With points in their last five games, the Dauphin Kings are one of the hottest teams in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.
The week began with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Winkler Flyers, Tuesday in Winkler.
On Friday, Quentin Fisk had the only goal in the shootout to lift the Kings to a 5-4 victory over the Neepawa Titans in Neepawa.
Then Brady Green had a goal and and two assists, Fisk scored twice and Tate Barnaby made 33 saves to help the Kings beat the Steinbach Pistons, 3-2, Saturday in Steinbach.
Kings head coach and general manager Bryan Kromm feels the team is starting to play the type of hockey he envisioned.
“It was nice to see that transpire over the weekend,” he said.
There was some controversy over Winkler’s winning goal in overtime, last Tuesday, as the puck was clearly kicked in.
But Kromm stated the MJHL adopted the Western Hockey League rule where a player can direct the puck into the goal as long as the puck is outside the crease.
“When I go back and watch the video, obviously, it’s tough to tell. But there’s also no review on those plays either, so in real time, it’s up to the refs to make that call,” he said.
“That’s the call they made and that’s what happened on that night.”
The power play has started clicking, going seven for 23, a 30.4 per cent rate.
Kromm admitted he put special teams on the back burner to focus on the team’s five-on-five play.
“So we slowly started to work in some special teams now and, obviously, we can see the results there,” he said.
For the most part, the Kings have also been staying out of the penalty box, giving up just 17 power play chances to the opposition, allowing just two goals against during the points streak.
“I think there were a couple calls that were deserved. I think we can control our sticks a little bit better. Some tripping and slashing calls. But other than that, we’ve been pretty disciplined that way,” Kromm said.
Saturday’s game in Steinbach saw a crowd of 2,023 take in the action, the second largest of the season.
Games in front of such crowds are easy to get up for Kromm said,
“It was definitely a fun atmosphere and a good experience for our group,” he added.
Kromm made a deal to acquire goaltender Adam Courchesne from the Virden Oil Capitals in exchange for a player development fee.
The 18-year-old played one game for Virden this season, beating the Pistons, 7-5, Sept. 26.
Kromm said the deal was made with an eye towards next season.
“More about protecting some of our assets. With Tate being so young, there’s a chance that he moves on to a higher level, so I just needed to find a piece for next season,” he said.
The Kings have three games this week, beginning, Wednesday, when they visit the Oil Capitals at 7:30 p.m.
On Friday, Dauphin returns to Winkler for a rematch with the Flyers, also at 7:30 p.m.
The Kings then return home, Sunday, to host Virden at 4 p.m.
Kings court: With eight goals on the season, forward Quentin Fisk is tied with Virden’s Tyson Draper and Swan Valley’s Trace Langan for second in goals scored, one behind league leader Matthew O’Sullivan. Tate Barnaby’s shutout streak was snapped, Saturday, when Rohan Gueverra scored at the 9:11 mark of the first period. The streak lasted 178:38, almost three full games. Barnaby still leads the league with a 0.93 GAA and .966 save percentage.