The Dauphin Kings drew first blood in their best-of-seven quarterfinal series with the Swan Valley Stampeders, scoring a 5-1 win in game one, Saturday in Dauphin.
After taking a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, the Kings broke the game open with three in the second. Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley knew the Stampeders would be tough and come at the Kings hard.
“I thought our speed was really good right off the hop. We had energy. The guys were ready to play. We had a long week of practice and we had gone though just about everything,” he said.
The biggest thing for the Kings, he said, is to play with speed and play fast and they will get some opportunities.
“I thought (Jayden) Jubenvill was outstanding tonight. I thought he was one of our best guys. I thought he was really good,” Hedley said. “I thought Cherry (goalie Carson Cherepak) was great. Everybody had a good game. Our penalty killing was outstanding.”
Even as the Kings padded their lead, the game was tight checking.
“And that’s the way it’s going to be. It doesn’t matter what the points are in the regular season. They’ve got eight 20-year-olds on that team that this is their last shot at it. So you know they’re going to bring intensity. You know they’re going to be urgent. You know they’re never going to quit,” Hedley said. “If we want something, we’ve got to take it. And tonight, we did a good job of finishing and kept them off the scoresheet for a while.”
The Kings did get a little nonchalant on a power play early in the third, which resulted in a shorthanded goal for the Stampeders, but that was all the offence they could muster.
Depth scoring is an important factor in the playoffs and the Kings got that in game one. Four of Dauphin’s five goals came from the blueline with Colby Jaquet scoring twice, including an empty netter, while Nolan Wickham and Owen Wareham also scored. Garrett Hrechka was the only forward to bend the twine.
“We win 5-1 and our top line never scored. So that’s a good thing,” Hedley said.
Hedley expects much the same kind of game in game two, tonight at 7:30 p.m.
“It’s going to be very similar. The speed has got to be there. The intensity, the urgency. We’ve got to play a very good game away from the puck,” he said.
Forward Matthew Rathbone left the game in the third period after taking a high stick to the face, but he returned before the end of the game. Jubenvill also left the game late in the third as a precaution with an upper body injury.
Game three will be in Swan River on Friday, with game four, Monday in Swan River. Both games begin at 7 p.m.
