For the second time in 48 hours, the Dauphin Kings and Swan Valley Stampeders will meet in a preseason game. This time, the game will take place at the Centennial Arena in Swan River after the Kings downed their Parkland rival on Tuesday night.
Tuesday's game was Dauphin's only preseason affair so far as they enter Thursday's game with a 1-0 record while the Stampeders have struggled this preseason so far. They're 1-3 after a loss on Wednesday night and they've given up 15 goals while only scoring nine across those four games.
Riley Zimmerman scored twice on Wednesday as he helped OCN dispatch of the Stampeders 6-2. Thursday's game is the second last tuneup for both teams as Dauphin will play three preseason games in all while the Stampeders who have had a busy preseason schedule will play six.
With that said, both lineups are expected to be much more experienced than they were on Tuesday night in the annual rookie game.
Dating back to the 2016-17 preseason, Dauphin is 6-3 against Swan Valley. In each of these years, Dauphin won their first preseason matchup with the Stampeders, outscoring them 20-8 while going 5-0. In the second game of a home-and-home preseason series, the Kings have gone 1-3, while being outscored 13-12.
Following Thursday's game, Dauphin is in Waywayseecappo on Saturday. The team's regular-season opens next Friday at 7:30 in Neepawa.
