by Stephen Dafoe
The Morinville Kings took on the Westlock Warriors Saturday night in game one of a best-of-five opening NCHL playoff series. The Kings ended the night 5-1.
Both sides ended the opening 20 scoreless, but the Kings found themselves leading 2-1 at the end of two and packing another three on their tally in the third.
“Game 1 was everything we were expecting,” said Kings president Wayne Gatza, adding that Westlock came out hard with a physical game and good goaltending. “It’s playoffs now so the time and space gets a lot smaller. The boys played great, worked hard doing the little things that make a big difference like backchecking, hard d-zone coverage, and making smart choices. Ty Swabb was outstanding between the pipes!”
The Kings will travel to Westlock Sunday night for game two in the series. Game three will be played in Morinville Feb. 2 at 8:30 p.m.
