After seeing their four-game winning streak snapped at the hands of the Niverville Nighthawks during the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s annual Showcase, the Dauphin Kings have started another winning streak, this one reaching three games going into this week.
The Kings rebounded from last Monday’s loss to Niverville with a come-from-behind 3-2 shootout win over the previously unbeaten Winkler Flyers.
Dauphin then made it two wins in a row with a 7-2 win over the Waywayseecappo Wolverines, Friday in Dauphin and made it three straight wins with a 7-2 win over the Winnipeg Freeze, Sunday in Winnipeg.
Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley felt the players were a bit nervous heading into the Showcase, which resulted in the loss to the Nighthawks.
“The guys want to get to the next level. We’ve been playing outstanding and we’ve been playing as a team. And we just got caught up in a little bit of the atmosphere there and the talk about schools coming up to watch,” he said. “I think we just got onto an individual page a little bit. We started doing things that we weren’t accustomed to doing all year, making an extra move before we pass the puck up, trying to beat guys with toe drags. And our rush defence wasn’t very good.”
Austin Seibel got the start in goal and played well, according to Hedley.
“He made some big saves. You can only give up so many odd man rushes before it kills you. And I thought we learned from it. We had a really good third period,” he said.
Dauphin fell behind Winkler, 2-0 after the first period and tied the game in the second with a couple of power-play goals.
“We sure never quit and the guys stuck together and found a way to get it done. It was a huge win for us,” Hedley said.
The Kings carried the momentum of that win into Friday’s contest against the Wolverines, building a 5-1 lead before the game was 10 minutes old.
“The way we started the game tonight was a direct result of that game in Winnipeg. We were on our toes and we set the pace right off the hop against Wayway,” Hedley said.
Dauphin’s power play, which struggled early on, is on fire as of late. In the last five games, the Kings have scored 13 times in 30 tries with the man advantage, a 43.3 per cent clip.
As a result they now have the best power play in the league, with a 31.4 per cent success rate.
Hedley noted all four goals at the Showcase came on the power play.
“Guys are starting to move pucks and we’re starting to get some breaks in front of the net,” he said. “The guy that’s in the right spot a lot of times net front is Walks (Logan Walker). He’s making a big difference and he’s getting some big goals for us.”
The Kings will look to extend their winning streak when they host the Wolverines, Friday, at 7:30 p.m., before heading south to take on the division-leading Virden Oil Capitals, Saturday.
Kings court:
The Kings moved up two spots in the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s Top 10, coming in at no. 10. After two weeks at no. 1, the Winkler Flyers dropped to no. 5 this week, while the Steinbach Pistons come in at no. 8.
