Elias Eisenbarth’s goal with one minute remaining lifted Team Hobbs to a 6-5 win over Team Cherepak in the Dauphin Kings’ annual JoFo Cup intrasquad game, Sunday afternoon at Credit Union Place.
Blake Boudreau was named player of the game for Hobbs after he scored twice and added an assist.
Linemate Rylan Gage had a goal and two assists, while Riley Borody and Jordan Bax had the other goals.
Joshua Schmidt was named player of the game for Cherepak with a two-goal effort. Josh Heistad, Sam Boldt and Danylo Dolin also scored.
Austin Siebel and Ethan Fechter combined to make 24 saves in goal for Team Hobbs. Luke Swanson and Piet Mierreau had 30 stops for Team Cherepak.
Coming into camp, Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley knew the team would be strong on the backend and in goal.
“We’ve had six guys in here and a couple of young kids that are going to be good in the future. There’s three of our guys that are battling for those spots,” he said, noting veteran Cole Sheffield and rookies Siebel, Swanson, Fechter and Mierreau all had good camps.
Mierreau and Chase Glover will likely play in the opening preseason contests, Tuesday against the Neepawa Titans and Wednesday against the Swan Valley Stampeders.
Both games get underway at 7:30 p.m. at Credit Union Place.
Dauphin will travel to Swan River for the rematch, Friday, at 7 p.m.
Newcomer Naaman Hofer, who was acquired in a trade with the Winnipeg Freeze, last week, was one of the best players in camp all weekend.
“And we really like the pairing with (Karson) Raymond and the (Trey) Gnetz kid that we got from the States, they looked really well. So our backend, we like our mobility, we like our speed and we like our first passes” he said. “And I think there’s some real good potential up front with the speed and the youth that we have.”
Most of the veterans in the intrasquad game were being outplayed by the rookies fighting to make the roster.
“Boudreau has been good all camp. Bouds has separated himself, but I think the rest of our guys, the 17 and 18 year olds have looked really good,” Hedley said, adding he liked the speed and work ethic he saw, as well as the plays that were made. "We showed some really good IQ and some creativity. At this time of year, that’s what we have to do as a coaching staff is get that compete level to the intensity that we want,” he said. “But I do like our speed and the skill sets are really good. There’s something to work with, that’s for sure.”
Tonight’s preseason game with Neepawa will feature the team’s draft picks and list players.
Following Tuesday’s game, the Kings will drop to between 25 and 30 players heading into the remainder of the preseason.
Defenceman Marco Bodnarski and Aidan Murray are out with injuries, so the team will likely carry 10 defencemen and 18 forwards, as well as three goaltenders.
For the remainder of the preseason, Hedley would like to see the work ethic and speed to continue.
“We’re looking to really get some good depth with some size, speed and compete. Hopefully, we can get six lines out of there. Six lines and 10 D and three goaltenders to go into the exhibition (games),” he said.
Kings court:
The Kings will end the preseason with a home game, Sept. 15, against the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Melville Millionaires at 7:30 p.m. at Credit Union Place, followed by a game in Virden the next night against the Oil Capitals. The regular season begins, Sept. 22, with the Stampeders in town for the home opener at 7:30 p.m.
