It was a dominating performance from start to finish and as a result, the Dauphin Kings kicked off the preseason with a 6-1 win against the Swan Valley Stampeders.
The Stampeders only hit the double-digit mark in shots once -- when they had 10 in the second -- and they finished the contest with just 20 shots. Dauphin; meanwhile, had 57 shots, 26 of which were fired in the final frame.
"I thought we had a great work ethic, these are all kids fighting for jobs," said Chad Facey, assistant coach after the game. "Our team chemistry was great, there was a ton of life on the bench and it was a great win."
The line of Ben Hackl, Garrett Hrecka, and Colby Ralston couldn't be stopped on Monday night. Hackl scored twice and added one assist, Dauphin's Hrechka scored once and added three helpers while Ralston had three assists. In total, the line combined for 10 points.
Hackl opened up the scoring just 59 seconds into the game and Hrechka made it 2-0 at the 6:00 mark. Hackl added his second goal in the second frame.
"That line was very dominant, they moved the puck very well together," offered Facey. "They played in the hard areas, got in on the forecheck and they played solid defensively. They deserved what they got in the game."
After scoring a goal in Sunday's JoFo Cup, Zach Turner scored his first MJHL preseason goal as did Slade Stanick and Matthew Ramsay. Ekam Dhaliwal scored the lone goal in the game for the Stampeders who will end their preseason with a home-and-home against OCN.
Dauphin; meanwhile, is back on home ice on Sunday when they welcome the Neepawa Natives to Credit Union Place. They will then finish the preseason on Wednesday, September 30 when they play the Portage Terriers at Stride Place.
King Tips:
- The line of Hrechka, Hackl, and Ralston combined for 10 points, the most of any line.
- Mathias Savoie went 8-for-8 in net as he started the game for Dauphin while Ian Lee went 11-for-12 in relief.
- Both Stampeder goalies were excellent. Darby Tipton went 22-for-24 while Tressor Wotton made 29 saves on 33 shots.
- Dauphin's Hayden Lacquette had one assist and 10-of-18 Dauphin skaters had at least one point.
- Dauphin went 0-for-2 on the power play while Swan Valley went just 1-for-7 in the defeat.
Game Summary:
1st
0:59 - Kings - Ben Hackl (1) ASST: Colby Ralston (1), Garrett Hrechka (1)
6:00 - Kings - Garrett Hrechka (1) ASST: Colby Ralston (2), Ben Hackl (1)
2nd
12:31 - Kings - Matthew Ramsey (1) ASST: Hayden Lacquette (1), Jayden Harris (1)
14:00 - Kings - Ben Hackl (2) ASST: Colby Ralston (3), Garrett Hrechka (2)
18:07 - Stampeders - Ekam Dhaliwal (1) ASST: Matthew Munro (1), Will Munro (1) (PP)
3rd
1:51 - Kings - Zach Turner (1) ASST: Braedon Lacomy (1)
16:25 - Kings - Slade Stanick (1) ASST: Nolan Wickham (1), Garrett Hrechka (3)
