By: Ellie Hazelwood
Big week for the Ottawa West Golden Knights. They started off last weekend with back-to-back shutouts from Dustin Riff (Carleton Place and Perth), and a 4-1 win with Carter Overhoff in net, against the Smith Fall Bears.
Top goal scorers Thomas Dickey, Connor Weido, Antonio Zito, Dominik Lemieux, all scoring in multiple games this week. Brennan Miller hit the back of the net for the first time this season, on Saturday, the 22nd.
This past Thursday night, at the Barbara Ann Scott Arena, the Golden Knights took on the Ottawa Junior Canadians, and were looking for revenge after their previous overtime loss against them. The revenge was sweet, after the Golden Knights dominated the game, winning 6-0. The shutout win marked Dustin Riff’s third shutout this week and sixth this season.
“Obviously with these guys being top of the league, we knew it was going to be a hard battle,” Riff said. “But all the boys, including myself, took it like any other game. We stayed cool, calm, and collected, which resulted in the dub.”
There were times where things got pretty chaotic, but Riff and the defense stayed strong at the net front.
“A lot of traffic was cleared for me. All the boys, especially on the back end of the defense, were great,” Riff said. “And for myself, when there was a lot of traffic, just gotta stay as calm as I can, and not panic.”
Those factors definitely helped get the shutout win for the Golden Knights, but what a game.
It started out great for the boys, ending the first period up by three. Justin Murdoch opened the scoring five minutes into the game. William McCulligh scored back-to-back goals, striking the second one on the Powerplay, just a minute apart from each other, securing their lead in the first.
In the second period, things started to get pretty chippy. Despite that, the boys remained calm, cool, and collected, never doing more than defending themselves.
Thomas Dickey hit the back of the net in the second, for his fourth game in a row.
Things calmed down in the third period, though there were still some penalties taken.
Connor Cole nailed a nasty goal six minutes into the third. McCulligh scored again, later on, getting the hat trick, while his family was in the building, which earned an extra little cellie, and a wave to them.
It was a big win, and a tasteful revenge, on Thursday the 27th.
Friday was a close game for the Golden Knights, as they took on the Glengarry Brigade, winning 3-2 in a shootout. Two goals from Dickey in regulation, a shootout winner from Cole, and Overhoff’s strong net presence helped power the Knights to the win.
It was a close one for the Golden Knights on Sunday against the Casselman Vikings. It was a tough 5-3 loss, but there were glimmers in the game. Noah Jones, Lemieux, and McCulligh all hit the back of the net for the boys. Riff stayed calm and collected in net, making 39 saves.
Overall an awesome week for the Ottawa West Golden Knights, even though there was a tough end to it.
It’s just time to be a goldfish, and look to the bright future of games ahead.
