It’s come down to crunch time for the Dauphin Kings.

Coming off a pair of losses in which they perhaps deserved a better fate, the team’s coaching staff has cut down the roster to 27 players, two of whom are currently injured.

Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley said the team played well in a 6-0 loss to the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Melville Millionaires, Friday in Dauphin.

“Obviously, the rush defence wasn’t there, but I thought our energy and compete (was). We actually had more puck possession that them. We had more opportunities from the prime scoring areas,” he said. “It was just one of those games where every time they seemed to come down, we made a mistake and it went in the net. I liked the effort. Obviously, it’s a lot easier making decisions in the exhibition season when you’re losing than if you win every game. I think it’s a great evaluation tool.”

On Saturday, the Kings traveled south to face the Oil Capitals in Virden, losing 9-4.

Following the two games over the weekend, the Kings made some cuts, getting down to 27 players.

Defenceman Marco Bodnarski and forward Rylan Gage are battling injuries.

The team has been working on its defensive zone systems, as well as the forecheck in the neutral zone and will be reinforcing those in the lead-up to Friday’s season opener against the Swan Valley Stampeders.

“And try to get four solid lines to take the ice on Friday night and the backend, goaltending, just solidify everything and get some special team work going. We want to get off to a good start, so the first 10 games of the season can be very important,” Hedley said.

Some team bonding things are planned for this week to help the players become familiar with each other.

After Friday’s home opener, the Kings are on the road for the first time, Sunday, when the play the OCN Blizzard, Sunday.

Friday’s game gets underway at 7:30 p.m.