Kings stuck in a rut

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

The New Year hasn’t been too kind to the Wheatland Kings so far, as they have dropped all three games to begin 2015.
The team was just outworked in a 7-2 loss to the Medicine Hat Cubs on Jan. 2, and held their own for most of the game in a 5-0 loss at home to the No. 1 ranked Blackfalds Wranglers on Jan. 3.
Head coach Jeremy Blumes is confident that the boys are working hard to get out of this funk that they are in and to stay positive.
“I thought in our game against Medicine Hat we got outworked and their special teams was better than ours and the better team won that night,” said Blumes.
Brett Dumaine and Lucas Jones scored in the defeat.
“I think (Saturday) we did a better job of playing as a team and staying positive and sticking to a game plan and I thought we executed that well,” he said. “A team that leads our league in goals for, they’re pretty opportunistic and they buried their chances.”
He would liked to have seen more of a battle around the Blackfalds net in finding those rebounds.
“I would’ve liked to see us get more second and third rebound attempts. I think he had 30 to 35 shots and that’s pretty good work to get a shutout,” said Blumes.
“I think we needed to do a better job of finishing when we did get inside their zone. We need to make our opportunities count.”
Blumes and his staff really stressed before the game that each player has character and to show that on the ice because they are capable of producing.
“We just want those guys to be leaders, hard workers, good teammates and remain positive. I think we’ve started to see the beginning of that this evening,” said Blumes.
On Sunday evening in Cochrane, the Kings earned a point, but lost a closely contested game to the Cochrane Generals 5-4 in overtime.
Read Douglas scored two while Kirby Ruzesky and Graham Watkins also added one each.
The Kings will have a pair of home games next weekend when they play Banff (8 p.m.) on Jan. 9 and Coaldale (8 p.m.) on Jan. 10.