Swan Valley Stampeders @ Dauphin Kings

The Dauphin Kings conclude their season series with their Parkland rivals with two Credit Union Place tilts tonight and next Saturday.

The Stampeders have had the Kings number with four wins in the six match-ups thus far. Swan Valley has also outscored Dauphin 29-19.

Nonetheless, the Stampeders will have to keep their eyes on Devin Mitzner and Mitch Czibere. Mitzner is the reigning MJHL Player of the week with eight goals and fourteen points in his last six outings; Czibere, who was a runner-up to Mitzner, has twelve points in six games.

For Dauphin they will have to keep Ryan Marshall, Chris Reimer and Shelby Gray in tact. In the last ten games this trio has combined for 14 goals and 31 points (Marshall 12 points, Gray 10 points and Reimer 9 points).

Swan Valley also has one of the best goaltenders in the league in Jayme Janzen, who made 44 saves in a 5-4 win over the Kings back on January 8th. This was also the second victory for Swan Valley over Dauphin in the week.

Either way it’ll be another classic tilt between the Kings and Stampeders!

Here are some other game notes to consider…

LAST 10 GAMES

Dauphin Kings 7-3-0-0

Swan Valley Stampeders 4-5-0-1

RECORDS

Dauphin Kings 45-10-1-0 (24-2-1-0 at home)

Swan Valley Stampeders 33-18-2-4 (13-12-2-1 on the road)

HEAD TO HEAD STATS

DAUPHIN KINGS

Steven Shamanski 6 games 1G, 7A, 8PTS

Ryan Dreger 6 games 4G, 3A, 7PTS

Zeanan Ziemer 4 games 1G, 4A, 5PTS (With OCN and Dauphin)

Mitch Czibere 5 games 5A, 5PTS

Cody Esposito 5 games 3G, 1A, 4PTS

Shane Luke 6 games 3G, 1A, 4PTS

Joe Caligiuri 5 games (2-2) 17 GA 3.92 GAA .872 Save PCT.

Brett Willows 2 games (0-2) 11 GA 6.60 GAA .800 Save PCT.

SWAN VALLEY STAMPEDERS

Ryan Marshall 6 games 6G, 5A, 11PTS

Myles Stevens 6 games 4G, 7A, 11PTS

Chris Reimer 6 games 6G, 4A, 10PTS

Darcy Riddell 6 games 3G, 5A, 8PTS

Carter Selinger 6 games 2G, 5A, 7PTS

Jayme Janzen 3 games (2-1) 9 GA 3.02 GAA .929 Save PCT.

- Kings forward Zeanan Ziemer has 8 points in 3 games since returning to the line-up (3G, 5A)

Enjoy the game!

Also we’ll have Friday’s match-up between the Dauphin Kings and Neepawa Natives on CKDM starting with the pre-game show at 7:15. This will be our final regular season broadcast as Adam Sargent will join me for colour commentary.

Mitzner and Czibere honoured

Dauphin Kings forward Devin Mitzner is named the MJHL’s Player of the Week.

The veteran from Strathmore, Alberta collected four goals and nine points in three games. Two of his goals came via the powerplay.

Runners-up for the Player of the Week honours went to Mitzner’s teammate, Mitch Czibere and Portage Terriers’ goaltender Jordan Washburn.

Czibere also had two goals on the powerplay, which was part of a four goal nine point week.

Washburn posted an unblemished 2-0 record last week for the Terriers, highlighted with a goals against average of 1 and a .962 save percentage.

Kings still seventh in Canada!

