Photo by Jake Arts
With 4.6 seconds left in regulation, Alex Akena tied the game to send it to overtime. In OT, Ethan Alexander followed up a breakaway shot with a game winner on a rebound. It was a crazy night in Komoka, which netted the Kings two big points on the weekend.
After a scoreless first, where Owen Edwards made some key saves for the Kings, the game remained scoreless until the 19:44 mark of the second period, when Jagan Chanderdat fired a slap pass to Seth Huygen, perfectly placed for a Huygen tip, which gave Komoka the lead on the power play (Nathan Gaitens netted a secondary assist on the play).
In the third, Kayden Oliver tied things up for KW, assisted by Devon Ferroni and Liam King at the 8:08 mark. Five minutes later, Ferroni found a wide open Ty McHutchion with a pass, and he buried it far side (secondary assist to Noah Clugston). Komoka worked hard to come back, and pulled Owen Edwards with 1:28 left in the third. Over a minute later, with continued pressure in the KW end of the ice, Daymond Kindree took a shot that missed the net, but came right to Alex Akena, who was able to bury it in close, tying things up for the Kings with 4.6 seconds on the clock, sending the game to overtime (second assist to Ethan Alexander).
In the extra frame, Komoka had a two-on-one for Seth Huygen and Jagan Chanderdat which missed, sending the SIskins on a rush the other way, but Nathan Gaitens made a terrific defensive play to cut a pass. In doing so, he sprung Ethan Alexander who came in, was stopped on his initial shot, but buried the rebound giving the Kings a well-earned victory.
This win marked the first in a Kings uniform for Owen Edwards, who made several hugely important saves en route to the victory, overall stopping 30/32 shots. Pregame, Kings’ Head Coach Rumun Ndur said he is liking what he is seeing from Edwards right now, saying he wanted him to be calm and quiet in the net, which is exactly what he was tonight.
The Kings other game of the weekend was a difficult defeat at the hands of the Stratford Warriors on Friday night. Stratford scored three goals in the first 10:45 of the game, which put the Kings behind the eight ball early. Jagan Chanderdat scored with three seconds left in the first from Alex Akena, which made it 3-1. Stratford then scored four unanswered to win the game 7-1.
The team quickly shook off the difficult loss on Friday, and got a resounding win against a strong KW group on Saturday night. The Kings are back in action on Friday in St. Thomas, before hosting the LaSalle Vipers on Saturday at the Wellness Centre, with puck dropping at 7:15pm!
Performances of the Week:
Ethan Alexander – 2 GP, 1-1-2
Alex Akena – 2 GP, 1-1-2
Jagan Chanderdat – 2 GP, 1-1-2
Nathan Gaitens – 2 GP, 0-2-2
Seth Huygen – 2 GP, 1-0-1
