The Dauphin Kings clinched their spot in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League playoffs, last week.
The Kings guaranteed their spot in the postseason with a 4-0 whitewash over the Neepawa Natives, last Monday in Neepawa.
The Kings then solidified their hold on first place in the West Division by sweeping a home-and-home with the second-place Waywayseecappo Wolverines over the weekend.
Five power-play goals lifted Dauphin to a 6-3 win, Friday in Dauphin. The Kings then added another pair of power-play markers in a 4-3 win, Saturday in Waywayseecappo.
Dauphin is now 34-11-1-0 for 69 points, nine ahead of the Wolverines, with eight games remaining. The Kings have a game in hand on Waywayseecappo.
Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley said it is always nice when you get a chance to play in the postseason.
“It’s been our focus. The guys have done a really good job staying focused this year through a lot of different types of adversity,” he said. “It was a big win in Neepawa after a tough weekend with the stuff going on. But we got it done. That’s taking care of business.”
Dauphin’s power play has been one of the league’s best all season and it showed against the Wolverines, scoring seven times in 12 opportunities in the two games.
Hedley said puck movement and support have been key to the team’s success with the man advantage.
“The ability to twist the coverage in different areas to open up seams. I think we got away from it for a little while, standing still, feet pointing in the wrong direction, so we weren’t using people around us,” he added. “We had a couple of good sessions during the week and guys figured out when we’re moving and have good puck support with the speed and the way we move the puck, we find seams. And, fortunately for us, we found different ways to score. It was a good feeling just to get that. The different ways that we scored was really positive.”
For the season, Dauphin’s power play is second in the league behind the Wolverines, clicking at a 26.5 per cent clip with 44 goals in 166 chances, the fewest in the MJHL.
Waywayseecappo’s power play is successful 26.8 per cent of the time.
Dauphin’s penalty kill also had a good weekend, killing off eight of 10 Wolverine power plays. At 84.7 per cent, the penalty kill is second in the league behind Steinbach’s 87.2 per cent.
“It’s just guys buying in, working hard and getting in shooting lanes, pressuring pucks when they have a chance. Reading and reacting at the right times,” Hedley said. “Wayway has a very good power play. We did a good job of really shutting them down and just making a few adjustments to how we pressure and when we pressure and getting sticks in passing lanes.”
This week, the Kings face a desperate Neepawa Titans squad, which is fighting to get into a playoff position. The two teams meet, tonight in Dauphin, Friday in Neepawa and Saturday back in Dauphin.
The Titans enter the week three points behind the fourth-place Swan Valley Stampeders and have two games in hand with seven games remaining.
Hedley knows it will be a tough battle in all three games.
“Every team we play now is desperate. And it’s a good thing, because it makes guys raise their level of play, take nothing for granted, respect your opponent. We did that when we went into Neepawa and it will be no different when we play them here this week,” he said. “We’re not thinking about what they do. It’s more about thinking where we want to go and how we want to play and how we want to play going into the postseason.”
Kings court: Prior to the start of Friday’s game, a healing ceremony was held with representatives from Waywayseecappo, Treaty 2 Territory and Treaty 4 Territory. The ceremony included the North Wolf Ojibway Drum Group from Ebb and Flow performing, as well as a prayer by Elder Jim Cote and an exchange of tobacco by the team’s coaches and captains, ending with the two teams shaking hands at center ice . . .
The two games against the Winnipeg Freeze have finally been rescheduled. The Freeze will make their first trip to Dauphin, Mar. 15, while the Kings will travel to Winnipeg for the rematch, Mar. 17. It will be the first time the two teams face each other since Winnipeg joined the MJHL two years ago . . .
Tickets for Ukrainian Night, Mar. 12, go on sale this week. Tickets are $5 each and are on sale, Mar. 2 and 4 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Doors will open at 5 p.m. on the night of the game.
