The Wheatland Kings fell to the Okotoks Carstar Bisons 2-1 in a hard-fought game one of the seven-game series.

It was a defensive slugfest, with both teams playing tight defense all night and both goalies having exceptional nights. While the Kings, unfortunately, came out on the wrong side of a game Head Coach Doug Raycroft still appreciates the effort from the team.

"I was pretty happy with the way the boys played, I feel like it kind of slipped away from us, but we're going to come on Friday hard and see if we can get a victory there."

The Kings held a 1-0 lead after they scored late in the second period, but couldn't hold on for the victory, as Okotoks tied it up halfway through the third before scoring the game winner with just 54 seconds left in the game. Somehow, Okotoks' game winning goal wasn't even the most memorable thing that happened in the last minute of play, as two glass panes also fell on the ice and shattered at the same time, forcing both teams to finish the game on a different rink. 

On top of the shattering glass, it was also a bit of a unique game for the Kings in that they found themselves shorthanded for most of the game, as Kobe Gosling and Ethan Van Egmond both got ejected for checking from behind in the first period.

Even though Raycroft is happy with the team's effort and quality of play last night, he's obviously not happy about the loss and hopes to get the win tomorrow night in Okotoks. To take the next step and get the win, Raycroft said the team will have to continue their stellar defensive play and create more scoring opportunities.

"We had a lot of posts and their goalie played really well, we're just going to have to get traffic in front of the net and have lots of shots and just try to bury our shots. If we can do that, we got a good chance."

Game two takes place in Okotoks tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m., and the Kings return to home ice for game three this Saturday at 8:00 p.m. before playing game four on home ice this Sunday at 4:30 p.m.

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