For the third week in a row the Dauphin Kings are ranked seventh on the latest Top 20 list for the Canadian Junior Hockey League. Not much movement on this week’s list here’s a look…

Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL)

Vernon Vipers (BCHL)

Penticton Vees (BCHL)

Kingston Voyageurs (OJAHL)

Grande Prairie Storm (AJHL)

Alberni Valley Bulldogs (BCHL)

Dauphin Kings (MJHL)

Oakville Blades (OJAHL)

Brockville Braves (CJHL)

Pembroke Lumber Kings (CJHL)

Georgetown Raiders (OJAHL)

Woodstock Slammers (MJAHL)

Fort William North Stars (SIJHL)

Westside Warriors (BCHL)

Weyburn Red Wings (SJHL)

Flin Flon Bombers (SJHL)

Fort McMurray Oil Barons (AJHL)

Burlington Cougars (CCHL)

Abitibi Eskimos (NOJHL)

Les Cobras de Terrebonne (LHJAAAQ)

Honorable mention goes to the Powell River Kings (BCHL), Okotoks Oilers (AJHL), Battlefords North Stars (SJHL), Soo Thunderbirds (NOJHL), and Les Pantheres de Saint Jerome (LHJAAAQ).

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My thoughts and prayers will be with a young 19 year old goaltender who plays for the Yorkton Terriers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. Luke Boechler, was diagnosed with Leukemia late last week, and is beginning treatment in Regina today.

I wish Boechler all the best and a speedy recovery. Big thanks to Craig Stein’s blog for this story.

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An update on the injury front, forward Ryan Dreger suffered just a charlie horse after the knee on knee hit with Pistons defenceman Connor Sisson on Friday. Head Coach and General Manager Marlin Murray says Dreger is skating and could be back in the line-up either tomorrow against Swan Valley or Friday against Neepawa. The club is relatively healthy with just six games remaining.

Tomorrow’s puck drop will be 7:30pm at Credit Union Place. I’ll post the line-up changes tomorrow as well as the game notes and statistics.

You can catch Friday’s final regular season broadcast from the Yellowhead Arena starting at 7:15

During the intermissions we’ll feature an update on “The Quest for Junior ‘A’ supremacy”. Myself, along with Adam Bernardin and Adam Sargent, take a look across Canada and update you on all eleven leagues.

Thanks for reading!

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The DRCSS Clippers will start the Westman High School Hockey League playoffs on the road tomorrow night against the Vincent Massey Vikings in Brandon. Game Two will be in Dauphin Friday night at 7:00.

The Midget ‘AAA’ Parkland Rangers conclude their regular season with two home games; Saturday against the visiting Yellowhead Chiefs and Louis Riel Day Monday versus the Kenora Thistles. The Rangers will match up with either the Central Plains Capitals or the Brandon Wheat Kings in the first round of the post-season.

Winnipeg South Blues @ Dauphin Kings game notes

The Dauphin Kings enter tonight’s contest riding a three game winning streak and have outscored their opponents 26-3 during that stretch.

With an 11-1 win over the Neepawa Natives Wednesday and a 13-0 triumph over the Steinbach Pistons last night, how will game three of the homestand transpire? Well based on the last game these two teams played on January 31st (3-2 shootout win for Dauphin) this one should be close but then again both games on the stand thus far have been pleasant surprises for the Kings.

Historically the Dauphin Kings will set a franchise record for wins in the regular season, that’s already been established. In case you’re wondering about the league record for most wins in the regular season, the Kings won’t tie or break it and here’s why…

The 2001/2002 OCN Blizzard squad, in the middle of their dynasty years, finished the regular season with a record of 56-5-3 and completed the season with 115 points. They were undefeated on home ice (32-0-0) and had a road mark of 24-5-3.

The 2009/2010 Dauphin Kings have a current record of 45-9-1-0 and even if they were to win their games outright they would finish with a 52-9-1-0 mark and 105 points. Should they win their final two road games they would finish one shy of the Blizzard record of 24 (23-8-0-0).

Tonight’s game marks the final time the Blues and Kings will meet in the regular season. Dauphin has three wins and have outscored the Blues 9-6.

