That’s A Wrap

An up and down season came to an end for the Dauphin Kings Saturday night following a 5-3 loss to the Wayway Wolverines at Credit Union Place.

The win by Wayway gives them a 2-0 series victory over the Kings and moves them on to the next round of the post season against the RBC Cup host Portage Terriers.

Saturday’s game was kind of like Dauphin’s season, it had some ups and some downs. The first period saw the Wolverines control everything for the opening 10 minutes while the Kings battle back in the next half. The second period was the same and Wayway was strong for a good chunk of the third as they grabbed the win. Scoring for Dauphin Saturday evening were Rylan Freed (1), Ben Hull (2) and Cody Nelson (1).

Officiating in the contest was brutally inconsistent compared to Thursday’s game one, but the Power Plays ended up evening out for the most part. The Kings ended the night 2 for 5 on the Power Play, Wayway was 2 for 4.

Troy Martyniuk (0-1) took the loss between the pipes for the Kings. He made some key saves at important times, but I think he’d like to have the first goal against back. Shots ended at 42-28 for Dauphin.

3 Stars

3. George Splichal (WAY) (1G)
2. Ben Hull (DAU) (1G)
1. Matthew Miller (WAY) (1G, 1A)

SCORING SUMMARY

PERIOD 1

1-0 Waywayseecappo Wolverines at 7:22 – Johl Swedlo from Alex Keena
1-1 Dauphin Kings at 13:50 – Rylan Freed (unassisted)

PERIOD 2

2-1 Waywayseecappo Wolverines at 15:09 (PP) – George Splichal from Matthew Miller and Robert Briem
3-1 Waywayseecappo Wolverines at 16:54 – Brock Paddock from Neil Woolfrey and Montana Tanner
3-2 Dauphin Kings at 18:09 (PP) – Ben Hull from Ryan Edevold and Kirklan Lycar

PERIOD 3

3-3 Dauphin Kings at 1:52 (PP) – Cody Nelson from Ryan Edevold and Riley Thiessen
4-3 Waywayseecappo Wolverines at 7:44 (PP) – Matthew Miller from Dylan Gejdos and Rhett Lough
5-3 Waywayseecappo Wolverines at 19:05 – Neil Woolfrey from Dylan Gejdos

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Picture via Dallas Rudkavitch. For more solid pics go to dallasrfoto.com

Here’s how the MJHL Playoffs are set up right now.

(1) Portage Terriers
vs.
(8) Wayway Wolverines

(2) Steinbach Pistons
vs.
(7) Selkirk Steelers

(3) Winnipeg Blues
vs.
(6) Swan Valley Stampeders

(4) Winkler Flyers
vs.
(5) Virden Oil Capitals

My predictions for the quarter finals:

Portage in four.
Steinbach in four.
Winnipeg in five.
Winkler in seven.

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Picture via Dallas Rudkavitch. For more solid pics go to dallasrfoto.com

Usually the Dauphin Kings have eight, nine or sometimes ten 20 year olds leaving the team after the season comes to an end. That’s not the case this year. This season Dauphin had just three 20 year olds, but they are all players I wish I could have seen play for more than one season. You can hear more about what I thought about the 20 year olds in the interview below.

First I’d like to thank a few people. Thanks to 730 CKDM for allowing me to follow the Kings for another season. Thanks to Marlin Murray and Marc Berry for the interviews and information throughout the season. Thanks to the players for being fun to be around. This year’s group was one of the best I have followed and been with in my four years on the job. Thanks to all the fans and parents for the nice comments throughout the season, they mean a lot and I’m glad to help if you ever need anything from me.

After tonight’s game I spoke with Kings Head Coach and General Manager Marlin Murray. We touch on the future of the Kings, the summer, players coming back, billets, volunteers and the fans. Here is the full interview as heard on 730 CKDM starting with thoughts on the game…

Thanks for following me all season long. This blog does not go dark in the spring summer though, when updates come I’ll have them for you. Starting with Spring Camp in April, so stay tuned!

However, for now you’ll have to excuse me. I have some golf tournaments to start getting ready for…

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Picture via Dallas Rudkavitch. For more solid pics go to dallasrfoto.com