Wheatland Kings finish second in regular season

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Agra Risk Wheatland Kings have reclaimed second place in the Southern Divison, defeating both the Medicine Hat Cubs, and the Coaldale Copperheads in the last games of the regular season.

“Medicine Hat was in (Strathmore) on Friday, and we knew this was the big one. If we won, and we beat Coaldale, we could get second place … if we lost, we knew there was no possible way for us to get second,” said Doug Raycroft, head coach of the Wheatland Kings. “It was a really close game for a while. We pulled away from them in the third. It was a great game and we played really well.”

By the end of the second period versus Medicine Hat, the Kings were up 3-2. Throughout the third period, Kyle Woolridge leveled the score with a power play goal against the Kings. In the last eight minutes of the game, the Kings ran away with four unanswered goals for the win. 

On the road in Coaldale, the Kings took control of the game early, scoring three goals in the first, and another two in the third. Only two goals were yielded to their hosts over the course of the game. 

“Coaldale is a tough, physical team and their rink is pretty small. Whenever you go there, you know it is going to be a tough, physical game and they really pressure,” said Raycroft. “We were missing a couple of defensemen, so that was one of the things we really had to contain.” 

Having finished the regular season in second place in the division with a 27-10-1 record, the Kings have earned home ice advantage for their playoff series against Medicine Hat. 

The series will be a best of five, beginning in Strathmore, Feb. 22, and counts as being the second round of the playoffs. Both the Kings, the Cubs and first place Okotoks placed high enough in the regular season to earn a first-round bye. 

“At (this) time of the year, you just really want to go through any last minute preparations for things that you are going to be doing against the team you are playing. For us, it is just making sure we are sharp and all of our defensive structures that we do are in place and the guys are focused,” said Raycroft. “We get four more practices in here to get us ready. It is nice to have the bye so that some of our players who are injured can heal up a little bit and then it is just an all out battle against a good team.”

Last season set a new franchise record for the Kings, with a total 39 points accumulated over the course of the regular season. This translated to 18 wins and 17 losses. 

Raycroft attributed some of the team’s success this season to achieve such a dramatic new height to significantly less injuries and illnesses picking apart his roster. 

Additionally, he explained, the team has extra depth at all positions this season, making them a tougher team to play against.