by Morinville News Staff
The Morinville Kings opened the 2015-2016 North Central Hockey League Season with a 5-4 win over the visiting Drayton Valley Wildcats. The home opener was a big win for the Kings. Prior to their one-year hiatus last year, the Kings had never been able to beat the Wildcats, and Saturday night’s contest saw the Kings edging them out by a goal.
The opening frame saw the Kings rack up 18 minutes in penalty time, all of those minutes earned by Riley Miller. Despite being short-handed, the Kings earned two goals during the period, one of those a shorthanded effort from Wayne Gatza, assisted by Timothy Nolte and Shamus Graham. The Wildcats only goal was scored on the powerplay.
The second period saw the two clubs earning a goal apiece, the Kings final contribution for the period coming from Dalen Paul with 3:22 left on the clock. Paul was assisted by Neil Tarnasky and Gerald Desjarlais.
The final frame was a back and forth effort with both teams scoring a pair of goals alternately. The Wildcats Branden Galavan pocketed his club’s fourth with 3:37 left in the game, but another was not to be found.
The Kings played the Bonnyville Pontiacs, one of the NCHL’s new clubs, Sunday afternoon. Results were not available by our deadline.
The Kings play Mayerthorpe on the road Oct. 23 and return to Morinville to face Slave Lake on Halloween Night. Game time is 8:30 p.m.