Here are some other notes to consider for the game…

HEAD TO HEAD NUMBERS

DAUPHIN KINGS

Zeanan Ziemer 5 games (2G, 5A, 7PTS) With Kings and Blizzard

Shane Luke 3 games (2G, 2A, 4PTS)

Ryan Dreger 3 games (3G)

Bryce Lamb 3 games (3A)

Colton Graf, Troy Hunter and Colin Paull 1G

Joe Caligiuri (1-0) 2 GA 1.85 GAA

Brett Willows (2-0) 4 GA 1.92 GAA

WINNIPEG SOUTH BLUES

Brendan O’Donnell 3 games (2G, 1A, 3PTS)

Connor Cleverley 3 games (3A)

Peter Stoykewych 3 games (1G, 1A, 2PTS)

Jeff Borse 3 games (2A)

Ian Campbell and Kyle Stephanson (1G)

Charlie Pogue (0-2) 5 GA 2.31 GAA

- For the Kings, Mitch Czibere has twelve points in his last five games (8G, 4A); Devin Mitzner has seven points in his last two outings (4G, 3A) while Zeanan Ziemer has compiled six points in his last two games (3G, 3A).

- Kings forward Ryan Dreger left last night’s game and did not return after taking a knee on knee hit from Pistons defenceman Connor Sisson.

Enjoy tonight’s game!

The home stand continues

Based on Wednesday’s 11-1 win over the Neepawa Natives I have no idea what to expect tonight as the Steinbach Pistons make their final trip to Credit Union Place.

There’s no question this team has offence and have plenty of other weapons other than Bryce Lamb, Shane Luke and Ryan Dreger. Looking at the numbers from Wednesday’s game, Devin Mitzner and Mitch Czibere lead the team in scoring with four points each (Mitzner 3G, 1A Czibere 2G, 2A). The top three meanwhile combined for two goals and four assists in the win over Neepawa Natives. Getting Zeanan Ziemer back in the line-up certainly helped the scoring and the powerplay which had six goals on eight opportunities.

Perhaps with a good young Steinbach Pistons coming to town tonight there won’t be a repeat of Wednesday. Pistons netminder Addison Herosian has seen a lot of shots and playing time in his rookie season and has played very well. Talking to Head Coach Rich Gosselin of the Pistons this morning, he feels the team has been competing and playing hard over the past couple of weeks after a rough feeling out process to start the season. As an expansion team, they had to get used to a new coach and the play of the league. This team could play spoiler to the other teams jockeying for playoff position.

The last time these two teams met was back in Steinbach this past Friday night. Mitch Czibere collected a hat trick as the Kings won 5-3. Head to Head this season the Kings have won all four games outscoring the Pistons 20-11. Here are some other numbers to consider…

HEAD TO HEAD STATS

DAUPHIN KINGS

Steven Shamanski 2G, 8A, 10PTS

Zeanan Ziemer 1G, 6A, 7PTS (Combined stats with DAUPHIN and OCN)

Shane Luke 2G, 5A

Bryce Lamb 3G, 3A

Ryan Dreger 2G, 3A

STEINBACH PISTONS

Josh Rutherford 2G, 2A (Combined stats with SELKIRK and STEINBACH)

Mike Gemmill 3G

Keith Grondin 2G, 1A

Tyler Lazaruk 1G, 2A

Colin Reaney 1G, 1A

GOALIES

DAUPHIN KINGS

Joe Caligiuri 1 game (1-0) 1.02 GAA

Brett Willows 4 games (3-0) 3.30 GAA

STEINBACH PISTONS

Addison Herosian 4 games (0-4) 4.98 GAA

- I talked about the hat trick by Czibere in Steinbach. The Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta product has eight points in four games (5G, 3A).

- Dauphin has won two games in a row outscoring their opposition 13-3.

- The Kings have forwards Angus Klassen and Justin Michaud out of the line-up with day-to-day injuries. Joe Caligiuri will get the nod between the pipes.

