The Dauphin Kings suffered their first loss of the season, Sunday, when they dropped a 2-1 decision to the previously winless Selkirk Steelers at Credit Union Place.
The loss came on the heels of a 4-3 overtime win over the Portage Terriers, Friday in Portage. That win improved Dauphin’s record to 3-0-0-0, until Sunday’s loss.
Naaman Hofer scored the overtime winner against Portage, just 56 seconds into the extra frame.
Myles Yearwood, Gabriel Bugeaud and Nolan Wickham had the Dauphin goals in regulation, while Nolan Nenow, Grant Dardis and former King Slade Stanick replied for Portage.
Cole Sheffield stopped 20 shots in the victory and Portage’s Gavin Renwick made 35 saves in the loss.
Special teams proved to be the difference against Selkirk.
In front of a crowd of 727 spectators, Deshon Frieson and Owen Wiehs each scored on a power play for Selkirk, while Jack Hodgins had a busy night, being called upon to make 37 stops in goal.
Ethan Williment was the only King to find the back of the net. Austin Seibel made his Kings debut in goal and made 19 saves.
Selkirk finished two-for-six on the power play, including four man advantages in the third period. Dauphin was scoreless in four chances.
Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley said the Kings played well after the second period, with good puck control.
“They weren’t really getting any opportunities and we had some good chances,” he said. “You can’t kill eight minutes in penalties in the third period and not be on your heels a little bit. We had some good opportunities at the end, but couldn’t get it through. That’s what happens when you set yourselves back.”
Hedley felt the Kings rebounded well in the second period after falling behind in the first period.
“We didn’t come off the hop real good. Not being on the ice for a couple of days doesn’t help. We couldn’t get in the building (Saturday),” he said. “It is what it is. No excuses. They worked hard and found a way to win.”
Although the Kings had 38 shots, they didn’t really generate much in the way of quality scoring chances, something Hedley feels needs to improve.
“I think we’ve got to get better in the offensive zone. We do it all the time. We talk about creating offence. We didn’t drive the middle enough to get pucks to the net. And then we missed short side, high side instead of going far pad,” he said. “We’ve got to start doing some simple smart things. Intangibles win hockey games and it’s the little things that make the difference. We didn’t have any net front presence in the first period at all. And until we get that mentality and it becomes habit, then we’re going to let goaltenders see pucks. We’re not going to create offence for scoring if we’re not going to be willing to go to the hard areas.”
On the flip side, the Kings limited Selkirk’s chances.
“I thought we controlled the puck after the first period. And when we stayed five-on-five I thought we were pretty good,” Hedley said, adding the league has a lot of parity this season, much like it had the last few years. “It doesn’t matter who you play this year. The parity is unbelievable and the speed is there. There’s some good speed in the league and if we’re playing with speed and play fast, we’re a very tough team to play against. And in the second and third period we were that. We just couldn’t get the win.”
The Kings will get a stiff test tonight when they host the Virden Oil Capitals at 7:30 p.m.
With a veteran-laden lineup, the 2-2-1-0 Oil Capitals are among the favourites to win the MGEU West Division.
Following Tuesday’s game, the Kings will face the Neepawa Titans, who are off to a 3-2-0-0 start to the season and will not be an easy opponent.
Dauphin’s lineup was bolstered by the addition of veteran Alex Senf from the North American Hockey League.
Senf had 19 goals and 39 points with the Kings last season and was in the lineup against Selkirk.
“We know he can score, so we’re hoping that touch is contagious,” Hedley said.
