Kings bring Flyers down to earth

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This article was published 24/10/2023 (719 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winkler Flyers’ unbeaten run in the MJHL is over.

Goaltender Cole Sheffield stopped 31 shots in regulation time and three more in a shootout while new arrival Cayden Glover scored the lone shootout goal to lift the Dauphin Kings to a 3-2 triumph over the Flyers in MJHL Showcase action at Seven Oaks Sportsplex on Tuesday afternoon.

The result snapped a nine-game winning streak to start the regular season for Winkler, which began the week at No. 1 in the Canadian Junior Hockey League national rankings.

“We’re not gonna go 58-0,” said Flyers GM and head coach Justin Falk. “There’s a few guys that really paid a price with their level of desperation and there’s a few that are learning and had their eyes opened up a little bit here about what a real intense junior hockey game is.”

Xyon Kiemeney and Zach Nicholas, on a 5-on-3 man advantage, scored to put Winkler up 2-0 after the first period but the Kings roared back in the middle frame, getting power-play markers from Jordan Bax and Logan Walker, before a scoreless third period and overtime.

Glover, playing his fourth game with the Kings since being reassigned to junior A by the WHL’s Prince George Cougars, helped Dauphin improve to 8-2-0-0 and sole possession of top spot in the West Division. The Kings fell flat in their Showcase debut Monday, dropping a 5-2 decision to the Niverville Nighthawks.

“We expected better yesterday when we played Niverville and that’s the first time we kind of got on our heels a little bit,” said Kings GM and head coach Doug Hedley. “I think just a combination of a few things — trying to get everybody into the showcase that hadn’t played in a while. And then today, I thought after the first maybe 12 minutes the first period they come up pretty hard at us and we pushed back a little bit. By the end of the first, we got better.”

Winkler, meanwhile, hammered the Neepawa Titans 7-1 Monday and entered Tuesday’s game with a plus-33 goal differential.

“That’s what happens — they lose 5-2, they want to make sure they get a split and we had a 7-1 win and we maybe came with a bit of complacency,” said Falk, whose club is tied with Steinbach atop the East Division standings with 19 points but has two games in hand on the Pistons. “But there’s no excuses there. We obviously got a couple of breaks early and had a good first — up 2-0 — and we knew we had to stay disciplined. That was a good power play. A few missed block shots and a few missed clears on the PK and as you ramp it up and play good teams, those are those are the areas that work against you.”

Sheffield, a 19-year-old from London, Ont., in his second year with Dauphin, is on a roll of his own with an 8-0-0-0 record, 1.96 goals-against average and .916 save percentage.

He appeared to get stronger as Tuesday’s action progressed.

“It’s the game we all wanted to win — it was a real team effort,” said Sheffield. “Obviously they were undefeated and it gave us a little fire in our hearts there to get the win. I’m glad we got it done.

“We try to go into every game like it’s playoff game with that playoff mindset.”

Fast and efficient special teams work did wonders for the Kings against the big, aggressive Winkler lineup.

“The biggest thing is we got a couple of big power-play goals and got back in the game,” said Hedley. “When a team comes at you like that you have to make them pay with the power play.”

“We know every team that plays us kind of moving forward is raising their bar based on the start we had, but it’s good experience for our guys,” said Falk. “That was our first back-to-back and we now know what that feels like. We have some stiff competition moving forward and we have to buckle down in some areas to make sure that we’re continuing to improve.”

Action in the Showcase continues at Seven Oaks Wednesday with four games, including: Steinbach Pistons vs. Neepawa, 2 p.m.; Selkirk Steelers vs. Waywayseecappo Wolverines, 4 p.m.; Portage Terriers vs. Virden Oil Capitals, 5 p.m.; and Winnipeg Blues vs. Winnipeg Freeze, 7 p.m.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca