WHITEWATER REGION (Cobden) — “I just want a win,” said Whitewater Kings General Manager Jamie McConnell.
And he got what he wanted, and more.
The Whitewater Kings won both games on the weekend in overtime.
The home opener Saturday night in front of a crowd of almost 225 fans, saw the Kings defeat the Arnprior Packers 2-1. The next day, the Kings travelled to Embrun and edged the Panthers 4-3.
This weekend, the Kings travel to Perth Friday for a 7:30 p.m. puck drop against the Blue Wings and then are at home Saturday, Sept. 29, for a 7:30 p.m. game against the Carleton Place Juniors.
Prior to the start of last Saturday night’s game, the Kings players were introduced to the fans and were sporting new black, jerseys.
But, then there was a special presentation. At the start of each season, the CCHL2 teams each present a volunteer “whom the team believes has went above and beyond for the organization, for the work they do throughout the year.
“Last season, we were blessed to have not just one person, but a whole family of volunteers for the Kings.”
Kings operations manager Lynn Foley presented the 2017-2018 Volunteer of the Year award to Wayne and Debbie Ready and their three children, Brent, Kevin and Rachel.
In last Saturday night’s game, the Packers were on the scoreboard first with a goal by Danny Johnson and assist by Ryan Rivard.
The Kings tied it up in the third with a power-play goal by Liam Enright assisted by Jared Campitelli.
In the overtime, Reid Barber twanged the twine for the win.
Kings goalie Kevin Proulx saved 23 of 24 shots on goal, while Packers goalie Cameron Scott managed to shut down 36 of 38 shots on goal.
The Kings were in the penalty box for a total of 12 minutes on six infractions while the Packers sat out 14 minutes on seven infractions.
Kings Barber and Liam Enright were the top two stars with the third awarded to Packer Johnson.
The next day, Sunday, Sept. 23, the Kings travelled to Embrun for an early afternoon game against the Panthers.
The Kings were awarded another overtime win with a 4-3 score with around 50 people in the stands.
Again, the Kings were not first on the scoreboard. Panther Matthieu Brennan scored assist by Owen Nevins in the first period, while in the second, Panther Connor Drost scored twice, assist by Brandon Paquette on the first goal and Tyler Cummins on the second.
However, the Kings responded with two goals of their own, one from Liam Enright assist by Josh Hampel and Quinn Vanhoof and then Dylan Kuehl scored with an assist fron Liam Enright and Brad Richardson.
In the final period, King Dylan Kuehl, assist by Alec Lindecker and Keifer Levasseur netted the puck, taking the game into overtime.
In the overtime, John Enright, assisted by Conrad Cybulski and Dylan Kuehl, ensured another win for the Kings.
King goalie Kevin Proulx had 47 shots on goal while Panther goalie Joshua Ivanski had 30 shots on goal.
In penalties, Conrad Cybulski and Josh Hampel each received two minutes for the Kings while Panthers Marc Brosseau, Alex Rossides, Mathieu O’Toole and Cayden Martin sat out for a total of 8 minutes.
The stars for this game were King John Enright, Panther Connor Drost and King Dylan Kuehl.
After four games, the Kings have won 2 and lost 2, putting them in fourth place out of eight teams in the Richardson Division of the CCHL2.
