After dressing a younger lineup in their preseason opener against Swan Valley last Monday, the Dauphin Kings iced a veteran lineup on Sunday night as they welcomed the Neepawa Natives to town and the veterans dominated.

Grady Hobbs led the way with three goals and three assists while Koby Morrisseau dazzled with one goal and four assists in an 8-3 win. Dauphin also racked up 41 shots while they only gave up 23.

"I thought the guys were really solid, the compete level was really high," said Chad Facey, assistant coach. "You can tell the excitement of some of the guys that haven't played a game in a long time. They were flying around, making plays, and they got the job done."

The trio of Hobbs, Morrisseau, and Austin Lamotte completely dominated the game. On top of Hobbs' three goals and three assists and Morrisseau's one goal, three-assist performance, Lamotte also had two goals. In fact, if Lamotte would have scored on his penalty shot, he would have also recorded a hat-trick just as last year's most valuable player did. 

From the 15:46 mark of the second to the 1:58 mark of the third, Hobbs had five points, three of which were goals. Owen Wareham also scored his first preseason goal after Kadin Ilott opened the scoring in the game 8:47 into the contest.

"They were buzzing. They were super impressive to watch out there," offered Facey. "They work extremely hard and they were rewarded for that."

Morrisseau had this to say after the win.

"Yeah, it was a very big team win for us. I couldn't have had that success without the guys," he said. "I just want to keep it going into the regular season, whatever it takes."

Graeme Patrick scored two of Neepawa's goals with both coming in the third period while Ben Saunderson scored the team's other goal. Fun fact about Saunderson is that he's just 16-years-old but he certainly didn't look out of sorts as he looks to crack Neepawa's roster ahead of the season opener on October 9. 

Dauphin moves to 2-0 on the preseason while Neepawa is now 0-1-0-1. Next up for the Kings is their preseason finale on Wednesday against the Portage Terriers at Stride Place. 

King Notes:

• The line of Hobbs, Morrisseau, and Lamotte combined for 13 points (six goals).
• There were two fights in the game. Rhys Bremner beat Cliff Salsbury while Morrisseau took down Corbin Mariash. 
• Both teams went 0-for-1 on the man advantage.
• Matthias Smith went 9-for-9 in the net in the first half of the game while Ian Lee went 11-for-14 in relief.

Game Summary: