Ottawa, ON – EOJHL opening week action continued Thursday night with three games on the schedule as Ottawa West hosted Richmond, the Casselman Vikings welcomed the Ottawa Jr. Canadians, and Smiths Falls squared off with Embrun.
Ottawa West 6 – Richmond 0
The Ottawa West Golden Knights opened their season in dominant fashion, shutting out Richmond 6-0.
Antonio Zito got things rolling late in the first on the power play, before William McCulligh struck twice in the second period to extend the lead. Thomas Dickey added a pair of goals of his own, while Noah Jones sealed the win with a late tally.
Goaltender Dustin Riff was perfect, turning aside all 20 shots for the shutout. At the other end, Richard Unger made 37 saves in the loss for Richmond.
Ottawa 3 – Casselman 1
The Ottawa Jr. Canadians made it back-to-back wins to start the season, grinding out a 3-1 victory over Casselman.
Logan Power opened the scoring on the power play before setting up Dax McKinnon just minutes later. The Vikings answered late in the first with a goal from Skyler Beks, but Ottawa restored the two-goal cushion in the second thanks to Luke Going.
Jackson Curran was sharp in net for Ottawa, stopping 38 of 39 shots for the win, while Myles Boudreau turned away 23 in the loss.
Smiths Falls 3 – Embrun 2 (SO)
It took a shootout to decide things in Smiths Falls, where the Smiths Falls Jr. Bears edged the Panthers 3-2.
Tyler Lahaie-Desabrais put Embrun ahead in the first, but the Bears responded with goals from Nathan Hovila and Brody Nielisson to pull even after Owen Raine had restored the Panthers’ lead.
Neither team could find the winner in regulation or overtime, setting the stage for Caleb Bourne, who scored the shootout winner to secure the two points for Smiths Falls.
Dean Spry stood tall with 18 saves and the shootout win, while Sebastien Bourgeau made 35 stops in the hard-luck loss for Embrun.
