CORNWALL Ontario – Casey Fazekas scored at 1:50 of overtime to give the River Kings a come-from-behind 6-5 win over the St-Georges Cool FM on Saturday night at the Civic Complex.
With the victory, Cornwall improved to 5-7-2 on home ice this season. The hard-hitting contest was played in front of a gathering of 702 fans.
After Charles Lavigne made a huge save in the 3-on-3 extra session, Fazekas took off with the rebound and buried his first goal of the season for the game winner.
With Cornwall trailing 5-4 in the third, Francois Ouimet scored his second of the contest with 8:42 to play to level the score.
David Croteau opened the scoring for Cornwall with a powerplay goal 1:34 into the contest.
Sixteen seconds after Nicolas Blanchard leveled the score for St-Georges at 4:29, Maxime Vachon scored his first goal for the River Kings when he cashed in on a perfect feed from Antony Courcelles. The goal chased Hubert Morin from the St-Georges crease.
Simon Demers’ one-timer beat Pete Karvouniaris, who started the game in goal for Cornwall, at 9:53 to once again tie the game before David Poulin beat Karvouniaris with a squeaker from the point at 14:54.
Cornwall tied it up 14 seconds later when St-Georges defenceman Pierre-Luc Bouchard scored on his own net when attempting a pass. Sy Nutkevitch was credited with the goal.
Moments later, leading scorer Ouimet gave Cornwall a 4-3 lead when he beat Pier-Olivier Pelletier between the legs at 16:06. Ouimet had another opportunity to beat Pelletier, but was denied on a penalty shot with 3:11 to play in the wild first period.
Blanchard’s second of the game 2:25 into the second period pulled Karvouniaris in favour of Lavigne. St-Georges capitalized on a River Kings turnover to take a 5-4 lead on a goal by Kevin Cloutier with 4:39 to play in the middle frame.
Vachon, Guillaume Veilleux and Jonathan Parisien made their River Kings debuts on Friday night at Laval. Cory Pecker made his debut on Friday night at Laval. Pecker, who didn’t play on Saturday, will be eased into the River Kings lineup.
Cornwall’s Colin Rice challenged Yannick Dallaire and the River Kings Curtis Tidball took on Kevin Cormier in the first. Local defenceman Ryan Sullivan had a heated battle with Bouchard in the second.
Cornwall outshot St-Georges 3-1 in overtime and 32-28 overall. Nutkevitch (first), Fazekas (second) and Cloutier were the announced stars.
FRIDAY: At Laval, Pierre-Luc Sleigher had two goals and two assists to lead the Predateurs to a 6-3 victory over the River Kings. Cornwall outshot Laval 43-21. Pecker scored in his River Kings debut, while J.P. Caron and Eric Satim also found the back of the net for Cornwall. Karel St-Laurent made 40 saves for the Predateurs and was named the game’s first star.
NEXT WEEKEND: The River Kings are back in Laval next Friday for a rematch with the Predateurs. And on Saturday, Jan. 23, Cornwall hosts Sorel-Tracy at the Civic Complex. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m.
Photo: Icelevel.com
The River Kings have signed free agent forward, and former NHL draft pick, Cory Pecker.
The 34-year-old forward from Montreal will suit up for Cornwall this weekend.
Pecker was a 6th round draft pick of the Calgary Flames in 1999 and went on to play more than 300 games in the AHL.
“He’s scored quite a few goals in his career,” said General Manager Rick Lalonde. “He’s definitely going to help us out offensively.”
Pecker is also a proven winner.
He led the Erie Otters to an OHL Championship in 2002. After leading the Otters with 53 goals in 56 regular season games, the OHL MVP went on to post a league-high 42 points in 21 playoff games. At the Memorial Cup, Pecker had seven points in four games and was named a tournament All-Star.
He then spent five seasons in the AHL, where he scored 60 goals and 82 assists (142 points) in 311 games. The 6-foot, 198 lb. forward also chipped in 287 penalty minutes.
Pecker won a Spengler Cup for Team Canada alongside former River King Yves Sarault. He’s also had pro stops overseas in Switzerland and England.
“He’ll bring a winning attitude into our dressing room,” said Lalonde. “He can play a huge role for us.”
wow what classy title. How do you expect people to take you seriously with junk like this?
Joe all we ask is that you click on the headline, as you did. Welcome to CFN 🙂
Ha! Even I clicked on it, and I don’t give a rat’s a$$ about the River Kings or hockey! Cory Pecker is his real name? Hilarious and more! ROLF ROLF LOL etc.
Furtz you should buy a pair of tickets and check out one of their games. It’s very entertaining hockey.