Via Darnell Duff
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The Dauphin Kings couldn't have asked for much more to start the new season with wins in four straight games.
The team played excellent defensively and managed enough offence to build confidence and their first winning streak of the season. Not losing a single game in September, Dauphin is now in search of their first win in October.
The Kings, who are 4-2 on the campaign, find themselves four points behind the Northern Manitoba Blizzard for first place in the MGEU West Division. Dauphin does have two games in hand and will be a busy team over the next week. Beginning on Saturday, the Kings will play six games in nine days.
Offence:
Goals For - 16
Power play - 23.8%
Leaders - Cayden Glover & Ty Pratte - 5 points
There is no lack of firepower up front. With returning players such as Cayden Glover, Gavin Nemis, Madden Murray, Ashton Paul, and Gabriel Bugeaud, to name a few, the Kings have all the necessary pieces to be a very good offensive team. However, the team has been inconsistent offensively.
Among playoff teams, only the Winkler Flyers (15) have scored fewer goals than the Kings (16). In comparison, Northern Manitoba has 28 goals to lead the West while Selkirk's 47 goals lead the East Division. Glover and Ty Pratte lead the Kings with five points apiece, which is outside of the Top 20.
Glover has four goals, Ethan Williment has three and no other King has found the back of the net more than once.
There's no doubt that there is talent and significant talent at that. Sometimes it just takes a little extra time for players to find their stride and this could be the case. Scoring isn't easy, nothing is given and the Kings know that. No real cause for concern here, this team has too many offensive stars to be stopped for long.
Defence:
Goals Against - 9
Penalty kill - 76.5%
Rock solid, that's the best way to describe the team's defensive play this year. The team's nine goals against are tied for the fewest in the league with Steinbach. Giving up just 1.5 goals per game is impressive and is the main reason why the team's struggles offensively haven't hurt them terribly.
Dauphin has given up two goals or fewer in five of their six games with the lone blip being Portage scoring three against them last weekend. Defensive performances like this are expected when you have a goalie with Cole Sheffield's talent between the pipes. The 20-year-old from London is in mid-season form and will only get better.
In front of Sheffield, Doug Hedley has assembled a great crew of defenders. Led by the smooth-skating Naaman Hofer, Dauphin can be confident with any pair on the ice.
Recent Additions:
Daniel Helary - acquired from the Flin Flon Bombers, Helary brings outstanding size to the Kings blueline as the rear guard stands in at 6-foot-4. Helary made his debut with the Kings last Friday and loves to jump into the play which comes easy to him with how mobile he is.
An 18-year-old from Calgary, Daniel had 22 regular season points in 29 games with the Prairie Hockey Academy U18 Prep team last year and another four points in three playoff games. He never did play a game with the Bombers which means last Friday was his junior hockey debut.
Matt Thomas - like Helary, Matt is a very mobile defenseman. While he doesn't possess the size that Daniel does, Thomas does not shy away from any type of physical play and adds an element of offence from the back end. In 52 games split between the Central Canada Hockey League's (CCHL) Kemptville 73's and Ontario Junior Hockey League's (OJHL) Leamington Flyers, the rear guard had 33 points in 52 regular season games. He also posted seven points in 13 playoff games.
Matt will celebrate his 19th birthday next month and while it is unknown when he will make his debut with the team, fans can be excited about Thomas in the fold.
What's Next?
Lots of hockey. After eight days off from game action, the Kings return to the ice on Saturday evening as they welcome the Winnipeg Freeze to town at 7:30. Dauphin then welcomes Waywayseecappo to town on Sunday afternoon at 4:00 with Darnell Duff having the call of that game on 730CKDM.
Into next week, the Kings will play four games starting on Tuesday at the Arena Complex as they play the Wolverines for the second time in three days.
Dauphin then embarks on their first overnight road trip of the season as they play three games in the southern part of the province next weekend. They're in Selkirk to play the Steelers next Friday, and in Winnipeg to play the Freeze next Saturday before wrapping up a busy weekend and stretch on Sunday in Winkler.
Kings Hockey on 730CKDM:
Two losses in a row but rest assured Kings fans, there is nothing to panic about. Doug Hedley and his great coaching staff including Chad Facey, Rick Freese, Dan Keeping, and Brad Dupasquier are great teachers of the game. In talks with the players, they are all great students of the game and are here to get better and win games in the Blue & White.
Ethan Williment's thoughts on the team were very concise and clear.
“We have played good hockey but not great hockey yet,” said Williment. “It’s still early in the season; we have to work out a few things here. I think we’re going be a very good team in the next few weeks, there’s a lot of belief in our room.”
It's time to buckle up Kings fans, the team is back on the ice on Saturday and they love your support.