Kings lineup versus Neepawa Natives
The Dauphin Kings, who are 2-0 to start the MJHL season, will welcome back Brett Willows and Colin Paull to the line-up tonight. Willows makes his first start of the campaign fresh off a three game suspension while Paull returns from an injury.
The Kings will scratch Jacob Harcoff, Tanner Butler, Jeff Archibald and Brandon Esposito. Esposito was added to the roster and skated with the Kings on Monday; Head Coach and General Manager Marlin Murray is holding Esposito out of the line-up until he gets used to the teams systems. Brandon is the younger brother of ex-King Cody Esposito.
To make room for Esposito the Kings re-assign forward Dylan Neault to the Dauphin Clippers of the Westman High School Hockey League.
The Neepawa Natives come into tonight’s affair with a 1-1 record. Puck drop at Credit Union Place is 7:00.
After tonight the Kings will embark on a weekend road trip through Winnipeg and Portage. They’ll face off with the Saints Friday in St. Adolphe, the Blues in Headingley at the brand new MTS Iceplex and the Terriers Sunday at the PCU Centre. All three games will be on CKDM; Friday and Saturday’s coverage will start at 7:15 while Sunday’s pre-game show gets underway at 6:15.
I’ll be blogging my daily routine all three days this weekend. I did one of these before and really loved putting it together. I’ll be sure to get photos of the new buildings for the Saints, Blues and Terriers.
Hi Kevin,
Really like your blog and just read the pregame on Neepawa’s site and thought you would like to read it. It is pretty positive about Kings and Natives, here it is…..love your work
NATIVES @ DAUPHIN
7:30 PM SEPTEMBER 21, 2010
GAME PREVIEW
The Matchup:
Neepawa Natives (1-1-0-0) vs. Dauphin Kings (2-0-0-0) in Game 3 of the season for each of the Sher-Wood Division rivals. Each team is coming off close games in their opening weekend. Dauphin was able to sneak out two one goal games (5-4 vs Saints and 3-2 vs Wayway), while The Natives beat Portage 3-2 in Portage and lost 3-1 with an empty netter in Neepawa.
Neepawa (1-1-0-0) will visit Dauphin (2-0-0-0) for the first of eight meetings. The clubs will play each other four times in each building throughout the course of the year. The division is expected to be hotly contested this season, and tonight’s game will be a confidence builder for the winner. Although both teams will admit that they are looking to get stronger throughout the year, each team will see this game as a huge game.
09-10:
Last season, The Natives had a spectacular second half of the season, losing only seven times after Christmas. They went into the playoffs on a five game hot streak. In the playoffs, the hockey world saw the team as a complete underdog against Dauphin, and the club was dispatched in the first round despite playing well. Heading into the playoffs against Dauphin, the regular season the Kings compiled had many believing the series was a foregone conclusion. This season, The Natives are expected to be in the hunt for a top three finish in the division, and will have to win games against rivals like the Kings.
This Season:
It is clear that in The MJHL, anything can happen on any given night. Both teams, on paper, look like they have the makings of championship clubs.
On paper, Neepawa has a red hot and proven goaltender in Wendell Vye who has the potential of stealing games for his team on a nightly basis. He is well supported by backups Ryan Bembridge and Jordan Washburn, a former Portage Terrier. Dauphin counters with two solid tenders in Leo Podolsky and Brent Willows. Neepawa likes its defence core but so does the Kings’ staff. Up front, both teams have talented players but The Kings get an edge in the experience department, while The Natives produce great speed and jump. Call these two teams even. Coaching is also a strength on each side.
Shane Luke of Ste. Rose du Lac, MB leads the Kings with 3 goals in 2 games. Zach Mausolf, of Aurora, MN leads The Natives with 2 goals in 2 games. Moncton, NB’s Wendell Vye has been excellent in The Natives’ net with only allowing 2.02 goals per game and a save percentage of .931. Leo Podolsky, a native of Ontario, has been solid in net for Dauphin with a 3.00 goals against and a .924 save percentage in relief of Brent Willows, who is serving a suspension for his part in a brawl in exhibition. Willows is now finished his suspension.
How The Game Could Look:
Dauphin hates the idea of Neepawa coming in and winning a game and The Natives are still angry about last season’s inability to finish games against the Kings. Once again, as in most nights in the league, guts and determination will pay off. Each team has plenty of that. Neepawa’s conditioning has been exceptional throughout the early part of the year. The Kings’s conditioning may be great as well, but has not been talked about as much as Neepawa’s. Talent is plentiful on both teams and the level of play in the MJHL’s Sher-Wood Division is reported to be at an all time high.
Intangibles and Grey Areas:
The Kings love to play hockey and are a fixture in the league. Their panic button and levels of desperation never seem to override the plan and patience is a strength on the ice and in building their team. Neepawa wants to get off to a great start this season, and needs to be careful not to let the stress of wanting to win take over. Dauphin’s veterans have seen it all and won’t panic, as evidenced by many comebacks last season, and one this year in game 2 vs Wayway. The Kings have probably not played their best hockey yet and Neepawa would say the same. Which team is going to mature the quickest will be the one that gets early points in the season. Each team has areas of need and attention, so the coach who has gotten them straightened out earliest will have his team in the best position to win. The Natives, talented or not, are still learning the nuances of team play and execution on the ice and are due for a breakout game. Dauphin will do everything they can to make sure it doesn’t happen tonite.
Predictions:
With the goaltending in these two organizations, one would be wise to think a soccer score could be a possibility. It would be an anomaly to have a team dominate the other in this game on the scoreboard. It should be a great hockey game. The team that hits 4 goals should win the game, with the quality of goaltending.
Who Is Sweating?
This game’s pressure falls squarely on each coach’s shoulders. Although it is a long season, each bench boss had holes to fill. Whoever did the best job of building to this point may not necessarily win the game, but if one team gets an upper hand in the area of physical dominance and skill, the other coach could feel pressure to mix things up. Neither Marlin Murray nor Bryant Perrier want to lose against each other and despite great professional respect for each other, the idea of losing tonight just doesn’t sit well. Both guys are sweating. Once again, the pressure is on the home team as is the case on most nights. But, the visiting coach also wants to be able to say his team has won in Portage and Dauphin early in the year. Coach Murray has more to lose with a loss, and Coach Perrier could turn a win into a major rallying cry for his team. A loss for Dauphin brings questions. A loss for Neepawa brings a reminder that there is work to be done. Once again, pressure on the home team.
Thanks for the feedback Neepawa fan, much appreciated! The preview written on the Natives is a pretty good one, and although it’s only game three of the season this match-up could determine how the season series goes between Dauphin and Neepawa. I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of team Bryant Perrier has assembled.
sounds like your guy has done a heck of a job too! really enjoy your casts bigtime!