Playing in front of 350 fans and in a position to clinch the Eastern Ontario League OMHA regional championship, the Kings looked to have a bout of stage fright in the Huff Estates Arena.

The team that had little trouble rolling over the Frontenac Flyers in Verona 5-1 a night prior, were trailing 3-1 after the first.

A trip back to North Frontenac for a deciding Game Three looked to be in the offing.

But the Kings chipped away in the second. They were determined. Goaltender Rilye Monk was able to soothe frayed nerves with his calm, continuous puck-stopping.

At the 8:20 mark, winger Easton Vanhecke led an odd man rush up the ice and fired a bullet to Flyer netminder Cole Brash’s glove side that electrified the crowd and made the score 3-2.

The Kings pushed on.

In the final minute of the stanza, a scramble play at the Frontenac goal mouth saw Weston Byford bag his second of the game with 57 seconds left. 

Game Two was born anew at 3-3 and a mass of highly emotional teenaged humanity in tight proximity created a scrum.

The Flyers drew an extra minor penalty out of the fracas, causing their bench to come unglued. A visiting coach was forced to watch the rest of the proceedings from the stands.

The Kings held the balance of play through most of the third and looked to have the winner on their stick a couple of times. But the Flyers tested Mr. Monk late, causing the Kings fans to gasp in anticipation of a tie breaking goal that wouldn’t be in their favour.

Tied at 3-3, the game went to overtime — but it didn’t take long for the locals to define the moment.

Setting up in the Frontenac zone, Kings captain Parker Osborne was able to fire the puck low on the Flyers net. Mr. Brash was equal to the task but the rebound lingered in the slot. Will Prinzen took control of the disc and, out of the corner of his eye, saw Mr. Vanhecke lurking at the side of the net.

Receiving the sweetest little 5’ backhand shovel pass you ever witnessed, Mr. Vanhecke took his time, and picked a seam into the opposing net exactly 60 seconds in.

After the contest, Mr. Osborne told the Gazette winning an OMHA regional title at home in overtime was a very special moment for everyone on the hockey club. On the game’s final play, the Captain had a good feeling.

“As soon as I saw the puck on Easton’s stick, I knew it was over. He gets a lot of these kinds of goals, the puck always follows him,” Mr. Osborne said.

Kings bench boss Chad Camp admitted his squad didn’t have its best start of the season but in true Kings fashion, his team found a way.

“We knew it wasn’t our best game but the coaches kept telling the players to stick to their game, stay strong on the forecheck and keep wearing them down. We were able to chip away, get back in the game and our depth took over,” he said, adding Mr. Monk’s play in the Kings crease was vital to the win.

“Rilye came in, shut the door and he was huge for us down the stretch,” Mr. Camp said.

Mr. Monk picked up the win in Game One, shutting the door most of the way as the Kings built a 5-0 lead through the first two periods.

Karsen Haight led the way with a pair of goals while Mr. Vanhecke, Jack Thompson and Caleb Krentz all bulged the twine for the Kings.

The Kings are off to Halton Hills for the OMHA U15 Championship Tournament March 28-30.