BY OJHL.ca
March 6, 2026
By OJHL Ron Valentine
Photo: LINDSAY, ON: George Cote #30 of the Lindsay Muskies gets a snow shower as Jack Ziliotto #13 of the Trenton Golden Hawks drives to the net at the Lindsay Recreation Complex on November 14, 2025. The Muskies travel to Trenton to open the OJHL playoffs on Friday. (Photo by Tim Bates / OJHL Images)
All roads in the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s 2026 East Conference playoffs lead to Hwy. 401 and Trenton starting Friday.
The hometown Golden Hawks are the defending conference and league champions.
They won another regular season title in the conference while finishing second overall in the 24-team league this season.
The Golden Hawks host the feisty Lindsay Muskies in one of four opening-round, best-of-seven series beginning Friday night in Trenton.
TRENTON GOLDEN HAWKS (1) vs LINDSAY MUSKIES (8)
The Golden Hawks won all four meetings in the regular season 7-3 and 6-1 in Trenton and 3-1 and 4-2 in Lindsay. They were led by Taeo Artichuk who reached the 108 point mark including 37 goals. Jack Ziliotto ended the regular season with 40 goals, 10 of which were game winners and 90 points followed by Jamie Darlison on 28 goals (8 game winners) and 66 points. In net Hayden Jeffery had a goals against average of 2.56 and Colten Drillen-Roach, obtained from the Collingwood Blues had a perfect 9 wins 0 loss record and a GAA of 1.45. The team went on an 11-game winning streak from Jan. 20 to Feb. 15 and ended with 45 wins and 92 points. Their powerplay had a 19.7% success rate while on the penalty kill they ended at 81.4%. The ‘Hawks won their final 12 road games and scored 22 times while shorthanded, the League high and had the fewest penalty minutes in the East with 701. The team scored 288 goals for a goal differential of +141.
The Muskies qualified for the playoffs for the first time since the 2012-13 season and were the only one of the 16 clubs to reach the playoffs with a sub .500 record. The club was led in points by super-rookie Kaden Koutroulides who finished with 24 goals and had a total of 54 points. Ajay Rai led the team in goals scored with 31 and he had 53 points while Ethan Kindree had 21 goals and 39 points in 39 games. Nole Faulkner was the league’s most penalized player with 142 penalty minutes and the team took a Conference-high of 1145 minutes. Lindsay were 17% on the PP and 80 % on the PK. Captain Joaquin Gonzalez is the club’s only 2005-born player.
STOUFFVILLE SPIRIT (2) vs ST. MICHAEL’S BUZZERS (7)
Each team won two games in the regular season in head-to-head play with Stouffville winning 7-2 and losing 4-2 at home and the Buzzers being shutout 5-0 and winning 6-2 in their home rink. Rookie Hudson Armstrong led the Spirit with 39 goals and 78 points, Zackary Corte ended with 37 goals and 64 points from just 47 games and Jacob Martineau accounted for 63 points. Griffen Boyle reached the 50-point mark and Logan Sitlani had 34 points from the blueline. In net Hayden Sabourin posted a 2.45 GAA along with five shutouts as well as registering the most minutes played across the OJHL with 2,341. The Spirit had a strong PP record of 25.1% and on the PK they posted a Conference best of 87.7%.
The Buzzers logged 57 points over the 56-game schedule and they were led by Aiden O’Toole, who just committed to the Laurier University Golden Hawks did not miss a game, with 28 goals and 79 points. Caiden Clair scored 24 goals, Julian Mandarino, who ended up playing 57 games after moving from Markham, had 22 and Max Mahoney 20. Their PP record came in at 19.2% while on the PK they were 81.1%. The team struggled at home winning 10 games but on the road they had 15 victories.
PICKERING PANTHERS (3) vs WELLINGTON DUKES (6)
Another set of close regular season games with the first one going to the Panthers with a 6-5 2OT road win on a goal by captain Charlie Key with Pickering coming back in the second meeting with a 4-1 victory. Game 3 in Pantherland ended in a 4-4 tie and the final meeting saw the Dukes shutout the visitors with Dryden Riley shutting the door in the 3-0 final.
The Panthers captain Charlie Key was the top pointgetter with 63 from only 41 games followed by Matt Indovina with 56 overall (14 with Trenton) and Jake Mallory on 52 points, 13 with King. Peter Smith contributed 44 points in 41 points. The club hit 21.9% on the PP and 80.7% on the PK.
The Dukes were led by Zachary Carrier with 34 goals and 66 points. A second Zachary- Mascard followed with 52, captain Sacha Trudel chipped in with 52 points and 101 penalty minutes. Liam Campbell reached the 25-point mark while Cole Ellis had 34 points from the blueline. The club finished second best in the Conference on the PP with 27.0% while on the PK they posted a 76.4% figure.
NEWMARKET HURRICANES (4) vs HALIBURTON COUNTY HUSKIES (5)
These two clubs finished the regular season only two points apart and in head-to-head battles the Huskies won three of four, 5-4 and 6-1 at home 5-4 on the road with the Hurricanes victorious 4-3 at home. The former Toronto Jr. Canadiens who moved north to Newmarket last summer were led by Nathan Phillips’ 73 points. Simon Wang scored 29 times and had a 60-point season, Chase Yanni had 50 points and Connor Haynes 47. Their PP clicked for 27.8%, the best in the Conference and on the PK they came in at 83%.
The Huskies’ leading scorer was Liam Oravsky, one of several players obtained from the Cobourg Cougars during the season. He tallied 51 points (21 as a Cougar), Ryan Gosse kicked in 47 points and Carson Durnin 45 (15 with Cobourg). Ryan Fairbairn had 42 points from the blueline (26 of those with King). In goal Owen Edwards had 18 wins and a 2.46 GAA after being traded from the Rebellion. Haliburton’s PP was at 25.1% and their PK 81.7%. The Huskies made it to round 3 in last season’s playoffs before going down to the Golden Hawks in 5 games.
The first playoff round begins this weekend and must end by March 19.