Kings win two of three to move into first

Published on Wednesday, 20 November 2024 16:49

The Dauphin Kings sit alone in first place in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s MGEU West Division after winning two of three games, last week.

The week began with a 3-1 win over the Swan Valley Stampeders, Wednesday in Swan River, followed by a 4-2 setback at the hands of the Neepawa Titans, Friday in Dauphin.

The Kings rebounded with a 5-2 win over the Stamps, Saturday on home ice.

Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley said the Kings deserved better against Neepawa, who got the game winning goal with 2:11 remaining in the third period.

“We outplayed them so bad in the third period. I thought our third period was really good (Friday) night. We were in their end most of the night. Most of that period, for sure,” he said.

“We started off fast, got a 2-0 lead and that was kind of a jinx. All of a sudden guys were on their heels and they’re not working as hard as we should be. We had so many opportunities. You’ve got to credit their goaltender, he was real good. But again, we’re still not taking their eyes away and not getting to the greasy rebounds.”

Hedley said the Kings let Neepawa hang around too long instead of putting them away after going up 2-0.

“When you have opportunities to put teams away, you need to do it. We just let them hang around too long and deserved better. But it is what it is. You’ve got to make sure you play 60 minutes,” he said.

The struggling Stampeders played hard, Wednesday in front of an afternoon crowd of 651 fans on the team’s school day game.

But Swan Valley’s netminder Elias Giaccari-Dimitriou kept his team in it, making 46 saves.

The power-play continues to produce, scoring three times in the two games on the weekend.

“We had some good movement. Guys are twisting the box a little bit and creating some seams. We’re getting some big rebounds,” Hedley said.

Overall, Hedley is pleased with the team’s play, noting at five-on-five, they are letting teams hang around too long.

Prior to the loss to Neepawa, the Kings won eight of nine games, going 8-0-1-0 in that span.

“Parts of our game are really good. There’s part of it that it’s a work in progress. Net front, low D zone, that type of thing. When we’re on pucks and we’re tough and we’re competing and winning stick battles, we’re a tough team to beat,” he said.

Defenceman Aiden Murray is out four to six weeks with an upper body injury. Forward Nathan Lenoski left the team to return home to become a firefighter.

“It’s disappointing. We were looking at doing something anyway. But he came in and said his heart wasn’t in it. He was tired of being injured all the time and decided to go back to his hometown and was offered a firefighting job. So he’s going into firefightng and playing in the MM (Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League),” Hedley said.

The Kings are on the road this week.

On Thursday, the Kings face the Waywayseecappo Wolverines at 7:30 p.m., before visiting the Portage Terriers, Saturday, also at 7:30 p.m.

At 15-5-1-0, the Kings are in first place with 31 points, two ahead of the Northern Manitoba Blizzard.

Kings court: The Kings moved up three spots to number 9 on the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s Top 20 national rankings. The Steinbach Pistons sit at number 4, while Portage is number 14.



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