Game time at Credit Union Place will be 7:30. I’ll have the Kings One Hour Powerplay on CKDM between 4 and 5:00. We’ll talk more in depth about tonight’s game with Rich Gosselin of the Pistons as well as Mitch Czibere and Zeanan Ziemer of the Kings.

Neepawa Natives @ Dauphin Kings

Before we get to tonight’s match-up a couple of updates on the injury front for the Kings.

Both defenceman Dallas Drysdale and forward Zeanan Ziemer will play tonight against the Neepawa Natives. Ziemer has missed the last ten games with a lower body injury while Drysdale last played January 12th versus Portage; he’s been out with an upper body injury.

With Ziemer and Drysdale back tonight, forwards Troy Hunter and Justin Michaud will both be out of the line-up with day-to-day injuries. 

Dale Hunt has left the team due to personal reasons. Marlin Murray is hopeful Hunt will return to the Kings lineup soon.

Tonight’s game between the Kings and Natives will be the seventh time these two teams have met this season. Dauphin has won all six games outscoring Neepawa 32-12.

The Natives beat the Winnipeg Saints last night 5-3 with five different players registering two points in the win (Tyler Swerdyliak, Wes Pawluk, Caleb Suderman, Dusty Campbell and Scott Kirkham).

Here are some other notes to consider…

- Brett Willows will start between the pipes for the Kings in search of win number 19 on the season. His last start came on Friday night in Steinbach with 35 saves in a 5-3 win against the Steinbach Pistons.

- The Kings own a record of 7-4 in 2010 while the Natives are 9-6.

Game time at Credit Union Place will be 7:30pm

Before Friday’s home game against the Steinbach Pistons, I’ll have the Dauphin Kings One Hour Powerplay between 4:00 and 5:00 on CKDM.

The last MJHL on CKDM broadcast of the regular season will happen next Friday, February 12th when the Kings face the Neepawa Natives starting at 7:15 with the pre-game show.

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Here are the latest Top 20 rankings courtesy of the CJHL

1. Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL)
2. Vernon Vipers (BCHL)
3. Penticton Vees (BCHL)
4. Kingston Voyageurs (OJAHL)
5. Grande Prairie Storm (AJHL)
6. Oakville Blades (OJAHL)
7. Dauphin Kings (MJHL)
8. Alberni Valley Bulldogs (BCHL)
9. Brockville Braves (CJHL)
10. Pembroke Lumber Kings (CJHL)
11. Woodstock Slammers (MJAHL)
12. Georgetown Raiders (OJAHL)
13. Westside Warriors (BCHL)
14. Fort William North Stars (SIJHL)
15. Weyburn Red Wings (SJHL)
16. Fort McMurray Oil Barons (AJHL)
17. Flin Flon Bombers (SJHL)
18. Burlington Cougars (CCHL)
19. Abitibi Eskimos (NOJHL)
20. Les Cobras de Terrebonne (LHJAAAQ)

Honorable mention goes to the Camrose Kodiaks (AJHL), Notre Dame Hounds (SJHL), Villanova Knights (OJAHL), Cornwall Colts (CJHL), and the Miramichi Timberwolves (MJAHL).

Kings line-up changes @ Pistons

Scratches for tonight’s contest

F Zeanan Ziemer (lower body)

F Dale Hunt

D Dallas Drysdale (upper body)

Starting goaltender

Brett Willows (17-4-0-0) 2.61 GAA .911 save percentage

Talk to you tomorrow night at 7:15!

The Addison Division swing!

Friday night’s contest between the Dauphin Kings and Steinbach Pistons may just seem like another game on the schedule… but not for the Kings!

They’re one win away from tying their franchise record for wins in the regular season with 42. Last year they set the benchmark on the final night of the season, February 22nd, with a 3-1 win over the Wolverines. Should they do it on Friday they’ll accomplish the feat in just 51 games rather than 62.

The Kings also play the Winnipeg Saints Saturday (7:15pm CKDM) and the Winnipeg South Blues Sunday (7:15pm CKDM) to wrap up their final extended road trip of the season.

