Ottawa, ON – Facing elimination, the Ottawa West Golden Knights delivered a crucial road victory Tuesday night, defeating the Ottawa Jr Canadians 3–2 in Game 5 of the Martin Division Semi-Final. The win keeps Ottawa West’s season alive while narrowing Ottawa’s series lead to 3–2 in the best-of-seven showdown.
Ottawa West 3, Ottawa 2
Ottawa West struck first midway through the opening period when Justin Murdoch scored his fifth goal of the postseason at 6:29, finishing a play from Dominik Lemieux and Thomas Dickey.
The Golden Knights doubled their lead late in the period as Lemieux found the back of the net at 16:46, with Murdoch and Dickey again factoring in on the play to give Ottawa West a 2–0 advantage after the first.
After a scoreless second period, Ottawa began to push back early in the third. Mattias Côté cut the deficit in half just 1:02 into the frame after converting a pass from Carter Laforest.
Ottawa West regained its two-goal cushion midway through the period when Carter Pilon scored at 14:59 off assists from Murdoch and Dickey.
The Jr Canadians kept the pressure on late, and Sam Glover brought Ottawa within one with a goal at 18:00 off a feed from Riley Bloom. However, the Golden Knights held firm in the final minutes to secure the win.
Dustin Riff made 35 saves on 37 shots to earn the victory, while Jackson Curran stopped 30 of 33 shots for Ottawa.
With the result, Ottawa still holds a 3–2 series lead, with Game 6 now looming as a pivotal contest in the Martin Division Semi-Final.
