By: Agrani Tiwari
The Ottawa West Golden Knights earned a hard-fought 2-0 win against the Perth Blue Wings on Thursday night, delivering one of their most complete performances this season. The shutout victory highlighted their defensive strength, clutch goaltending, and key contributions from the penalty kill.
Coming off a strong win on Sunday, the Golden Knights carried their momentum into Thursday’s game, locking down the Blue Wings’ offense and capitalizing on key opportunities.
“Our goalie was outstanding; he gave us a chance to win,” said assistant coach Barry Cape. “The penalty kill turnover to score a goal there with Connor Cole and Sam Stano was key to the victory too.”
James Cole, who stopped all 25 shots he faced, was the anchor of the Golden Knights’ defense. His ability to make critical saves energized his teammates and frustrated Perth’s attackers.
The Golden Knights opened the scoring at 12:30 of the second period, with Connor Dickey finding the back of the net off assists from Jacob Perreault and Bailey Pipe. The team’s aggressive penalty-killing unit struck again late in the period, as Connor Cole buried a shorthanded goal assisted by Samuel Stano and Marco Peloso to extend the lead to 2-0.
“You know, it’s our first game since Sunday, which was, you know, a big win,” said Dickey “I felt like that was our most complete game on both sides of the ice in a long, long time. We took a lot of pride playing defensively, and it helped when your goaltender played a really good game.”
Despite tensions rising in the third period with a flurry of penalties, the Golden Knights stayed composed, securing the shutout victory.
James Cole got the first start of the night after his amazing play.
“When they had their good chances, Cole had some amazing saves,” said Dickey. “We’re happy we have a guy like that that we can trust.”
