Cornwall Ontario — After a whirlwind week of rumors, the Cornwall River Kings took to the ice to skate in front of their very loyal fans in a matchup against the Sorel-Tracy Eperviers.

Captain Steve Simoes addressed the crowd before the anthem in a lengthy speech regarding the antics of the past two weeks. He thanked the crowd for sticking with him and ended with, “If I stay on the mic any longer, I’d have to start running for politics.” No doubt he was taking a shot at former owner Brock Frost.

Simoes tried to swing the momentum on Cornwall’s side early as he dropped the gloves with Maxime Caron just 19 seconds into the game. It did little for the River Kings as Sorel managed to notch three by the end of the period. Coach Olivier Fillion pulled goalie Loic Lacasse and gave him the rest of the night off.

The first period also saw a round two matchup between Dylan Garrioch and Guillaume Coude. The last time these two teams met up, Coude knocked out Garrioch with a punch that was shown on internet sites around the world. It was most of the same this time minus the knockout.

Sorel notched three more goals in the second period including one from former River King, Mario Joly. By the time the third period came around, the Kings gas had run out. Fan favourite Christ Cloutier made his return to the ice after missing 10 weeks with a broken hand. He dropped them with Maxime Charon to the delight of the crowd. At the end of it all, Sorel walked away with an 8-0 win.

The Cornwall River Kings are on the road tonight in Laval to take on the Predateurs. Puck drop is 7:30. Although there is now buzz that this game might be canceled. Stay tuned.

Fans also collected $1400 for River Kings players on Saturday.