River Kings and Braves split weekend series

CORNWALL – The River Kings split a home-and-home weekend series with the last-place Braves thanks to a 4-2 victory on Saturday night at the Civic Complex. Cornwall improved to 15-19-4 in front of a crowd of 3,109.

The Kings jumped out to a 2-0 first-period lead thanks to great playmaking between Dominic Chiasson and Doug Andress. Chiasson redirected an Andress shot from the point 1:26 into the game. Then, moments later, Chiasson returned the favour, setting up Andress for the beautiful tap-in at 4:46.

Nicolas Corbeil, on a shorthanded breakaway, slid one underneath a sprawling Stéphane Cesar at 1:33 of the second period. Laval responded soon after when Maxime Mallette scored his first LNAH goal at 2:44.

Former King Patrick Lapostolle banked one past Loic Lacasse at 3:32 of the third to bring Laval to within one goal.

But, Pierre-Luc Faubert’s goal at 12:53 of the third gave the River Kings some breathing room. The speedy Faubert, who flew past a flat-footed Mario Joly, sprung loose on a breakaway and deked Cesar.

The River Kings penalty killers were sharp on the night. Laval was 0-for-6 with the man-advantage. Loic Lacasse earned the victory in goal with a 30-save performance.

It was an important win in the standings for the River Kings, who moved to within two points of sixth-place Saint-Georges. The announced stars were Andress (first), Chiasson (second) and Lacasse.

Cornwall enforcer Michael Stacey sparked the crowd early in the first, going toe-to-toe with former Kings defenceman Brett Angel.

Laval had seven former River Kings in their lineup on Saturday night: Angel, Lapostolle, Matthew Murphy, Nick Romano, Mario Joly, Olivier Filion and Anthony Pittarelli.

After the game, the River Kings held a Meet and Greet with fans. There were several giveaways and auctions prizes.

The LNAH regular season concludes next weekend. On Friday night, the River Kings travel to Sorel-Tracy for a highly-anticipated game vs. the Eperviers. The following night, March 15^th, Cornwall hosts Thetford-Mines. Game time at the Civic Complex is 7:30 p.m.

Tickets to next Saturday’s regular-season finale will be $8. (Regular price is $14).

ROAD LOSS: At Laval on Friday, Maxime Boisclair scored a natural hat-trick in the third period to lead the Braves to a 7-5 win over the River Kings. Boisclair also chipped in two assists for Laval in the fight-filled contest. Jean-Philippe Caron, Andress, Chiasson, Nicolas Corbeil and Sasha Pokulok scored for the River Kings. Ryan Jardine and Julien Corriveau each had two helpers.