The Dauphin Kings are preparing for somewhat of a light next week that will see the team play just two games over the next nine days.
They welcome the Neepawa Titans on Friday and they don't play again after that until next Saturday when Neepawa is once again in town. For the Kings, it's been a solid start to the season as they have won four of their five games.
Starting last week in Portage, Dauphin found themselves down 3-2 late in the game before a one-timer on the power play from Nolan Wickham beat Gavin Renwick as Dauphin tied it late and Naaman Hofer scored in overtime to give Dauphin the extra point. Hofer has been a definite spark for Dauphin this year as the 19-year-old defenseman has two goals and two assists in five games. Hofer is an extremely smooth skater and he sees the ice very well which complements an already extremely strong back end for the Kings.
Hofer was acquired in a trade from the Winnipeg Freeze in the offseason.
"He moves the puck very well and he has a great first pass," said Hedley on the play of Hofer. "We knew he was a good defenseman, but he has been a pleasant surprise. The patience and confidence he plays with, it's been fun to watch."
Dauphin's first loss of the campaign came 48 hours after a 4-3 overtime win against Portage as Dauphin dropped a tight 2-1 affair against the Selkirk Steelers. Both of Selkirk's goals came while on the man advantage as the Kings penalty kill slipped a little bit after a hot start.
Hedley notes how important it is to stay out of the box.
"You have to check with your feet and guys have to make sure they're moving at all times," offered Hedley. "The disappointing part is the penalties weren't really good penalties, they were in the offensive zone and neutral zone. We have to be discipline, it's as simple as that."
Then in a marquee matchup to begin the week, Dauphin welcomed the Virden Oil Capitals to town. Dauphin and Virden are expected to be among the top teams in the West Division and league, respectively. Virden advanced to the league final last year and they have 15 players back from that team, including Nolan Chastko. Bryce Bryant, who had 67 points last year with Yellowhead, has been solid with five points in six games. Virden also has Josh Lehto on their roster and he leads the league with 13 points across six games. Lehto scored on Tuesday; however, that was it for the Oil Capitals.
Cole Sheffield made 27 saves, Logan Walker, Gabriel Bugeau, Jordan Bax scored, and the Kings skated off with a solid 3-1 win against their division rivals. It was the first of six games between Dauphin and Virden.
"I thought our game was pretty complete, we did some pretty smart things," offered Doug. "We certainly tightened up in the second and third. They had a push and we knew they would, they're very well coached and they're a very good team. It was a great win for us."
'The Glover Effect':
Cayden Glover becomes the most recent Western Hockey Leaguer to come back to Dauphin. Last year, Jakob Brook was reassigned by the Regina Pats. On Thursday, Glover was reassigned by the Prince George Cougars. To note, Prince George is atop the Western Conference and they have the top five leading scorers in the league.
Glover is a 19-year-old from Brandon with 116 games of regular season WHL action under his belt and he has also played in seven playoff games. In four games with Prince George this year, he was held off the scoresheet. He did have seven goals and five assists in 51 regular season games last year.
In his final year of AAA hockey with the Wheat Kings back in the 2019-20 season, Glover had 16 goals and 24 assists.
"We want to get him a lot of go to moments and puck touches," offered Hedley. "He's a big guy that can skate and he has some skill. We want to get him back to being one of our go to guys and we want him to get back to having fun. We're expecting him to add some offence and he brings a great physical presence."
Crown Notes:
- Dauphin is set for their third game of a four-game homestand that began with a 2-1 loss before they won their last game;
- Friday's game is the first of six between Dauphin and Neepawa this season;
- Friday's game is the second of four straight against West Division opponents;
- Dauphin's next game against an East Division team is October 23 at the MJHL Showcase against Niverville and then Winkler on October 24;
- Gabriel Bugeaud leads Dauphin with three goals and two assists which are paired with 12 penalty minutes; and
- Cole Sheffield was named the goaltender of the month for September while Naaman Hofer was named defenseman of the month.
Don't forget to tune into the Dauphin Kings Power Play Show with Darnell Duff on Friday afternoon after the 4:00 p.m. news, weather, business, and sports.
