OTTAWA, ON – The 2026-27 Eastern Ontario Junior Hockey League Regular Season is officially underway, with the opening week delivering plenty of offence, standout individual performances and the return of a familiar franchise to league action.
The season officially opened on Tuesday, September 15, as the Ottawa Jr. Canadians hosted the Richmond Royals at the Earl Armstrong Arena. Ottawa earned a 4-1 victory behind two goals from Matheason Cameron, while Jackson Curran stopped 21 of 22 shots to pick up the first win of the new campaign. (Ottawa Junior Canadians)
One night later, the Brockville Tikis made their long-awaited return to regular-season action — and did so in memorable fashion.
Playing their first regular-season game at the Brockville Memorial Centre since February 2023, the Tikis and Athens Aeros combined for 14 goals in an 8-6 Brockville victory. The Aeros fired 50 shots on goal, but Brockville found enough offence to make its return to the EOJHL a winning one. (Hometown TV12 Brockville)
From there, the schedule picked up across Eastern Ontario with games in Casselman, Ottawa, Smiths Falls, Perth, Arnprior, Winchester and Carleton Place as clubs across the league began their 44-game schedules. The opening week included a mix of high-scoring affairs and strong goaltending performances as the early standings began to take shape. The league’s 2026-27 schedule runs through February 15, with all 14 clubs playing 44 games.
Shepherdson Sets the Early Pace
Athens forward Cole Shepherdson wasted little time making an impact, finishing the opening week atop the EOJHL scoring race with seven points in two games, recording three goals and four assists.
Carleton Place’s William Gray was right behind him with six points, including three goals, while teammate Alex Cavan collected two goals and three assists for five points.
Several players finished the week with four points, including Brockville’s Campbell Wotherspoon, Casselman’s Zev Higginbotham, Perth’s Kaius Newberry, Glengarry’s Adam Mailhot and Hayden Mader, and Ottawa West’s William McCulligh.
Newberry made the most of his lone appearance, recording a hat trick and an assist, while Mailhot, Mader and McCulligh each found the back of the net three times during their opening two games.
Ottawa’s Cameron also opened the season with three goals in two games, including the very first goal of the 2026-27 EOJHL season.
Goaltenders Make Their Mark
While offence was plentiful in several games, a number of goaltenders delivered impressive opening-week performances.
Smiths Falls’ Jayden Carr turned aside 46 of 47 shots in his first start, posting a .979 save percentage and 1.00 goals-against average.
Richmond’s Richard Unger also allowed just one goal in his first victory, stopping 24 of 25 shots, while Glengarry’s Colin Villetorte made 39 saves on 41 shots in his first win.
Renfrew’s Liam Welsh faced 51 shots in his season debut and stopped 49 of them for a .961 save percentage, while Perth’s Cole King stopped 30 of 32 shots to earn a victory.
Just Getting Started
With Opening Week in the books, the 2026-27 season is only beginning.
The first few days offered a little bit of everything — big offensive performances, busy nights for goaltenders, new faces making an immediate impact and the return of the Brockville Tikis to the EOJHL.
The road to the 2027 Barkley Cup is officially underway.
View the 2026-27 EOJHL Schedule & Results
