Ottawa, ON – Three home teams delivered strong performances across the EOJHL on Thursday night, highlighted by Ottawa West tightening its grip atop the standings with a rivalry win, Casselman continuing its dominant run against Embrun, and Smiths Falls earning a key victory over Richmond behind a strong night between the pipes.
Ottawa West 4, Ottawa 2
Ottawa West struck late in the first period to seize control of the Battle of Ottawa. On the power play at 15:07, William McCulligh opened the scoring with his 26th of the season, finishing a setup from Seamus Lockhart and Justin Murdoch. Just 91 seconds later, the Golden Knights doubled the lead as Samuel Stano scored his first career EOJHL goal, converting a feed from Gabriel Tremblay and Griffin Bird.
The hosts wasted no time extending the lead early in the second period when Justin Murdoch scored just 17 seconds in, finishing a play from William McCulligh and Thomas Dickey to make it 3–0. Ottawa responded shorthanded at 8:49 as Gavin McCarthy got the Jr. Canadians on the board, finishing a rush started by Danik Marion.
Ottawa pulled within one midway through the third when McCarthy struck again at 8:09, but Ottawa West sealed the result late. With the net empty, Justin Murdoch buried his second of the night at 19:21 to close out the win.
Carter Overhoff earned the victory for Ottawa West with 21 saves, while Jackson Curran made 26 saves in the loss. The Golden Knights improve to 22-4-2-0, moving into sole possession of first overall in the Martin Division and EOJHL. Ottawa slips to 21-7-0-0, dropping to third in the division.
Casselman 8, Embrun 1
Casselman set the tone early and never looked back, opening the scoring at 5:01 of the first period on a power-play goal from Kaleb Fogarty, set up by Alexis Lafrance.
The Vikings exploded in the second period, beginning just 21 seconds in when Téo Webb scored shorthanded. At 4:05, Simon Toupin extended the lead off a setup from Marc-Olivier McCarthy and Thomas Ranger, followed by Skyler Beks finishing a passing play from Tristan Simoneau and Alexis Lafrance at 8:58.
Embrun briefly got on the board at 9:09 when Wyatt Leblanc capitalized on a chance created by Enrick Girard, but Casselman responded immediately. Just 15 seconds later, Edouard Ranger restored the four-goal cushion, then added his second of the night at 17:13 with helpers from Téo Webb and Cédric Ouimet.
Casselman continued to pour it on in the third as Téo Webb scored his second of the game at 10:50, before Casey Hayward capped the scoring at 12:47, finishing a play from Jeremy Bessette and Bodhi Matthew.
Justin Audet turned aside 19 of 20 shots to earn the win. Casselman improves to 22-4-0-0, moving into second overall in the Martin Division and EOJHL, while Embrun falls to 6-13-4-4.
Smiths Falls 5, Richmond 2
Richmond struck first midway through the opening period as Cooper Moore opened the scoring at 8:08, finishing a setup from Tyson MacCoubrey and Ramsey Stretch. Smiths Falls responded on the power play at 15:57 when Jordan Parsons tied the game, converting a feed from Aidan Conroy and Andrew Hopley. The Bears took the lead late in the period as Gabriel Waito scored at 19:08 off passes from Nathan Hovila and Zach Laporte.
Smiths Falls added to the lead in the second when Caleb Bourne scored unassisted at 13:14, and carried the momentum into the third period. Lincoln Chalmers extended the lead at 3:14, finishing a play set up by Aidan Conroy.
Richmond pushed back on the power play at 10:43 as Dylan Cutts made it a two-goal game with helpers from Jacob Warnes and Nicholas Milbury, but Jordan Parsons sealed the win with an empty-net goal at 18:14, his second of the night.
Jamie Bales delivered a standout performance for Smiths Falls, stopping 44 of 46 shots. Smiths Falls improves to 11-16-1-1, while Richmond drops to 12-14-0-2.
