Ottawa, ON – Sunday night pushed both Division Finals to the brink of completion. The Smiths Falls Jr. Bears outlasted the Renfrew Timberwolves in a double-overtime thriller to take a commanding 3–0 series lead, while the Casselman Vikings edged the Ottawa Jr Canadians in a tight Game 3 to do the same. Both teams now sit just one win away from advancing to the EOJHL Championship.
Smiths Falls 3, Renfrew 2 (2OT)
Smiths Falls continued its dominant postseason run, but not without a fight, needing double overtime to secure Game 3.
The Bears opened the scoring early in the first period when Lincoln Chalmers found the net at 3:58 off assists from Caleb Bourne and Timothy Bourne.
Renfrew responded later in the period as Jacob Lalande tied the game at 15:07, finishing a play from Logan Fleury and Cole McLelland.
The Timberwolves grabbed their first lead in the second period when Fleury scored at 14:39 with help from Liam Haggerty and Lalande.
Smiths Falls answered in the third period on the power play as Andrew Hopley tied the game at 9:26, assisted by Timothy Bourne and Caleb Bourne.
After a scoreless first overtime, Chalmers played the hero in the second overtime, scoring his second of the night at 10:47 off a feed from Nick Colson to give Smiths Falls the win.
Beckett Campbell delivered an outstanding performance in goal, stopping 50 of 52 shots, while Dylan Elliott matched him with 50 saves in a hard-fought effort for Renfrew.
With the victory, Smiths Falls takes a commanding 3–0 series lead.
Casselman 3, Ottawa 2
Casselman continued its strong play in the Martin Division Final, holding off Ottawa to take full control of the series.
Ottawa opened the scoring in the first period when Luke Going struck at 13:08, finishing a play from Sydney Loreto and Jason Cyr.
Casselman responded in the second period as Marc-Olivier McCarthy tied the game at 11:13 off an assist from Tristan Witmer. The Vikings took the lead just minutes later when Tristan Webb scored unassisted at 14:56.
In the third period, Alexis Lafrance extended the lead on the power play at 12:36, finishing a setup from Tristan Simoneau and Skyler Beks.
Ottawa made it interesting late when Danik Marion scored at 16:53, but Casselman held on the rest of the way.
Myles Boudreau made 32 saves in the victory.
With the win, Casselman takes a 3–0 series lead and now sits one victory away from advancing to the EOJHL Championship.
