Ottawa, ON – Saturday night delivered major postseason developments across the EOJHL Divisional Semi-Finals. The Smiths Falls Jr. Bears closed out their series against the Richmond Royals to advance to the Richardson Division Final, while the Martin Division showdown between Ottawa and Ottawa West will go the distance after the Golden Knights battled back to force a decisive Game 7.
Smiths Falls 4, Richmond 2
Smiths Falls punched its ticket to the Richardson Division Final with a strong road performance, defeating Richmond 4–2 to win the series 4–2.
The Bears took control in the first period with two quick goals. Nick Colson opened the scoring at 10:07 on the power play with help from Caleb Bourne. Just over a minute later, Brody Nielissen doubled the lead to give Smiths Falls early momentum.
Smiths Falls extended the advantage in the second period when Caleb Bourne scored midway through the frame to make it 3–0.
Richmond pushed back in the third period. Scott Beddie got the Royals on the board early in the frame, and Jacob Warnes brought Richmond within one with just 28 seconds remaining in regulation after converting a setup from Parker Stretch and Tyson MacCoubrey.
However, Smiths Falls quickly sealed the game when Timothy Bourne scored an empty-net goal just 11 seconds later.
Matthew Saari was strong between the pipes for the Bears, stopping 36 of 38 shots.
With the victory, Smiths Falls wins the series 4–2 and advances to the Richardson Division Final, where they will face either Arnprior or Renfrew.
Ottawa West 3, Ottawa 2 (OT)
The Battle of Ottawa continues.
Facing elimination, the Ottawa West Golden Knights earned a dramatic overtime victory over the Ottawa Jr Canadians to even the Martin Division Semi-Final series 3–3.
Ottawa opened the scoring in the first period when Ryan Coughlan found the net off a pass from Daniel Kyte.
The Jr Canadians extended their lead late in the second period when Riley Bloom scored on the power play with assists from Jacob Perreault and Mattias Côté.
Ottawa West responded quickly before the intermission as Joel Mullen cut the deficit to one with just over a minute remaining in the period.
The Golden Knights completed the comeback midway through the third when Gavin McCarthy tied the game off assists from Connor Weido and Noah Jones.
After a tense overtime frame filled with chances at both ends, Connor Cole delivered the winner at 9:01 of overtime, finishing a play from Dominik Lemieux and Justin Murdoch.
Dustin Riff made 32 saves in the victory, while Jackson Curran stopped 20 shots for Ottawa.
The series is now tied 3–3, setting up a decisive Game 7 Monday night at the Barbara Ann Scott Arena in Ottawa at 7:20 PM.
