Ottawa, ON – It was a packed Saturday night in the Eastern Ontario Junior Hockey League with plenty of offensive fireworks across the board. Renfrew earned a strong home win over Winchester, Glengarry edged Carleton Place in a close battle, and Smiths Falls outlasted Athens in overtime to cap off the night’s slate.
Renfrew 7 Winchester 4
The Renfrew Timberwolves continued their strong start to the season with an impressive 7-4 victory over the Winchester Hawks.
Winchester came out firing, with Daniel McDowell putting on a show for the visitors, scoring all four of his team’s goals. But Renfrew’s balanced attack and resilience proved too much to handle. After falling behind early, the Timberwolves stormed back thanks to a pair of goals from Mannix Hart and a strong offensive push led by Logan Fleury, who tallied a goal and multiple assists on the night. Preston Charron also added a goal of this own.
In the third period, Renfrew broke the game open with goals from Chase McAndrew, Owen Brown, and Colton Vereyken, silencing any Winchester comeback attempt. Goaltender Dawson Zadorozny was sharp when called upon, turning aside 36 shots to secure the win, while Jacob Turpin made 31 saves in the loss for Winchester.
Glengarry 3, Carleton Place 2
The Glengarry Brigade held home ice with a gritty 3-2 win over the Carleton Place Jr. Canadians in a game that was tight from start to finish.
Hayden Mader got Glengarry going early, finding the back of the net midway through the first period before Carleton Place quickly responded with a goal from Matt Legge to even things up. The Brigade regained the lead in the second period when Kaden Myre converted a setup from Carter Rolland, giving Glengarry a 2-1 edge heading into the third.
Carleton Place capitalized on a power play early in the final frame as Byron Box tied the game, but Matheason Cameron stepped up late for the Brigade, burying the game-winner with just over 11 minutes to play. Goaltender Parker Sauve made 26 saves to preserve the win, while Callum Clare was solid with 27 stops for the Jr. Canadians.
Smiths Falls 5 Athens 4 (OT)
Fans in Smiths Falls were treated to one of the most exciting finishes of the night as the Jr. Bears pulled off a thrilling 5-4 overtime win over the Athens Aeros.
It was a back-and-forth affair from the start, with both teams trading chances and goals in the opening period. Caleb Bourne continued his hot start to the season, factoring into multiple goals and eventually sealing the victory on a penalty shot in overtime.
Athens showed plenty of fight, rallying from a two-goal deficit in the third period with late tallies from Nate Thompson and Cameron Kelly to force overtime. But Bourne’s quick strike made the difference, giving Smiths Falls a hard-earned two points. Brody Nielissen, Nico Ilias, and Nathan Hovila also scored for the Bears, while Baron Gleason and Parker Kealey were contributors for Athens.
Dean Spry was steady in goal for the Jr. Bears with 38 saves, while Marshall Greig stopped 25 shots for Athens in the overtime loss.
