KENSINGTON – The Kensington Monaghan Farms Wild has put themselves in a position to win a championship on home ice.
Now it’s up to the Wild to take advantage of this opportunity as they take a 3-1 series lead over the Charlottetown Bulk Carriers Pride in Game 5 of the best-of-seven provincial major midget hockey championship at Credit Union Centre in Kensington, previously Community Gardens, on Saturday. Puck drop is 7:30 p.m., and the Wild is encouraging fans to support the team by wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day.
“You want to clinch at home,” said Wild head coach Kyle Dunn. “I have been preaching all series that it’s not over until it’s over.
“Obviously, closing out is going to be the hardest win. Nobody is going to give it to you, so we have to come with our best effort of the series. We are taking nothing for granted. We have to be ready Saturday night.”
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After winning the first two games 8-1 and 6-2, the Wild put forth a disappointing effort in a 3-2 home-ice loss in Game 3. Kensington was actually 15 minutes away from returning home tied 2-2, but rallied with four unanswered goals in the final 15 minutes for a 5-2 road win in Game 4 on Wednesday night.
“I was pretty proud of them,” said Dunn of his players. “We were down one (2-1 after two periods), and it was kind of the same scenario as Saturday (March 10 in Game 3) in our own barn. We knew they would get into a defensive shell, and we just said we have to put pucks to the net and work because we didn’t want to come back home 2-2.”
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Intermission message?
When asked if he could share what was said in the dressing room during the second intermission, Dunn responded: “We just looked around and asked, ‘What do we want to be here, boys? Do we want to be 3-1 or 2-2?
“I put it mostly on the guys, challenged them to be better and they stepped up. It’s nothing the coaching staff did, it was all what the players did. After the game, the coaches talked, and we were pretty pleased with how the players responded when being challenged. They rallied themselves.”
The Wild who have scored first in Games 1, 2 and 4, will be stressing the importance of a good start.
“You want to play with the lead, it’s more comfortable,” said Dunn. “You are not chasing the puck, you are not chasing the play and your sticks are not squeezed as tight.
“If you get off to a good start and get rolling, everybody plays with a little more confidence.”
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Although the Wild is knocking on the door of a provincial championship, Dunn is stressing a business as usual approach.
“As a coaching staff, it’s our job to get those guys prepared and keep them focused,” added Dunn. “We haven’t accomplished anything yet, but we have a great leadership group that is pretty focused and driven right now. We are excited to get back home Saturday night.”
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