Cornwall River Kings get dethroned and uncrowned Saturday night

Cornwall Ontario — River Kings fans were in a giving mood on Saturday night at the Civic Complex. But the visiting Rivière-du-Loup 3L were not, sticking it to Cornwall with a 7-3 victory.

The loss snapped Cornwall’s four-game winning streak on home ice, as the River Kings fell to 8-9-3 on the season. Despite the freezing rain, 981 fans were in attendance.

Ryan Jardine scored the Sparky’s Toy Drive Teddy Bear toss goal, as fans flooded the ice with stuffed animals at 8:19 of the first period. River Kings players, Sparky, and members of the Professional Fire Fighter’s Association collected 233 teddy bears. Jardine’s gorgeous deke to his forehand was a shorthanded effort.

The 3L scored two power play goals 31 seconds apart to start the second period with Cornwall attempting to kill off a five-minute major to Francis Lessard. Simon Demers’ wrist-shot from the point squeezed past Paul Bourbeau Jr., who was making his first start at the Ed Lumley Arena. Moments later, Marc-André Tourigny tapped in a cross-crease pass to give Rivière-du-Loup the lead. They never looked back.

Chad Denny scored twice on nice setups by Tourigny at 4:08 and 9:35 of the second. Tommy Castonguay’s goal with 6:08 to play in the second period chased Bourbeau.

Anthony Mezzagno picked the top corner on Lacasse with three seconds to play in a forgettable second period for the River Kings.
Patrick Mbaraga was left all alone in the slot and made it 7-1 for the visitors at 4:11 of the third.

Cornwall’s Pierre-Luc Faubert banged in a power play marker at 6:36 of the final frame. Then, Jardine went upstairs on Louis Menard at 10:09 for his second of the contest.

Lacasse stopped Marc Olivier D’Amour on penalty shot with 9:01 to play. Cornwall outshot Rivière-du-Loup 43-31. The announced stars were Tourigny (first), Denny (second) and Jardine (third).