Kings slide hits five

Times Editor

 

The Wheatland Kings are in the midst of the five-game losing streak and desperately trying to hold down fourth place in the Heritage Junior B South Division.

The local Junior-B team suffered a pair of losses this past weekend, dropping their record to 9-12-1-2 on the season, and only have one win in their last eight games.

The Kings dropped a 7-6 decision on the road Dec. 9 to the Medicine Hat Cubs, before losing 8-2 to the Okotoks Bisons on Dec. 10 at the Strathmore Family Centre.

“You think you have it turned around and then one more thing gets away on you,” said Kings head coach Doug Murphy. “(Right now) our defence hasn’t been playing well. For example, in Medicine Hat, when you score six goals and you have the type of goaltending we’ve got, you should be coming away with a win. We’re not holding leads like we should be.

“Against Okotoks we ended up getting dragged into the foolishness they brought and we didn’t play well defensively in our own end.”

Despite the season-long losing streak, the Kings remain tied with the Cubs for the final playoff spot with 21 points each. They also have a game in-hand over their divisional rivals.

The Kings will now close out 2011 with three games in three nights, beginning with a trip to High River on Dec. 16. After that, the team will travel to Coaldale the following day, before returning home to host the Banff Academy Bears on Dec. 18 (7:30 p.m.) at the Strathmore Family Centre.

“We have to get some separation, particularly from Medicine Hat,” said the coach. “High River has got some guys back from junior-A and they’re on a tear here, so we have to get on our horse and get going or we’re going to find ourselves battling for a playoff spot or on the outside looking in.”

After the Christmas and New Year break, the Kings have 11 regular season games remaining, including 9 in January. The first game of 2012 is Jan. 6 in Banff.