By Josh Wegman
William Shakespeare himself couldn’t have written a better ending to the EOJHL finals. The Ottawa West Golden Knights came up just short of bringing home the regional Jr. ‘B’ hockey title, losing a Game 7, double-overtime thriller 3-2 to the Casselman Vikings on Monday, April 14 at Barbara Ann Scott Arena.
“That was the most fun game I’ve ever played in,” acknowledged 22-year-old Ottawa West forward Jeff Gottzmann, who’d just played his final junior hockey game. “They took it to us and we took it them – just an incredible pace.”
All game long, it was continuous back-and-fourth action. One glorious opportunity here, one bone-crushing hit there, with game-saving plays left and right keeping the deciding game deadlocked.
With the game tied 1-1 and 37 seconds left on the clock in the third period, Golden Knights forward Derrin Lehoux potted what was thought to be the series winner, but Casselman defenceman Thierry Henry tied things up 23 seconds later.
Devastation from the Casselman bench quickly swapped with the ecstatic energy coming from the Ottawa West side. It already had the makings of a storybook ending, with only one chapter left to write.
Nothing was solved in the first period of overtime and it was looking that way throughout the second as both netminders, Gianmarco De Meis of Casselman and Eric Plumadore of Ottawa West, denied any opportunity that came their way.
With 1:18 left in the second extra session, Casselman forward Joel Adam received a sensational pass from Kyle Beauchamp-Lalonde and made no mistake, burying the series winner with a backhand deke to send half of Barbara Ann Scott Arena into a frenzy, leaving the other half in stunned silence.
The Vikings now move on to the April 22-27 Eastern Canadian Jr. ‘B’ Championships in Port Hawkesbury, N.S. – the first time the EOJHL will send a team – while the Golden Knights are left with the consolation prize of recognizing that they were part of one of the all-time great battles in local junior hockey.