Midnight finally struck for the Cinderella U15 Heidelberg Materials Kings this weekend in Halton Hills.

A few key injuries and a lack of puck luck early in the third period of their OMHA Semi Final against the Kawartha Coyotes Sunday morning conspired to finally end the local’s starry season. After a flat start in the game that saw Kawartha jet out to a 4-0 lead through the first 20 minutes of the contest, Prince Edward County came charging back to make it a 4-3 contest after two periods of play.

Parker Osborne set up Easton Vanhecke at the 8:52 mark to break the ice for the Kings. Just over a minute later, Weston Byford connected with goal scorer Lincoln Doxsee who carved the Kawartha margin in half with his first of the OMHA tourney.

With momentum firmly on the side of the Kings, Prince Edward County closed the gap with 92 seconds left in the second stanza.

Ryker Ivanic and Mr. Vanhecke teamed up to spring Mr. Osborne from the blueline and it was a 4-3 game heading into the second intermission.

“We didn’t have a great start and we were dealing with a short bench but to come all the way back into that game, we felt good starting the third period,” Kings bench boss Chad Camp told the Gazette. “We were sure we would get the game back to even early in the third and work from there.”

The Kings were without hulking Karsen Haight. The power forward that sets the physical tone in the offensive corners for the Kings was a scratch due to an upper body injury. Silky smooth forward Will Prinzen was lost to further action after sustaining a heavy hit early in the first. Other Kings were feeling the effects of heavy action in round robin play a day prior.

The Breaks of the Game

But the Kings seemed destined to tie the game in the first five minutes of the third. They surrounded the Kawartha net and tested starter Skyler Gahagan often. The Kings had some great looks. Partial empty nets were missed. Pucks jumped over sticks at critical moments. The game stayed at 4-3 halfway through the frame.

Then the Coyotes took advantage of a pressing Kings squad and fired a dagger at the 7:56 mark. And then another just under two minutes later and the locals were quite cognizant their dreams of OMHA supremacy and those treasured red hats indicative of an All Ontario championship had slipped their grasp. The Coyotes would win 8-3 and down the Mooretown Jr. Flags 5-0 in the OMHA final.

There were more than a few tears shed in the dressing room following the contest. It was a tough scene for players and staff alike but the raw emotions gave way to a small-but-growing sense of pride. The U15 Kings battled the best in Ontario in 2024-25 and came away more than equal to the test on most nights.

“It’s been a long season but I don’t think we could be any prouder of this team. The way they developed through the year, the way they represented Prince Edward County was phenomenal. We played in five tournaments and were in the semi finals or finals in each of them. There were 160 ‘B’ teams in the province this season and we were right there with the best of them,” the coach added.

Rolling Early

The Kings opened the round robin Friday afternoon with a 3-1 win over the LaSalle Sabres in a chippy affair that saw the Kings take 11 minor penalties. Pivot Caleb Krentz had a great outing, setting up all three Kings tallies. In the first, Mr. Krentz spotted Mr. Vanhecke at the LaSalle net for an ice breaker 6:33 into the tournament.

The Sabres would manage to tie the game early in the second but that was the blemish on an outstnading outing turned in by Kings goalie Landon Latchford.

Mr Krentz set up Mr. Byford twice to push the locals ahead to stay. The Sophiasburgh product notched the game winner with just under two minutes left in the second, knifing a backhand effort across the goal line at 1:58. He then salted away the result with 4:21 left in the third, tapping home a loose puck from the lip of the crease.

On Saturday against the Ayr Flames, the Kings turned over netminding duties to Rilye Monk and the Consecon native was as sound as the British pound, surrendering just a single tally in the middle period as the Kings duplicated a second 3-1 win.

Captain Osborne served as trigger man in the first, leading a rush from centre ice and beating Sabres stopper Logan O’Reilly just under two minutes into the opening frame. Jack Thompson and Brayden Koopmans added helpers on the scoring play.

The Kings continued to dominate the first period and doubled their lead at 7:21. Mr Koopmans picked up his second assist of the period when Mr. Haight pumped a rebound into the La Salle net for a 2-0 spread.

Connor Davidson got in on the act at the 2:38 mark when he tipped Blake Shepard-Benway’s volley past the La Salle goalie to make it 3-0. Mr. Doxsee also picked up a helper on the play.

Downed by the Flags

On Saturday night in a meeting between two undefeated clubs, the Kings engineered a late game comeback but were ultimately draped by the Flags 5-3.

Down 4-0 late into the second, the Kings power play sprang to life as Alex Shields set up Mr. Vanhecke with 2:20 to go to cut the margin to three goals. Mr. Osborne added an assist.

Midway through the third, Mr. Krentz handcuffed the Mooretown netminder from in close to carve the Flags’ lead in half at 4-2.

With 1:47 left on the clock and Mr. Latchford on the bench for an extra attacker, the Kings inched closer. Mr. Koopmans and Mr. Osborne played pitch and catch on the Mooretown blue line before the Captain delivered the puck to the net. Mr Byford, being hassled in the slot area, was able to redirect a rebound over the goal line to make it 4-3.

The Kings had another chance in the final minute as Mr. Vanhecke grabbed a loose puck in the slot and had Flags goalie Nash Hagan leaning to his right while the Kings winger was shooting left. The puck bounced off the skater’s stick. The Flags tucked home an empty netter with seven seconds left to make it a 5-3 final.