CORNWALL Ontario – The River Kings dropped their second straight contest on home ice in overtime with a 4-3 loss to Trois-Rivieres on Saturday night at the Civic Complex.
Kevin Veilleux had a hat trick, including the knock out punch at 1:44 of the extra session as the Blizzard came back to beat the River Kings in front of a Boxing Day crowd of 671 fans.
Michael Stinziani opened the scoring for Cornwall at 10:25 of the first when he cashed in on a Chris Kushneriuk rebound to beat Marc-Antoine Gelinas.
Rookie Jonathan Joanette gave the River Kings a 2-0 lead at 7:50 of the middle frame with his first goal of the season. Antony Courcelles won the battle behind the net and found an open Joanette, who went to his backhand to beat Gelinas through the legs.
A Veilleux shot at 12:14 of the middle frame squeaked past Charles Lavigne to cut Cornwall’s lead in half. Then, with 2:47 to play in the second, Nicolas Pard buried a juicy rebound to restore the two-goal lead.
But Veilleux and Blizzard captain Jonathan Bellemare scored 16 seconds apart in the final two minutes of the game to send the contest to overtime.
Trois-Rivieres outshot Cornwall 2-0 in overtime and 41-37 overall. Robbie Thomson of the River Kings dropped the gloves twice with Trois-Rivieres’ Gabriel Boutin-Gagon.
Veilleux (first), Cornwall defenceman Danick Malouin (second) and Joanette were the announced stars.
DOUBLEHEADER: Next weekend, the River Kings have a pair of home games. On Saturday, Jan. 3, Cornwall hosts Laval with a 7:30 p.m. puck drop. On Sunday, Jan. 4, the River Kings take on Trois-Rivieres. The puck drops at 3 p.m.
PROMOTIONS: Next Saturday, the first 250 fans will receive a River Kings foam puck. On Sunday, there will be a skate with the Kings following the game along with a photo/autograph session.