Ottawa, ON – Thursday night in the EOJHL featured three games on the schedule, highlighted by Ottawa West keeping its perfect record intact, Casselman lighting up the scoreboard at home, and Renfrew putting together a convincing road performance in Smiths Falls.
Ottawa West 6, Winchester 2
The Ottawa West Golden Knights kept their perfect season alive, improving to 8-0-0-0 with a 6-2 win over Winchester. The Hawks jumped out to an early lead just 53 seconds in off the stick of Ryan Ross, but Ottawa West responded quickly with power-play goals from Seamus Lockhart and Cooper Moore to grab the lead after 20 minutes.
Vincent Anderson tied the game briefly early in the second for Winchester, but Justin Murdoch’s fourth of the season restored Ottawa West’s advantage heading into the third. From there, the Golden Knights pulled away with Thomas Dickey scoring twice in under a minute and Jack Howell adding the insurance marker late.
Murdoch led the way with a goal and two assists, while Dickey’s two-goal performance gave him 11 on the year. Carter Overhoff made 28 saves in the win, while Jacob Turpin turned aside 41 shots in a strong performance despite the loss. Winchester falls to 2-7-0-0.
Casselman 9, Embrun 2
Casselman’s offense exploded on home ice, erupting for seven goals in the third period to defeat Embrun 9-2. The Vikings opened the game with early goals from Alexis Lafrance and Casey Hayward, but Embrun answered back with tallies from Owen Raine and Camden Cunningham-Fetch to make it 2-2 after 20 minutes.
The game remained tied through the second period, but Casselman dominated the final frame. Marc-Olivier McCarthy scored early on the power play to restore the lead, and then the floodgates opened. Lafrance added his second of the night, followed by goals from Joshua Marcos, Mathieu Cloutier, McCarthy again, Skyler Beks, and Hayward to put the game well out of reach.
Lafrance, McCarthy, Beks, and Hayward all posted multi-point nights, with Tristan Simoneau and Skyler Beks each picking up multiple assists. Émile Pagé made 10 saves for the win, while Sebastien Bourgeau faced 42 shots for Embrun. Casselman improves to 6-2-0-0, while Embrun drops to 1-6-1-2.
Renfrew 6, Smiths Falls 1
Renfrew picked up an impressive road win, defeating Smiths Falls 6-1 behind a balanced offensive attack. Preston Charron got the Timberwolves on the board midway through the first on the power play, followed by a marker from Mannix Hart to make it 2-0 after one.
Jordan Parsons cut into the deficit for Smiths Falls early in the second, but Renfrew responded quickly. Hart added his second of the night less than a minute later, followed by goals from Logan Fleury and Ayden Childerhose to blow the game open. Jackson Andrews added a third-period goal to round out the scoring.
Hart finished with two goals and an assist, while Nathan Pederson and Daxton Markwick each had multi-point games. Dawson Zadorozny was excellent between the pipes, making 34 saves in the win. Dean Spry stopped 27 of 33 shots in the loss. Renfrew improves to 5-5-1-0, while Smiths Falls falls to 4-6-0-0.
