LAURIE WEIR
In a thrilling turnaround, the Smiths Falls Jr. A Bears overcame a one-goal deficit in the second period to shut down the visiting Nepean Raiders, securing a 5-2 upset with a four-goal rally in the third during Friday night’s (Oct. 18) Central Canada Hockey League action.
The win gives the Bears a 6-5-0-1 record for 13 points, three back of the Kemptville 73’s who lead the Robinson Division with 16 points. Brockville Braves sit in second, just one behind the leaders. Overall, the Rockland Nationals remain dominant on an 11-0 win streak, leading the Yzerman Division with 22 points.
Quinn Booth led the scoring for the home team Friday night with two markers, earning the game’s first star honours. Booth’s first goal came late in the second period, closing the gap after Nepean capitalized on two power play opportunities—one in the first and another mid-way through the second—before Smiths Falls could beat the visiting netminder.
It was a different story in the third stanza as the Bears fired back with four unanswered goals to seal the win.
Peyton Veltkamp tied it up just 1:49 into the third, assisted by Ouellette and Andrea Blais.
Caeden Heins followed shortly after at the 2:38 mark with the game-winner, assisted by Blais, earning the game’s second star.
Ouellette then added his sixth goal of the season unassisted at 9:22 to provide an insurance marker.
Booth notched his second of the game and fourth of the season with an empty-netter, assisted by Tyson Parker and Jack Paquette.
Peter Freel (third star of the game) and Deklyn Campbell were the goal scorers for Nepean, both on the power play.
Ethan Morrow picked up the win in the crease for Smiths Falls, stopping 21 shots. The Bears outshot the Raiders 32-23 in front of 296 fans. In their previous meeting, Nepean edged out a 4-3 win on Sept. 29.
KEMPTVILLE 3 SMITHS FALLS 2
On Oct. 13, Smiths Falls faced off against the Kemptville 73’s, who took a 3-2 win. This evenly matched contest saw the teams tied at 1-1 and 2-2 at the period breaks before Tyson MacCoubrey scored the winner in the third period.
Chris Cardillo and Tyson Parker (power play) scored for Smiths Falls, while Sydney Loreto and Emile Trottier contributed the winning offense for Kemptville.
Game stars were MacCoubrey (Kemptville, first), Trenten Bennett (Kemptville goalie), and Cardillo (third, Smiths Falls).
Morrow was in goal for the Bears, recording 19 saves in the loss.
COMING GAMES
The Bears travel to Brockville on Oct. 20 for a 3:30 p.m. puck drop against the Braves (7-3-1). Next Friday, Oct. 25, they host the Pembroke Lumberkings (5-5-0-1) at 7:30 p.m., before heading to Navan on Sunday, Oct. 27, for a 3:30 p.m. faceoff against the Grads (6-4-1).
BATTLE OF ONTARIO
The Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL) and the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) will honour NHLers who played in the two leagues during the 2024 Battle of Ontario, in Smiths Falls on Nov. 12 and 13.
The Battle of Ontario will see two all-star and two prospect teams from each Junior A league play a total of 12 games during the tournament-style event.
CCHL teams are named after NHL greats Larry Robinson and Steve Yzerman, both alumni of CCHL teams. The OJHL’s squads will be named after current NHL players Evan Rodrigues, Chris Tanev, Zach Hyman, and Jack McBain.
Tickets will go on sale Oct. 22 at the Smiths Falls Memorial Community Centre. The event is expected to attract NHL, NCAA, U SPORTS, and CHL scouts to Smiths Falls.
