Playing with the best of them

Times Reporter

 

The Wheatland Kings had a pair of games against two of the best teams in the Heritage Junior B Hockey League this past weekend.

Judging by the way they played, the Kings proved they can compete with the upper-echelon teams.

The Kings defeated the Three Hills Thrashers 6-5 on the road on Oct. 14, before narrowly losing 3-2 the following night at the Strathmore Family Centre.

Despite dropping to 3-5 on the season, the Kings are optimistic they can be competitive with any team in the league.

“It is definitely coming together,” said Murphy. “The pieces are all starting to fall into place. We have a good level of (competition) – there is some youth on the team, guys are starting to find chemistry with each other.

“It’s going to come – and when it does – we’re a whole lot better team than our record shows right now.

“We not only think we can compete with the top teams, but we can beat the top teams.”

The Kings started the weekend off with a bang, taking a 4-0 lead after a first period and popped two more in the second period to take a staggering 6-0 lead over the Thrashers.

However, Three Hills scored late in the second to give them a spark, before scoring four goals in a span of 3:24 midway through the third, closing the gap to one.

“We absolutely dominated Three Hills for 50 minutes,” said Murphy. “We let them back in it for 10 minutes. It made for an interesting finish.

“We were really happy with the two periods. In the third period we had some lapses, had some injuries.”

Mark Goodman and Racey Big Snake lead the Kings with a goal and an assist, while Ty Brinton, Parker Georgesen, Brandon Neufeld and Aaron Elaschuk each scored once. Brennan Grasdahl added a pair of assists, while Richie Hubbell made 39 saves for the win.

Goodman once again led the way for the Kings in their game versus Okotoks, notching a goal and an assist, while Joe Colborne scored a powerplay goal in the third period.

“We came out a bit flat – Okotoks was a little flat as well and there for the taking, but we didn’t come with our A-game,” said Murphy. “We gave up too many penalties. We didn’t have the outing that we wanted.”

The Kings are now preparing to play their lone game of the weekend when they host the Three Hills Thrashers on Oct. 22 (8 p.m.) at the Strathmore Family Centre.