Murray, Kings calm Blizzard in extra time

Madden Murray tallied a goal and an assist as the Dauphin Kings weathered the Northern Manitoba Blizzard in extra time to secure a 5-4 victory during Manitoba Junior Hockey League action at Credit Union Place on Wednesday night.

Dauphin also received a pair of goals from Ash Mitchelmore and singles from Nicholas Zaharias and Daniel Helary, who ended the game on the power play less than two minutes into overtime.

The victory gave the Kings their 17th win in 27 games (17-9-1) and also put them back into the win column with their first victory of the month to snap a three-game losing streak after losses to Winkler (4-0), Virden (3-2) and the Winnipeg Blues (5-2). As for the Blizzard, they were handed their 19th loss of the year (5-17-2).

Murray, 20, and one of Dauphin’s veteran forwards, said it was nice to bounce back with a complete effort after lacking some consistency the last handful of games.

“We played a full 60, and that’s just the only thing we’ve been trying to do recently,” said Murray on Wednesday. “We’ve had a tough time pulling it together for 60 minutes, but I feel like yesterday we actually did, so that was a positive for us.”

The battle between the best and worst teams in the West Division proved to be a track meet when Mitchelmore got the scoring started 16 minutes into the first period to draw first blood for the Kings before Trystyn Sidor evened the game at ones early into the second for the Blizzard.

Mitchelmore’s fourth goal of the season and second of the game put Dauphin up 2-1, and then Murray added an insurance marker less than three minutes later. The Pas didn’t go away quietly, as Kanye Huang and Jett Fogle got on the scoresheet to even the game once more.

A goal from Zaharias midway through the third frame gave the Kings their third lead of the game, and it appeared to be the game-winner until Huang added his second of the night with four seconds remaining. During three-on-three action, Isaac Tomchak was guilty of slashing and put Dauphin on the man advantage, which they ultimately capitalized on after Helary buried a feed from Ty Pratte.

Two more points in the bank for the Kings give them a slight four-point cushion with a game in hand over the second-place Neepawa Titans, who have quietly turned their season around after an extremely slow start.

Virden is also close behind with 30 points and two games in hand over Dauphin, however, they have also struggled as of late, as they’ve dropped their last two contests while allowing 17 goals, suffering a 6-5 loss to Portage and an 11-2 defeat to Niverville, which currently leads the league with 24 wins in 27 games.

Although they have led the West Division practically the entire season, Murray knows full well his club will need to keep their foot on the gas pedal if they want to stay there when the post-season kicks off.

“We just need to stay consistent and make sure we play at full 60 every game and make sure everyone’s buying in and doing their jobs and trusting each other,” Murray said. “I think we’re a really deep team, and we can get scoring from all four lines, and we’re pretty good defensively, so I think buy-in from everybody is what’s finding us success right now, so we just need to keep that up.”

It’s no surprise Dauphin’s had the season they’ve had thus far when you look at how its season ended last year after coming just one goal shy of a Turnbull Cup title when Quincy Supprien played hero in the third overtime to push Northern Manitoba to a 2-1 win in Game 7.

All the returning players, including Murray, still have that heartbreaking memory etched in their brains, and they won’t get rid of it until they replace it with a new memory — one of them lifting the hardware.

“After being there last year, that’s all everyone kind of wanted, just to get back there this year,” he said. “We were so close, it was so unfortunate, so our goal is to just get back there, and hopefully we can score that goal this time.”

And there would be no surprise if the player to do that was Murray.

The six-foot, 165-pound right-winger is a speedy playmaker who is dangerous from just about any area on the ice. This year, he’s playing alongside centreman Joey Kubas and has racked up six goals and 19 points, which is on pace to break the personal high he set for himself last season with 28 points.

Ash Mitchelmore is currently accompanying that line on the left side, but that slot has flip-flopped throughout the year.

“I enjoy playing with both those guys,” said Murray. “We’re all taught the same system, so everyone’s usually in the same spots and playing the same way, which is nice because it’s easier to adjust and read off those guys.

“I feel like the coaches here have helped so much in just feeding into us on how to make the smart play coming out of the zone, make the smart play in the zone, try to limit mistakes as much as possible, and I feel like that’s a huge thing that’s really helped since I came to Dauphin.”

Murray, a Dauphin product, spent two years with the Parkland Rangers U18 AAA squad — where he registered 68 points in 86 games — before returning home to play for the junior squad he watched growing up. He knows it’s a full-circle time in his life he won’t take for granted.

“It’s just super cool and a dream come true,” Murray said. “Growing up watching games in Dauphin, playing for the team was basically our version of NHL, so getting to play for them now is super special. It’s always nice to have family and friends that come out to watch, and it’s cool seeing them at the games.”

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com