Kings aim for playoff success

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Wheatland Kings closed out their regular season of play with a pair of wins and now their attention is turned to a long playoff run, beginning on Feb. 16.

The Kings took down the Medicine Hat Cubs 3-2 on Feb. 12 at the Strathmore Family Centre. The Kings opened the weekend with a 4-2 loss in Airdrie on Feb. 10, before posting a 5-2 win over the High River Flyers the following day on home ice.

“We are just trying to get ready for playoffs, trying to be fired on all cylinders and not have any injuries. (Saturday) was a much better game than (Friday), so that was good,” said head coach Doug Raycroft. “You can’t be perfect every game. For us, it is a lot about mental preparation, so we focus on that.”

Raycroft described the Kings game against Medicine Hat to be a test of whether his team was ready for playoffs, as the Cubs currently rank second in the division. The Kings are ranked fourth in the South Division going into the playoff.

Regarding their game versus the Flyers, he said he was satisfied to see the Kings improving their defense, though still felt like more work was going to be needed.

“We are also still trying to score more, so, we are always working on improving that. We had a lot of shots, and they had a great goalie though, so we have to give him credit,” said Raycroft.

“We are still working on our offense … but we also don’t want any injuries. Hockey is a physical game … there were no new injuries today so that was good, but if you shy away from it, you can get hurt too.”

Being fourth in the division, the Wheatland Kings will start the playoffs with a best-of-three series against the fifth seed, the Coaldale Copperheads. Meanwhile, the third seed Cochrane Generals will square off against the High River Flyers.

Though Raycroft said he is cautiously optimistic, he added he would like to see his team finish their first playoff set 2-0, taking out the Copperheads as quickly as possible. 

Should the Kings move forward, the second playoff series they play would be a full best-of-seven series.

“Playoffs area battle – it is like a war every game, so making sure the kids are ready mentally so that they start well and we have our systems in place,” said Raycroft. “We are trying to prepare them as best we can, and then it is just a matter of battling and making sure we match the other team’s work.”

Playoffs will kick off on Thursday, Feb. 16, with the Kings hosting Game 1 at the Strathmore Family Centre starting at 8 p.m.

Game 2 is Feb. 18 (8 p.m.) in Coaldale. Game 3, if necessary, is Feb. 19 (6:30 p.m.) at the Strathmore Family Centre.