King, a 19-year-old Corner Brook native, scored the winning goal at 7:02 of overtime to give his Amherst Ramblers a stunning 6-5 victory over the Pictou County Weeks Crushers in Game 7 of their Maritime Hockey League first-round playoff matchup Tuesday night in New Glasgow.
King deflected a point shot on goal and the puck squirted loose right on his stick in the crease and he made no mistake as he fired the puck into the bottom part of the net to silence the hometown crowd.
“If you actually seen the video (of the goal) I had to look back and make sure because I couldn’t believe it,” King said Wednesday of his third goal of the game.
The Ramblers trailed by a pair of goals on two occasions before roaring back to even the contest. It was a hard-fought battle and one of the best games King ever played in since he graduated from the major midget ranks, he said.
“It was super exciting. I really can’t put it into words to describe it,” King said.
The team’s offensive leader all season, King was expected to come up big in Game 7.
He finished with three goals and two assists for the Ramblers. He generated plenty of offence across seven games, and heads into the next round with 13 points (eight goals, five assists).
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Adding to the moment, King had some special guests in the stands when he turned in the performance of his life.
His mom, Michelle, and grandmother, Harriet Hillyard, watched it all unfold. They surprised him by showing up for Game 7.
“It was an amazing game. We surprised him at the game and I think it worked,” Michelle King said Wednesday while spending some quality time with her son.
While sitting on the bench in the first period, King was caught off guard when he just happened to look across the ice and spot two familiar faces in a crowd of about 1,700 fans. He had no inkling any of his family would travel to Nova Scotia for Game 7.
“I just happened to look over across from the bench and they were the first two people I saw and I just smiled because I wasn’t expecting it,” he said.
It’s a moment he will cherish because every player dreams of being a hero in a Game 7 at some point in their life.
Having two important people in his life along for the ride made it that much more special.
The Ramblers will tangle with the Truro Bearcats in the next round, with Game 1 slated for Saturday night in Truro.
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