Payback fit for a King

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

After a disappointing loss in overtime against the Lomond Lakers the night before, the Wheatland Kings pulled a 3-1 win against the Coaldale Copperheads on Nov. 28.

The Kings head coach, Ron West, said he was pleased that his team showed up well and earned themselves the victory – particularly after having lost to the Copperheads the last time the two teams squared off.

“I’m very happy. The team played exactly how I needed them to play in the system and we showcased everything we needed to. We battled hard and I was very happy with it,” said West. “We just had to make sure we didn’t have any stretch passes at the end that were going to catch us. Other than that, we played exactly the way we needed to tonight.”

The last time the Kings played the Copperheads, West said the result was 5-3 at the Coaldale rink.

According to West, the Copperheads are a very aggressive team which required shifting up the Kings playstyle to take on.

“We hit and that’s something we haven’t done in a long time. This is a hitting team when we play Coaldale and we actually went toe-to-toe with them hitting tonight, so I’m very pleased,” he said. “They like to hit, they’re very aggressive. They’ve got four lines that can go and we just have to be ready for them all the time.”

Regarding their previous game on Saturday (Nov. 27) night, it’s the second time consecutively the Kings have lost to the Lakers.

West attributes the result to his own team finding their footing too late in the game, as well as an extremely talented opposing goal tender.

“Last night’s game, we came out flat. The two times we’ve played (the Lakers) they scored in the first 40 seconds. That’s happened two games in a row,” said West. “We just couldn’t get the puck in the net. We pushed hard in all levels and we just couldn’t get it in. The goaltender was unreal.”

With respect to the progression of the season, West said he’s been insisting his team work in shorter shifts on the ice and play the full 60 minutes of hockey, rather than burning out short of the buzzer.

Further, he has been looking to see more consistency in their play, no matter who they’re up against.

“I think for us, just first getting out of our zone is the key and when we can get out of our zone and they’re forechecking us, I’m very pleased with it,” he said. “On the other end, the way we forecheck these teams now, it doesn’t matter whether it’s the weakest team or the best team, we’re forechecking the same way.”

With the Kings currently sitting in fourth place in the South Division, West added there’s no chance to overtake first in the standings by the end of the season. He does, however, intend to make a play for a spot in the top three.