Jason LaRose
Third time’s a charm.
After coming agonizingly close in each of the last two season, the Trenton Golden Hawks are finally Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) champions, bound for the 2025 Centennial Cup, presented by Tim Hortons.
Two years ago, the Golden Hawks reached the Buckland Cup Final, only to fall short against the Collingwood Blues in five games.
Last year they got one game closer, dropping a six-game final to the Blues, who went on to win Canada’s National Junior A Championship.
This year, Trenton made sure there would be no “almost.” But it wasn’t without its share of drama.
After dropping just one game in each of their first three series – wins over Pickering, Stouffville and Haliburton County – the Golden Hawks opened up a 3-1 lead over the Milton Menace in the OJHL final.
Milton spoiled the party with a Game 5 win in Trenton and took a 2-0 lead into the final three minutes of Game 6 before Kyloe Ellis and Cooper Matthews scored 67 seconds apart, and Taeo Artichuk netted the championship winner at 11:59 of overtime to give the Golden Hawks their elusive OJHL title.
Trenton finished the regular season with the best points percentage in the entire Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL), going 47-6-3, and had a goal differential of +129 (265 for, 136 against), scoring the second-most goals in the CJHL.
David Fournier (42-50—92) and Artichuk (33-56—89) were the stars up front, finishing two-three in the OJHL scoring race, while Ryan Sanborn was lights out between the pipes; he went 20-1-1 in the regular season with a 1.76 goals-against average and six shutouts, and played every second of the playoff run, fashioning a 1.97 GAA and .935 save percentage in 21 games.
Trenton is back at the national championship for the first time since it made back-to-back trips in 2016 and 2017, reaching the semifinals in its first appearance.
HOW THEY GOT TO CALGARY
Ontario Junior Hockey League Preliminary Round: defeated Pickering Panthers 4-1 (3-1, 1-4, 4-2, 3-1, 4-1) Quarterfinal: defeated Stouffville Spirit 4-1 (3-1, 6-4, 1-2, 5-4 2OT, 5-0) Semifinal: defeated Haliburton County Huskies 4-1 (5-4 OT, 2-1, 3-4 2OT, 4-2, 4-2) Final: defeated Milton Menace 4-2 (3-0, 3-2, 0-4, 7-2, 2-4, 3-2 OT)
REGULAR SEASON
Record (W-L-OTL): 47-6-3 (1st in OJHL) Goals for: 265 (1st in OJHL) Goals against: 136 (4th in OJHL) Power play: 56 for 226 (24.8% – 4th in OJHL) Penalty killing: 185 of 221 (83.7% – 5th in OJHL) Longest winning streak: 15 (Oct. 25-Dec. 7)
Top 3 scorers: • David Fournier – 42G 50A 92P (2nd in OJHL) • Taeo Artichuk – 33G 56A 89P (3rd in OJHL) • Devin Mauro – 25G 35A 60P (27th in OJHL)
PLAYOFFS
Record: 16-5 Goals for: 71 Goals against: 47 Power play: 11 for 89 (12.4%) Penalty killing: 69 of 78 (88.5%)
Top 3 scorers: • Corbin Roach – 7G 19A 26P • Taeo Artichuk – 11G 10A 21P • Cooper Matthews – 12G 6A 18P
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
2016 – Trenton Golden Hawks | 3rd place | 3-2 | 15GF 14GA 2017 – Trenton Golden Hawks | 5th place | 0-4 | 4GF 18GA
COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY COMMITMENTS
Candon O’Neill – Lake Superior State University (2026-27) Ryan Sanborn – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (2025-26) Matthew Souliere – Princeton University (2026-27)
CJHL TOP 20 RANKINGS
Sept. 30 – 11th Oct. 7 – 5th Oct. 14 – 5th Oct. 21 – 11th Oct. 28 – 13th Nov. 4 – 8th Nov. 11 – 7th Nov. 18 – 5th Nov. 25 – 2nd Dec. 2 – 1st Dec. 9 – 1st Dec. 16 – 1st Dec. 23 – 4th Jan. 6 – 4th Jan. 13 – 4th Jan. 20 – 4th Jan. 27 – 1st Feb. 3 – 1st Feb. 10 – 1st Feb. 17 – 2nd Feb. 24 – 1st March 3 – 2nd March 10 – 2nd