Kings looking for consistency

Posted on: Staff Writer

From edition: November 12 2021 Strathmore Times

By Mario Prusina Times Editor

The Wheatland Kings suffered a pair of home losses this past weekend, including a 5-1 drubbing at the hands of the Medicine Hat Cubs on Nov. 7 at the Strathmore Family Centre. The local Junior B team is looking to get back to their winning ways on Nov. 13 in Coaldale.

Joe Lepage Photo

It was a difficult weekend for the Wheatland Kings when the Top 2 teams in their division rolled into town for a pair of games at the Strathmore Family Centre.

Despite playing well for a good portion of their game versus the top-ranked Okotoks Bisons, the Kings suffered a 4-1 loss on Nov. 6.

Unfortunately, the team couldn’t change their fortunes the following day versus the second place Medicine Hat Cubs, soundly losing 5-1 – falling to 6-8-0 on the season.

“We just have to keep working on systems,” said head coach Ron West. “The systems aren’t there right now and (until they are there) on a consistent basis, we’re going to continue to struggle.

“I asked for a certain forecheck and if we’re not doing it right with all four lines, we’re in trouble.”

The Kings fell to Medicine Hat to close out October but responded with a solid win over one of the league’s powerhouse teams, the Cochrane Generals, on Halloween. However, the team is 1-3 in their last four games.

“My goaltenders have played well – both of them, they are standing on their head while they are being hung out to dry at times,” said West. “We need to (play hard) for 60 minutes and we’re not getting 60 minutes. Last night we (got) 50 minutes … and today we (got) 40 minutes. So we have to come out strong all the time. When we come out strong, we stay strong. When we come out weak, we have to fight the uphill battle.”

The Kings will now travel to Coaldale on Nov. 13 for their lone game of the weekend versus the Copperheads. According to West, it will be a big test.

“This has been a tough five games, right? (These are) some of the top teams in the league,” said West. “We need to somehow come out with a W next week against Coaldale before we go up against Lomond twice. We need to get one more win out of this, so if we’re two out of five against the top teams, I’ll accept that and we’ll move forward and start pushing through to Christmas.”

The Kings next home game is slated for Nov. 20 (8 p.m.) at the Strathmore Family Centre versus Lomond.