This weekend will also mark the third time that the Kings will engage in a triple-header. They have a 5-1 combined record in those games outscoring the opposition 26-19. Here are some of the other numbers heading into Friday’s tilt…

KINGS @ STEINBACH FRIDAY 8:00pm

- Dauphin leads the season series with three wins (15GF, 8GA)

September 13th Dauphin 4 @ Steinbach 1

September 27th Steinbach 5 @ Dauphin 4

October 10th Dauphin 6 @ Steinbach 3 (Neutral site WINNIPEG)

SCORING LEADERS HEAD TO HEAD

DAUPHIN KINGS

Steven Shamanski 2G, 6A, 8PTS

Shane Luke 2G, 4A, 6PTS

Ryan Dreger 2G, 3A, 5PTS

Bryce Lamb 2G, 2A, 4PTS

Patrick Kozyra 1G, 2A, 3PTS

STEINBACH PISTONS

Keith Grondin 1G, 2A, 3PTS

Eric Coulombe 3A

Cam Hildebrand 1G, 1A, 2PTS

Colin Reaney 1G, 1A, 2PTS

Mike Gemmell 1G

- This will be F Brett Fargher’s first game against his former team. Fargher had 2 goals and 2 assists in 29 games with the games before being traded initially to the OCN Blizzard back on November 24th. He was traded to Steinbach in a separate deal.

- Ryan Dreger has a twelve game point streak (10G, 11A, 21PTS). He also has seven goals in the last six contests.

- The Kings have a modest two game winning streak (7GF, 1GA)

Game time Friday will be at 8:00. I will try and post the Kings line-up changes and starting goaltender Friday morning.

We’ll have both Winnipeg broadcasts this weekend starting with the pre-game show at 7:15. I’ll be by myself Saturday; Mitchell Clinton will join me for Sunday’s game. On Saturday’s pre-game show we’ll talk to Kings forward Cody Esposito and get a closer look at defenceman Joel Kot; Keith Cassidy, Head Coach of the Saints, will also join us.

During the intermissions this weekend we’ll feature “The Quest for Junior ‘A’ supremacy”. Myself, along with Adam Bernardin and Adam Sargent, take a look across Canada and update you on all eleven leagues.

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The Manitoba Junior Hockey League and the Dauphin Kings are hosting the 2010 RBC Cup and want your feedback.  You can complete the survey to help build toward hosting the best ever RBC Cup.  The survey will be automatically entered to receive one of four RBC Cup prizes.

Hockey Canada – Customized RBC CUP 2010 Jersey
2 RBC Cup – Full Event Ticket Packages
$100 in RBC Cup Merchandise Vouchers
2 Tickets to the Opening Night Celebration starring Charlie Major

Please click below to complete the survey: 

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB22A4YRDUFK9

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The DRCSS Clippers have two road games this weekend. Friday they take on the Hamiota Huskies at 8:30 followed by a Sunday afternoon tilt with the Deloraine Colts at 2:00

The Midget AAA Parkland Rangers, fresh off snapping their fourteen game losing skid last Saturday, play two home games Saturday against the Interlake Lightning and Sunday versus the Eastman Selects. Saturday’s game start at 8:00 in Dauphin; Sunday’s game drops the puck at 2:00 in Russell.

All-Star Weekend in Winkler!

Tonight’s match-up between the Dauphin Kings and Wolverines just got a little more intriguing.

The Kings still lead the Sherwood Division and the entire league with their 39-8-1-0 record (18-7-0-0 on the road) while the Wolverines are well out of the playoff picture with a record of 14-32-0-1 (11-9-0-1 at home). The Wolverines beat the Kings at the Recreation Complex 4-1 on Tuesday night for their fifth straight win on home ice. Should Kings fans be worried? Probably not.

