Showing their offensive punch

Times Editor

 

If the first two exhibition games are any indication, the Wheatland Kings should have no trouble putting the puck in the net.

The local Junior B hockey team scored 14 goals in two preseason home games over the weekend, defeating Three Hills 7-3 on Sept. 10, before posting a 7-7 tie with the Okotoks Bisons the following day.

“It is nice to get the offensive output,” said Kings head coach and general manager Doug Murphy. “It is also really good to see the character of the guys to come back (in both) games. They’d score and we’d come back and answer. That is really good.

“There’s a lot of real good things out there – lots of speed, lots of offence.”

According to Murphy, the team will use the next three exhibition games to prepare for the season opener in two weeks time. 

Obviously the offence is in mid-season mode, but the defense needs some work, said the coach.

“We need better defensive zone coverage,” laughed the coach. “We need better positional play. (Netminder) Richie Hubbell has been stunning with some of the stops he’s made, so it’s certainly not an issue of goaltending. For coming out of camp and having one practice and jumping into two exhibition games, it’s going to be a little ragged. That’s the problem with wide-open hockey for a couple of weeks. Everyone thinks they’re playing pond hockey again. 

“We need to get back to good, structured hockey.”

The Kings have tried something a little different for this years exhibition games. Instead of carrying 28-30 players during the preseason, they are much closer to their regular season lineup.

“We wanted to get down to our numbers much quicker,” said Murphy. “We have some more guys coming (from other camps), so with each step along the way, you want to make sure you (don’t have a lot of) guys sitting out of games. 

“If you look at Okotoks, there are 12 guys in the stands. We prefer to cut down sooner and be looking at one or two guys instead of 10.” 

While the Kings roster is nearly complete, the team is looking for help in the front office for the upcoming season. The Kings are looking for a trainer with advanced first aid certification, such as an EMR or EMT.

They are also looking for a manager for upcoming season. If you are interested in either position, please contact Doug Murphy via e-mail at doug@mcps.ca or call 403-934-6493.