Ottawa, ON – Friday night in the EOJHL delivered a little bit of everything — a tight road win in Perth, a playoff-clinching performance by Richmond, and a shootout showdown in Embrun between two Martin Division contenders. With postseason races tightening across both divisions, each game carried significance as teams jockey for position down the stretch.
Athens 3, Perth 2 | at Perth
Athens jumped out early and held on late to earn a hard-fought 3–2 road win over Perth on Friday night.
The Aeros opened the scoring midway through the first period when Alex Tornberg capitalized off a feed from Rylan Boyer. Just over three minutes later, Cohen Merkley doubled the lead, finishing a setup from Cameron Kelly and Jack Jansen to give Athens a 2–0 edge after one.
Athens extended the cushion early in the second as Cameron Kelly buried his 17th of the season off a return pass from Merkley, pushing the lead to three. Perth began its push back shortly after, getting on the board with a powerplay marker from Ayden Childerhose late in the frame.
The Blue Wings made things interesting in the third when Arjun Uppal cut the deficit to one with just under 14 minutes remaining. Perth earned a penalty shot in the final seconds with a chance to force overtime, but Nicholas Periard shut the door to preserve the victory.
Periard finished with 39 saves for Athens, while Jackson Howell made 31 stops in the loss.
Athens improves to 15-20-4-1, while Perth falls to 14-24-1-2.
Richmond 6, Arnprior 3 | at Arnprior
Richmond delivered one of its most important performances of the season Friday night, scoring four third-period goals to defeat Arnprior 6–3 and officially clinch a berth in the 2026 EOJHL Playoffs.
Arnprior came out flying, with Ethan Smith scoring twice in the opening six minutes to give the Packers an early 2–0 lead. Richmond answered in the second period, as Nevyn Trenholm put the Royals on the board before Ramsey Stretch tied the game with a strong finish off a Parker Stretch feed.
In the third, Richmond took full control. Jacob Warnes gave the Royals their first lead early, and Parker Stretch followed with another quick strike moments later. Dylan Cutts added insurance late, before Nicholas Milbury sealed it with an empty-net goal in the final minutes.
Sam Nolan was steady between the pipes, turning aside 33 shots, while Richmond’s balanced scoring attack overwhelmed the league-leading Packers late.
Richmond moves to 18-20-0-3 and punches its playoff ticket, while Arnprior slips to 31-9-0-0.
Embrun 4, Casselman 3 (SO) | at Embrun
Embrun handed Casselman a rare defeat Friday night, edging the Vikings 4–3 in a shootout after an evenly contested battle.
The Panthers struck first in the opening period with goals from Owen Raine and Justin Raymond to take a 2–0 lead. Casselman responded in the second, as Marc-Olivier McCarthy pulled the Vikings within one before Niam McArthur tied the game on the powerplay.
Embrun regained the lead later in the frame through Remi Gendron, but Casselman forced overtime when McCarthy struck again with a powerplay marker late in regulation.
After a scoreless overtime, the shootout decided it. Casselman was turned aside on all three attempts, while Wyatt Leblanc scored the lone shootout goal to lift Embrun to the win.
Sebastien Bourgeau was outstanding for Embrun, stopping 56 shots through regulation and overtime before sealing it in the shootout.
Embrun improves to 9-19-7-5, while Casselman moves to 33-5-0-1.