The Wolverines swept the Selkirk Steelers this past weekend as well and are just trying to finish out the rest of their schedule strong. Should Dauphin come back with a strong performance tonight and play aggressive they should come out with the result they want before the All-Star Break.

If the Kings are going to win tonight they’ll have to do it with a smaller line-up. Four players will miss tonight’s game due to injuries (F Angus Klassen, F Cody Esposito, F Zeanan Ziemer and D Dallas Drysdale). Brett Willows will start between the pipes for Dauphin; his last game was a 5-4 win over the Portage Terriers on January 12th.

Some other notes to consider for tonight’s game…

- The Wolverines are 4-3 in 2010 while the Kings have a record of 3-3.

- Kings Ryan Dreger has a ten game point streak heading into tonight’s contest. He has seven goals and eighteen points during the stretch.

Game time will be 7:30pm.

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After tonight’s game the Dauphin Kings will be well-represented at the All-Star weekend in Winkler. Friday night at 7:30 will be the Prospects game which will include defencemen Dallas Drysdale and Mathew Backhouse.

On Saturday afternoon, the best players within the MJHL will hit the ice for the skills competition at 2:00 followed by the game itself at 7:30. Marlin Murray and his staff will coach the Sherwood Division stars. The Kings will have seven players in the game including goaltender Joe Caligiuri, defencemen Steven Shamanski and Mike Boese as well as forwards Bryce Lamb, Shane Luke, Ryan Dreger and Zeanan Ziemer.

Good Luck this weekend to the Kings All-Stars!

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The Westman High School Hockey League have their All-Star event planned for Saturday at the Yellowhead Arena in Neepawa. The skills competition will be at 1:00 followed by the game itself at 2:30. Representing the DRCSS Clippers will be forwards Kyle Trudeau and Trevor Fox

Kings and Terriers on CKDM!

Regardless of the fact that the Dauphin Kings have lost two of three to start 2010, they have a chance tonight to pull off a season series sweep against the Portage Terriers at the Centennial Arena.

The Kings have outscored the Terriers 15-9 in the three games at Portage so far, but both teams will look a little different after the trading deadline. Here were the additions for both teams at the deadline…

DAUPHIN KINGS

F Dale Hunt [1990] (EVERETT WHL) 35 games 1g, 2a, 3pts

D Joel Kot [1990] (RED DEER WHL) 64 games 2g, 8a, 10pts (2008/2009)

MJHL List rights of...

F Derek Falloon [1993] (PARKLAND MBAAA) 29 games 13g, 12a, 25pts

D David Heath [1994] (SOUTHWEST MBAAA) 15 games 2a

PORTAGE TERRIERS

F Graham Dyck [1989] (MIRAMICHI MJAHL) 29 games 2g, 3a, 5pts

D Justin Perreaux [1989] (KINDERSLEY SJHL) 30 games 9a

F Mike Yovanic [1989] (PLYMOUTH OHL) Stats not available

Some other notes to consider for tonight’s match-up…

- Terriers forward Ian Campbell has a 12 game point streak (7g, 7a, 14pts)

- Kings forward Ryan Dreger has 10 assists in his last six games

- Dale Hunt will make his Kings debut in tonight’s game and will wear sweater number 39; Joel Kot will not dress tonight but will wear number 7. The other scratches for the Kings tonight are Tyler Gaudry and Zeanan Ziemer. Brett Willows will make his first start since January 2nd when he gave up six goals on 28 shots in a 6-1 loss to Swan Valley.

- Dauphin has won all six games against Portage this season (29GF, 14GA)

Mitchell and I will be on the air at 7:15 with the pre-game show. We’ll talk to Mitch Czibere, Patrick Kozyra and Dale Hunt of the Dauphin Kings as well as Blake Spiller (Head Coach/GM of the Portage Terriers).

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The DRCSS Clippers are back home after finishing the Tournament of Champions with a 0-3 record. The Crocus Plains Plainsmen will face off with the Clippers at 7:00.