Kings struggling to finish

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

The Wheatland Kings played consistent hockey for 40 minutes against Banff and Cochrane over the weekend, only to watch leads evaporate in the third period.
“We were the better team for 40 minutes in Cochrane, we had a couple of lapses (with) our discipline,” said head coach Jeremy Blumes. “They managed to tie it up, they’ve got a lot of guys that can put the puck in the net – and because of the fiasco in Okotoks, three of our top six forwards were suspended.
“I thought we played with a lot more structure and more urgency than we have in the past, but were weren’t able to seal the deal.”
In the 4-3 overtime loss against the Generals, Lucas Jones sniped two while Matt Thomson added one for the Kings.
In Banff, the boys were leading 3-1 going into the third, and unfortunately undisciplined play resulted in a 7-4 loss to the Bears.
“We were leading 3-1 going into the third, we scored on a 5-on-3 to make it 4-1 and then the parade to the penalty box began,” said Blumes. “There were multiple 5-on-3s for Banff and their power play revolves around Ryan Barrow, who is somewhere in the Top 10 in scoring, and when you give those guys time and space, they’re going to capitalize.”
Once the Bears got that third goal, the Kings became frustrated and could not keep their emotions in check.
“When they scored that second and third one on 5-on-3s, the adversity kicked in and we didn’t respond the right way,” said Blumes.
He admits it is frustrating as a coach having certain players act the way they do and not learn their lesson.
“It shows a lack of respect to the message we’ve been preaching of discipline, to your fellow teammates that you can’t control your emotions,” said Blumes.
Kirby Ruzesky scored twice, while Brayden Beckley and Brett Dumaine had one each to round out the offence in Banff.
The Kings will conclude the regular season on Feb. 7 versus the Airdrie Lightning (8 p.m.) at the Strathmore Family Centre.