Ottawa, ON – EOJHL action rolled on Friday night with three games on the slate as Perth hosted Glengarry, Smiths Falls traveled to Embrun, and Arnprior faced off against Winchester.
Perth 7 Glengarry 3
The Perth Blue Wings came out firing on opening night, cruising past Glengarry 7-3.
Owen Adams, Phoenix Anderson, and Kaius Newberry (power play) gave Perth a 3-1 lead in the first, while Max Shewfelt added his first of two goals late in the second to extend the advantage. In the third, Noah Belanger and another from Newberry helped seal the win.
Glengarry answered with goals from Codyn Sloan, Derek Larocque, and Simon Gibeault, but couldn’t close the gap. Jake Dignard earned the win in goal with 34 saves, while Parker Sauve stopped 25 in defeat.
Smiths Falls 5 Embrun 4 (OT)
The Smiths Falls Jr. Bears pulled off a thrilling 5-4 overtime win in Embrun.
After trading goals early, Smiths Falls built momentum in the third with back-to-back tallies from Nathan Hovila and Caiden Deshaw to grab a 4-2 lead. But Embrun stormed back with a pair of power play markers, including Xavier Boulanger’s equalizer in the final minute to force overtime.
In the extra frame, Nick Colson played hero, burying the winner less than two minutes in. Brandon Partrick made 35 saves for the win, while Jackson Howell was stellar with 51 stops in the OT loss.
Arnprior 5 Winchester 2
The Arnprior Packers opened their season with a strong 5-2 road win over Winchester.
Brady Neville struck early in the first, and Devin McCarthy doubled the lead in the second. Ethan Smith added two third-period goals, including the eventual game-winner, while Cameron Sheppard capped things off on the power play in the final minute.
Winchester got goals from Ryan Ross (power play) and Kaylen Connell (shorthanded), but it wasn’t enough to rally back. Nathan Carlson was a difference-maker for Arnprior with 43 saves, while Jimmy Boyd turned aside 27 shots for the Hawks.
