The Dauphin Kings and Steinbach Pistons split a home-and-home weekend with each team winning on home ice.
On Friday in front of 770 fans at Credit Union Place, the Kings scored a 6-4 victory, sparked by a two-goal performance from captain Owen Wareham.
Hunter Degelman opened the scoring 2:36 into the game, giving Steinbach an early lead.
It didn’t last long however, as the Kings scored three straight off the sticks of Wareham, with his fourth of the season on a power play, Myles Yearwood with his ninth and Blake Boudreau with his 12th.
Landon Roberts made it a one-goal game just 13 seconds after Boudreau gave the Kings a 3-1 lead.
Dauphin then increased its lead in the second period with Jakob Brook netting his seventh and Deepkaran Hans finding the back of the net for his 13th of the campaign.
Travis Hensrud and Dawson Milliken scored 40 seconds apart in the first five minutes of the third to make it interesting, but the Kings kept the Pistons at bay the rest of the way with Wareham netting his second of the game and fifth of the season into an empty net with 55 seconds left to seal the Kings victory.
Cole Sheffield made 26 saves for the Kings, which chased Pistons starter Dominik Wasik with their fifth goal of the game in the second period. He was credited with 17 saves, before giving way to Cole Plowman, who stopped all 14 shots he faced.
On Saturday in Steinbach, the Pistons scored four goals in the third period, including three in a span of 1:36 to escape with a 5-4 win.
The teams traded goals in the first period, with Mathew Gough scoring his 21st of the season for Dauphin, while Davin Griffin replied for Steinbach.
Alex Senf’s 15th of the season with 15 seconds left in the second gave the Kings a 2-1 lead entering the third period, where Nolan Wickham’s power play goal, his seventh of the season, increased Dauphin’s lead to 3-1.
The Pistons began their comeback at 6:13 when Ian Amsbaugh scored to make it a one-goal game. Brett Kaiser tied the game at 7:02 and Steinbach took the lead at 7:49 when Warren Clark beat Kings netminder Dmytro Kubrytskyi.
Dauphin’s Marco Bodnarski’s second of the season tied the game at four at the 12:01 mark, but Steinbach scored what proved to be the winner 24 seconds later when Hensrud scored.
Wasik earned the win in goal with 22 saves, while Kubrytskyi stopped 29 shots in taking the loss.
The Kings have another home-and-home weekend ahead of them, this time with division rivals, the Virden Oil Capitals.
The two teams hook up, Friday in Dauphin, with the rematch, Saturday in Virden. Both games begin at 7:30 p.m.
The Kings enter the week tied for fourth place with Virden in the MGEU West Division with 57 points each.
The OCN Blizzard hold down top spot with 61 points, followed by the Waywayseecappo Wolverines with 59 and the Swan Valley Stampeders with 58. The Neepawa Titans are still alive, but fading as they are sixth with 49 points.
