River Kings weekend roundup
CORNWALL Ontario – The River Kings sent a message to the Sorel-Tracy Eperviers on Sunday afternoon at the Civic Complex.
Cornwall dropped the contest 3-0 in front of 791 fans, but proved they weren’t going down without a fight. The chippy contest featured six scraps as frustration clearly set in for the River Kings (0-7-1) on this afternoon.
Vincent Couture opened the scoring for Sorel at 7:38 of the first when his one-timer off the faceoff beat River Kings goaltender Charlie Lavigne. Etienne Brodeur gave the Eperviers a two-goal lead when Sorel capitalized on a two-on-one at 15:05 of the first.
Marco Charpentier beat a sprawling Lavigne for a powerplay goal at 7:51 of the second.
Cue the fireworks.
Curtis Tidball and Sorel’s David Lacroix went toe-to-toe in a lengthy bout to start the second period before Ryan Sullivan took exception to the pesky Maxime Charron and the pair dropped the mitts. Moments later, Captain Brennan Barker literally dropped Brodeur.
Then, with 7:13 to play in the middle frame, a line brawl broke out as Francis Lessard, Tidball, Jonathan Jasper and Frederick Cote took fighting majors. Lessard was assessed a five-minute major for being the aggressor.
Cornwall responded with a better third period, outshooting the Eperviers 12-10. The River Kings couldn’t beat Mathieu Dugas, however, who posted the shutout with 28 saves overall.
Sorel’s Lacroix and Ryan Sullivan of the River Kings received separate aggressor penalties late in the third.
Sorel outshot Cornwall 37-28. Charpentier (first), Dugas (second) and J.P. Caron of the River Kings were the announced stars.
FRIDAY: At St-Georges, the River Kings picked up their first point of the season before ultimately falling 4-3 in a shootout to the Cool FM. Caron scored twice, including the game-tying goal mid-way through the third, and Sy Nutkevitch had a single for Cornwall. Lavigne was solid in goal for the River Kings; he made 36 stops before turning aside 3-of-4 shootout attempts.
NEXT UP: The River Kings next two games are on the road. Cornwall visits Jonquiere (Friday, Nov. 6) and Sorel-Tracy (Friday, Nov. 13). The River Kings are back on home ice Saturday, Nov. 14 when the Laval Predateurs come to town. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m.
Photo
Frederick Cote and Adam Leblanc-Bourque exchange blows during a line brawl on Sunday afternoon at the Civic Complex. In the background, Francis Lessard is held back by two linesmen.
Pretty sad when the highlights are the fights.