It’s decision time for the Dauphin Kings coaching staff.

The Kings ended the preseason with a 1-2-1-0 record as the team prepares for the Manitoba Junior Hockey League regular season.

The Kings lost 2-1 in overtime to the Swan Valley Stampeders, Sept. 6, then beat the Wisconsin Lumberjacks, 6-1, on home ice, Wednesday.

On the weekend, the Kings traveled west to play the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Melville Millionaires, Saturday, losing 5-0.

On Sunday, Dauphin dropped an 8-4 decision to the Yorkton Terriers in Melville.

The regular season opens Friday, with the Kings hosting the Neepawa Titans at 7:30 p.m.

Following Friday’s home opener, the Kings and Titans will meet in Neepawa on Saturday in a rematch at 7:30 p.m.

Dauphin made one deal last week, sending Ben Hackl to his hometown Dryden Ice Dogs of the Superior International Junior Hockey League for future considerations.

Hackl had four goals and 20 points in 40 games last season, adding one goal and two assists in 14 playoff contests in helping the Kings win the Turnbull Cup.

Kings court:

Former Kings defenceman Scott Gillingham is one of 15 candidates running for mayor of Winnipeg. Gillingham was first elected to council in 2014 and was re-elected four years later.

He played for the Kings in the 1987-88 season, scoring five goals and adding 34 assists for 39 points in 45 games.

It was a season of streaks for the Dauphin Mavericks.

The local men’s rugby team started the year with four straight losses and followed that with four straight wins.

The Mavericks ended the season with another four losses in a row, the last three coming this past weekend in Winnipeg.

The Mavericks dropped a 37-17 decision to the league-leading Wombats, Saturday afternoon then lost 38-17 to the Saracens in the early evening. On Sunday, the Wanderers were awarded a 20-0 win after the Mavericks forfeited the game, dropping Dauphin’s record to 4-8.

Jeff Zeiler, Willi Budzinski and Shawn Sarkonak each scored tries in the first game and Nick Searle had three tries in the second game. Converts were kicked by Willi Budzinski and Jordan Campbell.

Mavericks president Codi Harrigan was pleased with the team’s play, noting they opened the scoring against the Wombats.

See what he had to say in this week's Dauphin Herald!

The Parkland Recreation Complex curling rink was home to the annual Dauphin Recreation, Health and Leisure Mart, Sept. 6.

The busy evening gave 14 organizations the opportunity to accept registrations for the upcoming fall and winter seasons or display what they have to offer.

The Dauphin Clippers football team beat the defending Rural Manitoba Football League champion Swan Valley Tigers, 2908, in their season opener, last Thursday in Dauphin.

Oliver Dandeneau led the offence with 77 yards rushing on just three carries, including a 66-yard touchdown run. Kade Glennie had just one carry for 55 yards and Scott Gower had 44 yards rushing on 12 carries. Will Stinson ran the ball for another 37 yards on seven touches.

Matt Zurba completed just one of six pass attempts, but he made it count as he connected with Jaymen Fee on a 15-yard TD.

Joseph Lopez led the defence with seven tackles, including three sacks, and an interception return for a touchdown.

Get a full rundown in this week's Dauphin Herald!

Dauphin’s Ray Baker skipped his Manitoba team to a gold medal at the 2022 Canada Senior Games, in Kamloops, Aug. 23 to 26.

Joined by Dwight Bottrell, Bob Scales and Keith Pottle, the Dauphin foursome went 5-1 in the round-robin, before winning their semifinal game and beating the host team, 8-1 in the final.

Baker said it was a long week for the team, playing eight games in a round-robin format.

“We were actually down a player for all of the week, because one of our players got injured early on. So we were playing with three,” he added. “It was a one-game-at-a-time thing and we made it through it all.”

The final, Baker said, was a great game and was closer than the score would indicate.

“Really, it was a question of whoever was fortunate enough to get the first deuce in the game. An opportunity came up and we decided to go and we went around a corner guard. We were fortunate to generate a deuce and after that, they were chasing us and we were able to capitalize on it,” he said.

Being a national champion is a good feeling, Baker said, remembering the games four years ago, when they went undefeated in the round-robin only to lose in the final and settle for silver.

“So it was pretty awesome to be able to get back there and play again and actually win both of the playoff games and get the gold. Yeah, it was cool,” he said.

Baker knew they would be contenders going into the competition.

“And we were playing well. We had a good team. But you never know. It was August. We haven’t thrown a lot of curling rocks for a while. And it took us a little while to settle in,” he said. “Once the week went on, we got stronger and stronger and we were probably a little more positive, as well, as we got closer to the end,” he said, adding he enjoyed his time in Kamloops, noting the ice conditions were fantastic.

“Probably the fastest curling ice I’ve ever played on.”

