Kings give back

Times Editor 

 

The Wheatland Kings collected food and toys for the less fortunate, and paid back their fans with a win over a division rival.

The local junior-B team hosted their annual Teddy Bear Toss and collected non-perishable food items for the food bank at their highly-anticipated game versus the High River Flyers on Dec. 15.

It didn’t take long for the bears to come flying, as Aaron Durant opened the scoring 26 seconds into the game en route to a 6-3 win over the Flyers.

“I didn’t realize how much of a motivation that was,” laughed Kings head coach Doug Murphy. “To get it done in 26 seconds sets a new standard. It absolutely gave us a spark (we were looking for).

“We talked about how we wanted to get it over with quick and get on with the game. I just didn’t realize they would do it that quick.”

After having their difficulties with the Flyers over the last couple of years, the Kings bucked the trend and got the much-needed win.

“It’s a team we struggled with last year, for whatever reasons,” said the coach. “It was good to get the win and get the trend back to winning.” 

Heading into the second period tied at 1-1, the Kings scored twice in the second period to take control of the game. After exchanging power play goals to start the third, the Flyers pulled to within a goal before the Kings iced the game with a pair of goals.

Parker Goergsen scored twice and added an assist, and Aaron Elaschuk scored once and added two assists to lead the way for the Kings. Justin Kostiuk and Durant each added a goal and an assist, while Blake Bishop also tallied for the Kings, who improved to 12-12-1 on the season. 

Chris Reed chipped in a pair of assists, while goaltender Bryce Halverson made his season debut after playing junior-A, stopping 48 of 51 shots.

According to Murphy, with the addition of Halverson and the already solid Richie Hubbell, the Kings feel like they have one of the best goalie duos in the league.

“No question (we have one of the best duos in the league),” said Murphy. “Either one on their own can challenge for the best goaltender in the league. When you’ve got them as 1 and 1A, it’s hard to think that anyone has got better goaltending.

“Both of them are extremely quick and very unflappable. They both play their angles and positions extremely well.”

The Kings will wrap up the 2012 portion of their schedule this weekend, when they travel to Airdrie (Dec. 21, 8 p.m.) and host the Cochrane Generals on Dec. 22 (8 p.m.) at the Strathmore Family Centre.