Rangers victimized by bad call
The Parkland Rangers earned three of a possible four points in a pair of games against the Kenora Thistles in Kenora, Ont., over the weekend.
But they were robbed of possibly sweeping the weekend games, thanks to an error in judgement by the referee in Saturday’s 4-3 shootout loss.
After Carter Peters scored on Kenora’s second shot in the shootout, Parkland’s Quentin Fisk had a chance to tie the game on the Rangers’ third shot.
Fisk hit the goal post, but the puck deflected in off the goalie’s skate. The referee waved the goal off, saying the puck was dead.
But according to rule 4.11 (b), with regard to rebounds, referees should apply the following guidelines - the puck hits the goal post, then hits the goaltender and goes into the goal, the goal is allowed.
Rangers head coach Tyler Carefoot said he was pleased with the team’s play for the most part.
“I liked our first period of the first game. We took our foot off the pedal in the second period of the first game. Kenora was very resilient and they had a lot of energy on Saturday night. There was a lot of fans in the stands that were supporting them. So they kept the game close and we were just never able to really pull away,” he said.
The Rangers made a big push in the third period, but could not get the go-ahead goal.
Regarding the shootout, Carefoot said the rule book clearly said the goal should have counted.
“Nonetheless, there was some drama there. But regardless, the message after that game was we had to push forward, we have to persevere and if we bring that mindset of the third period where we played really desperate,” he said. “Not only against Kenora, but if we brought that mindset of playing desperate, we’d be a tough out against any other team.”
The Rangers brought that desperate mindset to Sunday’s game, beating the Thistles, 7-1.
Parkland is on the road tonight to face the Yellowhead Chiefs in Shoal Lake at 7:30 p.m.
On the weekend the Winnipeg Thrashers are in Dauphin for a pair of games, Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
Carefoot said he was pleased with the team playing desperate, with some urgency and being hard to play against in the two games in Kenora.
“We had that for five of six periods. And hopefully, we can move forward with that and, hopefully, the fellas recognize that that’s the way it has to be done. If we do that, I think we’ll be a tough out going forward,” he said.
Kings’ offence late to the party
The Dauphin Kings played just one game last week, dropping a 5-3 decision to the Portage Terriers, at Credit Union Place, Friday.
Matthew Biros staked the visitors to a 1-0 lead after the first period and former King Slade Stanick increased it to 2-0 after 40 minutes.
Evan Lachimea, Parker Korman and Alyandro De Leon padded the lead to 5-0 by the 10:52 mark, before the Kings offence came alive to score three times in the final 10 minutes on goals from Logan Walker, Alex Senf and Aidan Brook.
Jayden Catellier earned the win with 36 saves. Cole Sheffield took the loss after stopping 28 shots.
The Kings have a busier week ahead of them this week, starting tonight when they are on the road to play the Waywayseecappo Wolverines at 7:30 p.m.
On Friday, Dauphin travels south to play the Steinbach Pistons in La Broquerie at 7:30 p.m., and they play the Niverville Nighthawks, Saturday at 7:30 p.m.