Wheatland Kings struggling to field players as playoffs loom

The Wheatland Kings split a pair of weekend games, registering their first win of the new year against Medicine Hat, 3-2, followed by a loss to Coaldale 7-2 on Jan. 20-21 respectively.

“It was a pretty good game going into the third period, it was 2-2 … and then in the third period we got some penalties, they had two or three power play goals,” said Doug Raycroft, head coach for the Wheatland Kings, speaking to the game against Coaldale. “Obviously, they had five unanswered goals … it was definitely one of those periods where it kind of fell apart, which is unfortunate. We have not had many games like that this year, so it was definitely a little bit frustrating.”

Raycroft added his team has been better as of late for picking up its pace and playing the full 60 minutes, as he had previously been wanting. The problems the Kings are facing now are the significant lack of their players who are able to hit the ice.

Four of the Kings players are currently suspended, including Chase Tweit, O’Shea Red Crow, Eric Castro, and Josh Alberda. Approximately five players are also out due to injuries.

“It is getting hard to even field the team. I think in the last four weekends, we have had to bring affiliates up or play with three lines or less,” said Raycroft. “The only thing that was different this week is we did have most of our defensemen back, which was sure nice, but we are missing a lot of forwards and guys who can score and we have had some trouble scoring lately.”

Raycroft explained Tegan Skehar has finally returned to playing with the Kings after injuring his Achilles tendon in the first game of the season.

Philip Raycroft also returned to the ice after being out for approximately a month. He was also absent from the ice in the early season, not playing until November due to recovering from surgery.

The Wheatland Kings have also been missing Brandon McGillivray and Kage Yellowfly, who are some of their stronger offensive players.

Raycroft explained the plan going forward is for the Kings to continue trying to hold their own and secure a playoff spot while they wait for their full roster to return to the ice.

“We have been battling hard and Coaldale is a pretty good team, so unfortunately if you give them some opportunities, things can happen like that,” said Raycroft. “We are really competitive with every team in the league and even though we are in fifth spot in the south, it is a pretty tight south division.”

The next game, scheduled for Jan. 26, will be against the High River Flyers at the Bob Snodgrass Recreation Complex.

John Watson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Strathmore Times