He shoots, she scores

JENNIFER O'BRIEN, Free Press Reporter

Jen Willis finally got the proposal she was waiting for during a Knights hockey game.

It was second intermission and not a player was on the ice, but that didn't stop one London man from taking a shot Friday night. In what was one of the biggest plays of his life, Walter Herrera got down on one knee and got engaged -- in front of 9,100 spectators at the John Labatt Centre.

"It was great. I was so happy, really happy it happened that way," said grinning bride-to-be Jen Willis, who'd gone down to the centre ice Friday night thinking she was a contestant in an intermission contest.

"I really didn't expect it."

Herrera, 26, had been planning the proposal for three months before finally popping the question at the London vs. Windsor playoff game Friday, which the Knights won 5-0.

During the long waiting time, Herrera bought the ring, made arrangements with the Knights marketing manager, got himself a sponsor --Crystal Wedding Chapel -- and invited both his and Willis's family and friends.

He knew he had a good shot, considering Willis has been sporting a shirt that reads "Where's My Ring?" since Valentine's Day. Even so, Herrera was trembling during the game.

"I was so nervous when we were watching the game," he said yesterday. "I was trying to look normal and everything, trying to be cool, but I was just so nervous."

It was the second proposal this season, but not for a lack of romantic hockey fans, said Knights marketing manager Stefanie Turnbull.

"We get lots of calls for it, but we don't want it to get to be something that happens every game," she said. "But this was pretty good, it was different and special."

During the game, a Knights employee approached Willis and Herrera, who are season tickets holders, and told Willis her ticket had been picked to participate in a contest.

At second intermission, she went down to the ice and sat on a chair facing east beside two other women -- actors, of course. The three contestants were told to inflate four balloons, stand up, turn around and run to a chair at the west end of the ice.

Willis blew up her balloons first, an easy lead considering the others weren't trying, but when she started across the ice, out walked Herrera, who'd changed to dress clothes from his Knights jersey.

As soon as she saw him, even before a large banner was raised, she knew what was happening, Willis said.