Less than 24 hours after posting their first victory in a decade, the RDC Kings coaching staff got a chance to see a few things the team still needs to work on.
After beating the SAIT Trojans 2-1 in Alberta Colleges Men’s Hockey League exhibition play in Penhold Friday the teams returned to Calgary Saturday with the Trojans recording a 5-2 victory.
“They jumped on us for three goals in the first period, although we held a 9-8 edge in shots,” explained Kings head coach Trevor Keeper. “But we had a couple of break downs in our defensive zone, which are things we can work on and clean up. I’m not that worried.”
The teams exchanged goals in both the second and third periods with the Kings managing a 37-27 edge in shots.
Clayton Petrie and Jake Bryan scored for the Kings while Kraymer Barnstable was in goal.
The Kings continue their exhibition play Thursday when they host the University of Alberta, Augustana Vikings of Camrose at 7 p.m. in Penhold.
A week after playing three midget teams at the NAIT tournament, the Queens took a step up in competition as they visited the University of Saskatchewan Huskies in Saskatoon for a pair of exhibition games during the weekend.
The Queens lost 5-3 Saturday and 4-0 Sunday, but head coach Bob Rutz was anything but disappointed.
“It was a step up for us and five-on-five we played right with them,” he said. “The first game we led 3-2 at one point before they used their power play to come back, then on Sunday we ran into penalty trouble from the start.
“Our penalty kill needs some work, but that’s something we haven’t worked on a lot and it will come around. Overall I was happy as we got to bond as a team.”
Jade Petrie, Emily Lougheed and Skye Fahlman scored for RDC Saturday.
The Queens will have even a tougher test Friday when they visit Team Alberta of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League. They meet the Edge Hockey Academy in Calgary Saturday.