 |
Customers at D’s Collision Centre in Winchester, not to far from the intersection off Bank St. and Hwy. 43, will have to understand if it takes just a little longer than usual to get their cars back on the road.
They will, of course.
It was a busy place yesterday.
The phone was ringing off the hook and folks were stopping by just to talk.
“People are coming in from all over the county. It’s going to be a non-productive day,” said Kathy Carkner.
The cause of the slowdown at the garage was a good night at the office for Matthew Carkner, son of Kathy and Dennis, the friendly proprietors of D’s.
Matt Carkner had the best night of his professional life Thursday, the rough-and-tumble defenceman scoring his first NHL goal, adding an assist and being named the first star in the Senators’ 3-2 overtime win over the Islanders.
First star.
“My son never got the first star,” said Kathy.
The game was a shining moment for the Carkner clan, most of which were on hand at Scotiabank Place on Thursday night, the best moment of Matt’s eight-year journey through the minors. They’re a close-knit bunch, the Carkners. Matt’s brother, Phil, runs the collision centre with their dad.
Matt’s grandparents, Ken and Betty Stewart, were at the game. So was his sister, Katie Lesage.
“It’s like a fairy tale,” said Kathy. “I couldn’t believe it. I had a feeling he was going to be wonderful and he was. It’s like when you go bowling and you get that feeling you’re going to have three strikes in a row and it happens. It was just amazing. It’s a dream come true.
“It makes you think of those 12-hour drives to Cleveland through a snowstorm ... and you ran out of gas. I won’t miss that.”
Matt Carkner’s story is one parents from one end of the Ottawa Valley to the other can point to, the kind of story that makes everybody believe that what we were told as kids, that a good day’s work, some perseverance and trying to leave a place better than you found it will lead to a just reward.
“That’s what we were all brought up to believe,” said Kathy, who grew up as one of Ken and Betty’s seven kids.
Ken is 78 and in poor health, but “he was in his glory,” said Kathy, after he was helped to his seat at Scotiabank Place. Maybe it was the inspiration of the moment, but Kathy found out something about her dad Thursday night.
“I knew he had played hockey, but he didn’t talk about that stuff. When you’re a farmer with seven kids, you don’t talk about it, you’re too busy. But he used to play at the Ottawa Auditorium against Jean Beliveau.
“He knows the game. He said Matthew was going to score.”
He did, of course, angling a shot from the corner that hit the heel of the stick in the hand of Islanders goaltender Martin Biron and deflecting into the net.
“I was sitting right above where he scored. He’s scored like that in the AHL before,” said Dennis. “I’m really proud of him. Lining up to start the game, getting the first star. It’s hard to gather it all, to digest it all.
“Good for him. He’s always worked hard. I can’t say enough about him. Same for all the kids.”