Learning weekend

Times Editor  

 

Even though his team did not earn a point this past weekend, Wheatland Kings head coach Doug Murphy was happy with his team’s performance.

The local junior-B team lost to the top two teams in the South Division, falling 6-5 on the road to Coaldale Feb. 2, before losing 1-0 to the Okotoks Bisons the following day at the Strathmore Family Centre.

“Overall, it was a pretty good weekend,” said Murphy. “We would have liked to win both games … it was really there for the taking in both. We just came up one goal short again. 

“We certainly see that we are able to bring our game up and play with the top teams – we just need to stop giving up as many shots in a game as we have been. We need to be a lot more disciplined and stay out of the box.”

Andrew Bergmann, who leads the league in points, picked up three goals and two assists in the loss to Coaldale. Ross Fox had a goal and three assists, while Sam Lonnberg chipped in with a goal and two helpers. Goaltender Richie Hubbell was sensational, making 56 saves.

“We played well down in their rink – it’s a very small (arena) and they play very physical,” assessed the coach. “It’s always a struggle to come out of there with a point or two.”

Despite the loss, the Kings were optimistic heading back home to take on the top team in the league. Okotoks scored the lone goal of the game midway through the second period, improving their record to 31-2-2 on the season. Hubbell stole the show again, stopping 35 of 36 shots.

“It very much (was a playoff-like game),” said Murphy. “Really, for the first period, we took the game to them. We lost our discipline a bit in the second … Okotoks lives off of the power play and they got the power play goal against us. 

“We had lots of opportunities, but we just couldn’t cash in.”

The Kings will now prepare to host Red Deer on Feb. 9 (8 p.m.) at the Strathmore Family Centre in their lone game of the week, before closing out the season with a pair of games the following weekend.