The Dauphin Kings ended the Manitoba Junior Hockey League season on a four-game winning streak after sweeping a pair of games from the expansion Winnipeg Freeze, last week.
In the first-ever meeting between the two clubs, last Tuesday in Dauphin, the Kings skated away with a 7-4 victory. On Thursday, the teams met again in Winnipeg with Dauphin coming out on top, 9-1.
With that win, the Kings finish the regular season with a 41-12-1-0, good for 83 points and first place in the West Division and second place overall, four points behind the Steinbach Pistons.
Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley said the Freeze are a young team that simply lacks experience.
“They’re in tough. They’re not going to push you like other veteran hockey clubs do. But you still have to get into good habits and play like you want to play going forward. So it was definitely a challenge, for sure,” he said.
With the regular season at an end, the Kings will now prepare for what they hope will be a run at the Turnbull Trophy. To get there, they first have to get by the Swan Valley Stampeders, a team that finished 34 points behind Dauphin in the standings. Dauphin won the season series, with seven wins and one loss, with one of those wins coming in a shootout. The Kings outscored Swan Valley 32-12 in the eight games, recording three shutouts. The schedule has yet to be released, but the series is expected to start this weekend in Dauphin. Hedley is expecting a tough series, stating the Stampeders are a heavy team that plays hard regardless of the standings.
“It’s going to be a good series. I think they’re well coached. We’re going to have to bring our A game. It’s going to be a tough series,” he said. “Every game is going to be highly competitive and we’ve just got to find a way to get the job done. That’s what playoffs are all about. It doesn’t really matter what happened during the season, it’s what you’re doing now. You’re only as good as the next game you play in. We’ve got to play very well.”
If both teams compete hard, it could turn into a physical series. But Hedley said the Kings are prepared to play any type of game.
“We can play fast. We can play heavy. And Swan is the very same. So it’s going to be a good series and very competitive,” he said, adding the Kings have got to play like they have all year. “We’ve got to use our speed to our advantage. Part of our strength is speed, playing fast, getting pucks up ice and getting to nets to get second shots. Nothing is going to change, but we’re going to have to be very good on the transition and try to play very well and control our speed through the neutral zone,” he said. “No different than any other team we’re going to play. It’s just a matter of us doing little things well and focusing on our strengths.”
Kings court:
Kaden Bryant led the league with 36 goals, one ahead of Virden’s Braden Fischer. Bryant also finished second in scoring with 75 points, seven back of Justin Svenson of Winkler.
Colby Jaquet led all defencemen in scoring this season, finishing with 62 points, one ahead of Waywayseecappo’s Lonan Bulger. Jaquet also led the league with 50 assists and was ninth overall in scoring.
Carson Cherepak’s 30 wins topped the league and he tied Steinbach’s Will Hambley with six shutouts. He was second behind Hambley in GAA at 2.21 and save percentage at .921. Kings backup Keaton Woolsey was third in GAA (2.61) among qualified goaltenders. Goalies must have 1,020 minutes to be considered qualified.
