BY OJHL.ca
May 18, 2025
Photo: Courtesy of Hockey Canada
The Trenton Golden Hawks were eliminated from the Centennial Cup national Jr. A championship in Calgary Saturday night.
The Ontario Junior Hockey League champions lost 4-3 to Saskatchewan’s Melfort Mustangs in their semifinal game at the 10-team event.
Zac Somers (Melfort, SK) scored the game-winner with 6:54 left, sending Melfort to the championship game.
Cooper Matthews (Belleville, ON), Devin Mauro (Sault Ste. Marie, ON) and Corbin Roach (Belleville, ON) replied for Trenton.
“It stings, it hurts,” said Golden Hawks head coach/general manager Derek Smith. “We’ve come so far this year and I’m super proud of this group; from the players and staff to ownership and our fans.
“It’s tough to put into words right now, but as far as the game, we played a really resilient Melfort team that’s had a lot of success this year and they’re really well coached.
“It was a chess match today – there wasn’t a lot of five-on-five opportunities and special teams were huge. When it’s that tight, one offensive execution play can change the game and with eight minutes left, next goal wins. Give [Melfort] credit, they played well.”
Melfort will play the host Calgary Canucks in the final. Calgary defeated the Rockland Nationals of the Central Canada Hockey League 3-2 in overtime in the other semifinal earlier in the day.
The OJHL’s Collingwood Blues beat Melfort in the championship game of the 2024 Centennial Cup in Oakville.
Tonight’s championship game will be available to TSN+ subscribers and RDS.ca in Canada through TSN and RDS.
The tournament included 10 teams: the host Canucks and representatives from the Alberta Junior Hockey League, Ligue de hockey junior AAA du Québec, Ontario Junior Hockey League, Superior International Junior Hockey League, Central Canada Hockey League, Manitoba Junior Hockey League, Maritime Hockey League, Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League and Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
Photo courtesy Hockey Canada