The mighty Kings came up one goal short in the Ontario Minor Hockey Association Tier 3 Finals against the Highland Storm in Halton Hills last weekend, dropping a hard-fought 1-0 game.

For the Prince Edward County Minor Hockey Association, it was the first time since the OMHA went to a tiered round-robin that a Kings entry played for an All-Ontario title.

Kings skipper Brad Quaiff said his team got better and better as the weekend wore on, and was at its peak against the Storm. Down 1-0 after the opening period, the locals peppered the Highland net in the second and third, hitting the iron behind goalie Corbin Elliot three times.

“Really, it came down to one bounce. Highland got it and we didn’t,” said Coach Quaiff. “Overall, I was impressed how the players responded to the challenge and rose to the expectations.”

The County opened the tournament with a 6-0 win over the Mooretown Jr. Flags on Friday but the coach noted the score was not indicative of the Kings and their play. “It was lacking in a lot of ways: bad penalties and a lot of sloppy and unstructured play.” 

Getting his first start since the second round of the Eastern Ontario Minor Hockey League playoffs, Lucas MacPherson earned a shutout in the Kings’ net. The Monarchy spread out the scoring in Game 1 with six different scorers: Charlie Burkitt, Griffin Heffernan, Will Prinzen, Gavin Hebert, Weston Kingsley and Parker Wilkinson—all lighting the lamp for Prince Edward County.

Mr. Burkitt added three assists while Harrison Kerik, Declan Vader, Jasper Quaiff and Lukas Copeland also landed on the scoresheet.

Playing with Purpose

In Game 2, the Kings were blanked by the Storm and Mr. Elliot 3-0. Mr. Quaiff and the coaching staff addressed the team following the contest and emphasized the opportunity that lay before them.

“We definitely showed up with purpose and were far more disciplined on Saturday morning.” 

With an opportunity to advance to the semi-finals later that afternoon, the Kings quelled the Tavistock Titans 4-1. Mr. MacPherson picked up his second win in the Kings’ cage.

Mr. Burkitt opened the scoring early in the game and the Kings doubled their lead at the midway point of the first thanks to Mr. Kingsley’s second of the tournament.

After the Titans managed their only goal of the contest, the locals continued to find the back of the net. After setting up Mr. Kingsley in the first, Mr. Prinzen popped his second tally of the tourney. With time winding down in the second stanza, Mr. Wilkinson found Ryker Ivanic with 31 seconds left in the frame to make it 4-1.

The win set up a semi-finals match with the Belle River Jr. Canadiens.

The Kings got off to a decent start. Mr. Kingsley was set up by Mr. Hebert 3:09 into the first for an icebreaker and the County extended that lead with less than a minute to go in the opener.

Connor Simmons found Mr. Prinzen lurking near the net; the Kings were up 2-0 after a period of play.

But Belle River chipped away. They finally solved Kings tender Ben Kelly late in the second. Then, with under three minutes to play, the Baby Habs managed to get back to equal footing and square the affair 2-2.

Coach Quaiff admitted there was a feeling the Kings had squandered a prime opportunity as the teams prepared for overtime. But early in the extra session, fortune found the Kings.

Mr. Prinzen gained the zone with speed only to be stripped of the puck. The biscuit bounced free from a puck battle inside the line and found the stick of Prince Edward County’s hottest shooter.

Mr. Kingsley put the game to bed with a snipe from the high slot at the 9:44 mark of overtime. The Cardiac Kings were living up to the moniker installed upon them by this writer.

The Final

If you had told the Kings at the outset of the tournament they would be playing in the OMHA finals with the vaunted Red Hats on the line and down one goal after the first period, they would have taken it running. The U15 team scored in bunches this season, there was no reason not to think they could come back from an early deficit.

“We really did have a great game. We had one little mistake in the first that cost us. After that, we hit three posts, missed some open nets and had pucks hopping over sticks right till the end,” the coach lamented.

He added that the team embraced the no-quit, leave-it-all-on-the-ice approach at the OMHA Tournament and he was proud of every one of them.

“We knew the Storm would be a tough test. They were ranked so much higher than us coming in but we gave them everything they could handle and then some in the final. The players deserve a lot of credit for coming that far and never quitting right up until the very end.”