The Dauphin Mavericks rugby team learned a valuable lesson, Saturday, when they faced the league-leading Winnipeg Wombats.

Winnipeg entered the contest with an 8-1-1 record, compared to Dauphin’s 4-4 mark and the Wombats played a style of game the Mavericks have not seen much of this season, resulting in a 48-10 Winnipeg win.

Nick Searle and Codi Harrigan had Dauphin’s tries, both of which came in the second half.

Despite the lopsided result, Harrigan was pleased with the Mavericks’ play.

“I told these boys, ‘let’s keep our heads up. That was an amazing game.’ We came short of numbers, they came with two full lines. They’re 8-1-1 for a reason. They’re a good team. They played great,” he said.

Get the full story in this week's Dauphin Herald!

Training camp is over and done with and now the players trying to impress the Dauphin Kings coaching staff will have four opportunities to show what they can do in game situations this week.

Camp ended with Team White scoring a 4-3 win over Team navy in the annual JoFo Cup intrasquad game, Sunday afternoon.

Madden Murray scored twice to lead Team White to the victory. Tyson Pauze and Anthony Tudino had the other goals, while Keaton Woolsey and Kristjan Johnson combined to make 39 saves in goal.

Nolan Wickham, Ethan Williment and Aiden Brook had the goals for Team Navy. Cole Sheffield and Nathan Braun teamed up to make 18 saves in goal.

Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley liked what he saw throughout the weekend.

“The guys that we brought in, we knew they were good. I think we’ve got some decent speed. Our backend is mobile,” he said.

The Kings will embark on a busy week with four preseason games in six days, beginning tonight in Swan Valley against the Stampeders at 7 p.m.

On Wednesday, Dauphin plays its only home game of the preseason when they host the Superior International Junior Hockey League’s Wisconsin Lumberjacks at 7:30 p.m.

The Kings will then head west for a pair of tilts against Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League opponents in Melville, first against the Melville Millionaires on Saturday at 6 p.m., followed by a Sunday contest against the Yorkton Terriers at 2:30 p.m. These four games, Hedley said, will be key for a lot of players, noting there is competition for every spot on the roster.

“It’s going to be a good battle. I’m looking forward to some good intensity, good compete in practice and games this week,” he said.

Hedley felt each of the three teams had a really good work ethic and compete level in their practices.

“The speed that they had and the compete in the drills was very good. I think there have been times in the games where they got a little bit tired. But at the same time, overall, I think the compete and the speed and the intensity has been okay,” he said.

Hedley hopes to see a willingness to battle in the preseason games and play within a structure.

“We’re going to do some teaching this week and, hopefully, we can get guys buying in. The sooner we do that, the better we’re going to be,” he said.

Last season, the Kings relied on scoring by committee and this season will be no different.

“There are guys here that we think have potential to be some top end guys as far as scoring. But until we get the combinations together and get the right guys in the right places, it’s probably going to be scoring by committee,” Hedley said.

Like last year, Hedley expects the blueline to lead the way when it comes to producing offence.

“I think our backend is going to be one of our major driving forces again, with guys like (Nicholas) Hatton and (Anthony) Bax that can jump in the play. And (Rhys) Maksimow, (Ryan) Kieber and those kinds of kids that can jump in the play and create some until we get our feet under us up front and try to spread out,” he said. “But I think the biggest thing is probably our depth. The fact that we can throw speed out on every line. We might not be top scorers, but we’ve got guys that work by committee and hopefully, will score the same way.”

Dauphin opens the season, Sept. 16, when they host the Neepawa Titans at 7:30 p.m.

Charles McKay of the Wayway A’s was out on this play as Dirt Devils first baseman Dean Zimmer stretches to make the putout in the final of the Dauphin Men’s Fastball League, last Wednesday.

The A’s had the last laugh as they scored a 9-3 victory to win the league championship.

Wayway’s Curtis Cote was named the Cubby Barker league MVP.

Sully Fox leaps to knock down a pass right before the quarterback is sacked as the Dauphin Clippers beat the Winnipeg Falcons, 33-20, in an exhibition game, Friday.

The Falcons and St. Vital Mustangs are playing a series of exhibition games against teams in the Rural Manitoba Football League as a means of gauging their competitiveness before joining the league next season at the earliest.

The Clippers open the regular season, Thursday, when they host the defending RMFL champion Swan Valley Tigers in a rematch of last year’s final. Game time is 4:30 p.m.

The Girl Guides Travel Club hosted a fund-raising barbecue, Friday, at the Dauphin Consumers Co-op Food Store.

The group had planned a trip to Churchill, but it was cancelled due to the pandemic, so they are raising funds to, hopefully, make the trip north.

The local Girls Guides will host a camp for girls from across Canada ages 10 to 17, Aug. 20 to 26, 2023.