Last week was one of mixed results for the Dauphin Kings.
Six different players had two points each in a 6-2 win over the Swan Valley Stampeders, Jan. 23, in Swan River, extending Dauphin’s winning streak to seven games.
The streak came to an end, Friday at Credit Union Place when the visiting Blizzard scored a 4-2 victory.
Dauphin rebounded with a solid effort in a 5-2 win over the league-leading Steinbach Pistons, Saturday in front of 1,943 fans on Ukrainian Night.
Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley said good teams find a way to rebound from tough losses and that is what the Kings did.
“Resilience is part of our covenant. We were fast tonight. We played fast tonight. We were relentless on pucks. We stopped on pucks. We won stick battles. Took hits to make plays. It’s just something we didn’t do enough of (Friday) night to start,” he said. “We weren’t on our toes. We weren’t using our speed. We weren’t playing fast. So we got what we deserved.”
Hedley felt the Kings played well in the third period, but failed to play for a full 60 minutes.
The Blizzard, to their credit, played a strong road game and were the better team for most of the night.
“They worked their butt off, just like they did last time, only we found a way to win. This time, I thought their goaltender was really solid. He made some big saves, because we had some pretty good looks there at the end, when it was 4-2 and we got some power plays and had some good looks and some chances and he made some good saves,” Hedley said.
The Kings power play was clicking, scoring three times against the Stampeders and twice against Steinbach.
With changes to the roster at the trade deadline, it meant changes to the power play, with new players stepping into the roles of players no longer with the team.
“When you have changes like that, you’ve got different guys on the power play, you’re trying to get some chemistry. I think we can still get a lot better, especially our top unit. We can get some speed going and we’ll find different ways,” Hedley said. “Steinbach is a good hockey team. They really put pressure on you on the PK and sometimes we didn’t get set up quick enough. But we’ll get better.”
After a tough December, goalie Cole Sheffield made some highlight reel saves against the Pistons and has been a big reason for the Kings success in the new year.
The win against the top team in the league gives a big confidence boost to the Kings. Hedley said Saturday’s game was the best the team has played on Ukrainian Night since his return to the team.
“It was one of our best efforts,” he said.
The league will take a break for the annual MJHL-SJHL Showcase, Jan. 30 and 31, before games resume on Friday.
The Kings will be in Winkler, Friday, to take on the Flyers, before heading to Winnipeg to face the Freeze, Saturday.
Kings court:
Saturday’s win evens Dauphin’s record on Ukrainian Nights at 4-4 and they have won the last three Ukrainian Nights in a row. . . The Kings remain in third place in the MGEU West Division, with a 24-12-1-0 record for 49 points. They sit three back of the Blizzard, with three games in hand.
