Ottawa, ON – Friday night across the EOJHL delivered a packed schedule with postseason implications in both divisions. Perth leaned on strong goaltending to turn aside Richmond, Arnprior officially clinched the Richardson Division title with an overtime thriller against Renfrew, Ottawa continued its push up the Martin Division standings with a road win in Embrun, Casselman kept pace near the top with a decisive victory over Glengarry, and Ottawa West maintained its grip on first place by closing out the night with a shutout win in Winchester.
Perth 4, Richmond 1
After a scoreless opening frame, Perth took control in the second period and never looked back.
The Blue Wings opened the scoring at 2:10 of the second when Kaius Newberry finished a feed from Colby Hunter and Jory Leakey. Richmond briefly answered at 5:51 as Cooper Moore scored shorthanded, set up by Tyson MacCoubrey, tying the game at 1–1.
Perth regained the lead less than two minutes later. At 7:16, Garret Hutchings snapped home his first of the season off passes from Kden Womack and Jack Weir.
Early in the third period, Newberry struck again at 1:03, scoring unassisted to make it 3–1. Perth put the game away at 3:45 when Owen Adams finished a play set up by James Lake and Antoine Ziade.
Jackson Howell was outstanding in goal for Perth, stopping 52 of 53 shots. Perth improves to 13-20-1-2, while Richmond falls to 16-19-0-2.
Arnprior 7, Renfrew 6 (OT)
Arnprior clinches the Richardson Division
This one had playoff intensity written all over it — and history at the end.
Renfrew opened the scoring just 1:10 in when Hunter Sim converted a pass from Mannix Hart. Arnprior answered at 4:59 with Ethan Smith finishing a play from Jackson Taylor and Cameron Sheppard. Renfrew struck again at 7:16 on a goal by Colton Vereyken, but Arnprior tied it late in the period as Carter Downs scored at 19:46 off feeds from Smith and Sheppard.
The Packers took control in the second. Jackson Taylor scored on the power play at 4:22, followed by a Renfrew reply from Daxton Markwick at 9:32. Arnprior answered back on the power play again at 11:32 through Cameron Sheppard, then Rowan Casey made it 5–3 at 14:27.
Early in the third, Casey scored shorthanded at 3:22 to push Arnprior ahead by three. Renfrew stormed back with three straight power-play goals — Ian Burnett (4:36), Connor Hanniman (7:10), and Markwick again at 9:09 — tying the game at 6–6.
Overtime ended on a penalty shot. Gabriel Tremblay converted at 3:09, sealing a dramatic win and officially clinching the Richardson Division title for Arnprior.
Arnprior improves to 27-8-0-0. Renfrew drops to 17-15-2-2.
Ottawa 7, Embrun 3
Ottawa used special teams and depth scoring to pull away in the second period.
The Jr. Canadians struck twice in the first period. Sydney Loreto opened the scoring at 11:17 from Danik Marion and Sam Glover, followed by a power-play goal from Logan Power at 15:17.
Embrun responded early in the second as Tomy Lariviere scored at 2:04, but Ottawa quickly answered with four goals in just over eight minutes. Mathias Prud’homme-Foster (3:02), Sam Glover (5:50), Jacob Perreault on the power play (8:11), and Luke Going shorthanded (10:51) stretched the lead to 6–1.
Embrun pushed back in the third with goals from Wyatt Leblanc (6:38) and Ethan Lamey (10:38), but Danik Marion iced it with an empty-netter at 19:59.
Ottawa improves to 28-7-0-0. Embrun falls to 8-17-6-5.
Casselman 7, Glengarry 3
Casselman’s power play made the difference in a convincing road win.
The Vikings opened the scoring late in the first period with Jeremy Bessette converting a power play at 14:29. In the second, Casselman poured it on with goals from Marc-Olivier McCarthy (PP), Tristan Simoneau (PP), and Simon Toupin, building a commanding lead.
Glengarry got on the board with Derek Larocque at 5:11 of the second and added goals from Matheason Cameron late in the second and Carter Rolland early in the third.
Casselman sealed the game with third-period goals from Alexis Lafrance and Tristan Witmer, including a shorthanded marker.
Casselman moves to 29-5-0-0, while Glengarry drops to 14-16-2-2.
Ottawa West 3, Winchester 0
A clinical road shutout for Ottawa West.
After a scoreless first period, William McCulligh opened the scoring at 17:06 of the second with help from Max Shewfelt and Antonio Zito. Early in the third, Joel Mullen scored on the power play at 0:32, and McCulligh added his second of the night at 12:13.
Dustin Riff stopped all 31 shots he faced, earning his second straight shutout.
Ottawa West improves to 28-4-3-1, while Winchester falls to 15-21-1-0.
