U13 Kings capture hometown tourney title

The Terra Vista U13 Kings came out on top at the annual PECMHA Milk tournament on the weekend.

For the first time in more than a decade, the Kings can finally lay claim to a milking crown.

The Terra Vista Landscaping Kings came out the better against the visiting West Carleton Crusaders 3-1 in the U13 Division Finals on Sunday afternoon.

Since the Prince Edward County Minor Hockey Association teamed up with the Dairy Producers from Prince Edward County, the Kings have been gracious hosts of one of the more prominent early season minor hockey tournaments in Eastern Ontario.

So gracious, in fact, that all of the Milk Tourney championship banners over the last 12 seasons have left with competing teams and nary a one has remained to be installed at Heidelberg Materials or Huff Estates Arenas.

But that changed on Sunday. The plucky U13 squad survived a scare in the semi finals against Douro and skated to a finals win over the Ottawa-area entry in front of nearly 500 loyal fans.

And the PEC faithful had plenty to cheer about early on.

Logan Cox made a heads up pass to spring Bentley Hicks and the Kings forward was away with the puck as he broke in on the West Carleton starter. A smart shot to the glove side 1:28 into the contest and locals led 1-0.

Lane Bulten steers a West Carleton Crusader to the corner.

The game’s opening goal went straight to the Kings’ legs. Less than a minute later, Lane Bulten gathered up a loose puck and pumped one past the West Carleton goaltender to make it 2-0 Prince Edward County and it was near bedlam at Heidelberg.

Austin Howe and the Kings are congratulated by members of the West Carleton Crusaders following the U13 finals.

The Kings were slinging the puck around in all three zones and another goal was inbound. Harry Lavender started the scoring play, delivering the puck to Issac Koopmans who, in turn, sprang Austin Howe. The club’s captain made no mistake, tickling the twine at 6:47, giving his club a dream start that even Kings bench boss Rob Garden couldn’t have imagined when he penned his lineup ahead of the championship game. Three goals in less than three minutes and the Kings were flying.

“It was a great start to be sure, just what you hope for in a big home game like this,” Garden said. “We took our foot off the gas a little bit and got complacent but while we might have bent a little, we never broke.”

After a goaltending switch and a time out, the Crusaders were able to wrest some momentum away from the hosts later in the period. A too many men penalty provided a power play for the visitors and Liam Murphy set up Thomas MacIssac at 4:28 to get West Carleton on the scoresheet.

But that was all from the Crusaders as a familiar trend played itself out over the balance of the first and second and third.

The Kings were stingy all weekend, surrendering just seven goals in six games. Attention to detail in their own end with a penchant for supporting their teammates in all three zones. Rarely, if ever, were the Kings outmanned along the boards. They might have been on their heels slightly in the second but then locals turned in a tidy bit of work in the third.

Franklin McGinnis and Aidan Herbert were all smiles after the Kings win.

And, if any of the Kings’ skaters have a hiccup, their goaltender was more than equal to the task Sunday afternoon. Kings starter Aiden Herbert was sensational in the second and third, sending opposing skaters back to their bench shaking their heads.

It was the same in the semis where Declan Coates stared down all three Dukes shooters in a 3-2 shootout win against Douro.

Howe scored the only goal the Kings would need in the penalty shot competition, his second of the game. Franklin McGinnis also lit the lamp for the Kings in the semi finals.

The duo of Coates and Herbert provided the level of goaltending a team needs to buck 12 years of organizational futility. On the ice, anyway.

“Declan stands on his head this morning to get us here and then Aiden turns in that kind of performance in his first season playing rep hockey,” Garden noted. “He showed a ton of composure and calmness in a big pressure tournament final in front of his home fans.”

For his efforts, Herbert was named player-of-the-game in the finals.

Overall, the Frontenac Flyers organization had an outstanding tournament, winning the U11, U15 and the U16 divisions while the U18 entry came up short against the champion U18 Parry Sound Shamrocks.

After a successful tournament, the Kings are back to the rigours of the Eastern Ontario Minor Hockey League this weekend. The U11 Tim Dainard Kings play a home-and-home with the Norwood Hornets that culminates Sunday afternoon at 2 pm in Picton.

The U13 Terra Vista Kings are on the road starting tonight in Campbellford before travelling to Gananoque Saturday and Brighton Sunday.

The U15 Heidelberg Materials Kings welcome Ennismore to Wellington on Saturday and Centre Hastings on Sunday. Both games start at 2 p.m.

The U16 Taylor’d Towing Kings are in Douro on Sunday.

The U18 Prinzen Ford Kings play a pair in Wellington this weekend, welcoming Loyalist on Saturday and Stirling on Sunday. The puck drops for both games at 3:30 p.m.