The Dauphin Kings maintained their hold on first place in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s MGEU West Division despite splitting their two games, last week.
On Thursday, the Waywayseecappo Wolverines built a 4-0 lead and hung on for a 4-2 win over the Kings in Waywayseecappo.
But the Kings rebounded with a 3-2 win over the Portage Terriers, Saturday in Portage.
Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley said Thursday’s loss was not a case of the Kings taking their opponents lightly.
“We don’t seem to get the energy level, the compete level. And maybe it’s a subconscious thing against certain teams. But we’ve had success against them early in the season. It was 8-0 here in Dauphin. And when guys start thinking point night, you get in trouble,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter who you’re playing, you’ve got to respect your opponent. They beat the Blizzard the next night. We know they’re a fast hockey club. They’ve got some offence and if they get goaltending from the young Wareham kid (Jase Wareham), like they usually do, they’re tough to beat. And every team should be taking every team serious.”
As an example of the increasing parity in the league, Hedley pointed to the Winnipeg Freeze beating the Neepawa Titans, 3-2, Sunday night in Neepawa. It was Winnipeg’s second straight win and only their third of the season.
Hedley was pleased with the rebound effort against Portage, which is 1-4 since an 11-game winning streak was snapped, Nov. 15.
The game marked the debut of Shea Rollason, who was called up for the contest.
“I was very happy with the compete, with the energy. We were shortstaffed. The young Rollason kid played very well. Stewie (Ethan Stewart) played very well with (Cayden) Glover and (Gavin) Nemis. So I was very happy with the rebound effort,” he said.
The Kings will face the Virden Oil Capitals in a home-and-home this weekend, beginning Friday in Dauphin at 7:30 p.m., followed by the rematch, Saturday in Virden.
It will be the first meetings between the two teams since opening weekend, which the Kings swept by scores of 3-0 in Virden, Sept. 20, and 4-2 in Dauphin, Sept. 21.
Hedley hopes the team can build an identity where the compete level is always the same.
“You’re going to make mistakes. It’s how you recover and rebound and come back harder. We’re going to play a good team home-and-home and we’re looking for a solid effort both nights,” he said.
At 16-6-1-0 for 33 points, the Kings are in sole possession of first place in the division, two games ahead of the Northern Manitoba Blizzard, with one game in hand.
Dauphin is also second overall, two points behind the Steinbach Pistons.
Kings court: The Kings dropped two spots in the Canadian Junior Hockey League Top 20 national rankings. They now sit 11th, while the Steinbach Pistons dropped from fourth to ninth. The Winkler Flyers enter the Top 20, sitting at number 17 . . . with two goals against Portage on Saturday, Cayden Glover now leads the league with 19 goals, four ahead of Niverville’s Adam Vigfusson. Naaman Hofer continues to lead the league with 22 assists and he is the top scoring defenceman with 26 points. Cole Sheffield leads the league with 14 wins.
