The Ottawa 67’s kicked off the 2026 OHL playoffs Friday night with a thrilling 7-4 win over the Kingston Frontenacs at TD Place.
The series marks the first time the division rivals have met in the postseason in 45 years. During the regular season, Ottawa was 6-2 against Kingston.
After missing the playoffs last year, the 67’s entered the first round seeded third in the Eastern Conference, hot off a 6-1 win over the Frontenacs in their last game of the regular season.
Tensions were high from the start — Ottawa forward Zach Houben and Kingston defenseman André Mondoux dropped their gloves just four minutes into the game, each earning five minutes in the penalty box.
67’s head coach Dave Cameron said he wasn’t surprised at the physicality on both sides after the game.
“I thought that was the way the game was gonna go — it’s a playoff game. I thought our guys had some nerves,” he said.
“You can’t practice pressure. You really have to experience it.”
But nerves didn’t stop his team, as forward Filip Ekberg scored two minutes into four-on-four gameplay to grab the first lead of the night.
“I haven’t really been in a playoff game before so everything was just special and then to get that goal so quick, it felt amazing,” Ekberg said.
Later in the frame, Ottawa defender Kaleb Dietsch earned a game misconduct and was ejected, while Kingston forward Nolan Snyder was sent to the box with a boarding penalty. By the final whistle, the teams logged a combined 37 penalty minutes.
The 67’s took advantage of another four-on-four opportunity with forward Spencer Bowes scoring five-hole on Frontenacs goalie Gavin Betts to extend the lead to two.
“It was a great game. We had a lot of offense going,” Bowes said.
Ottawa couldn’t keep Kingston off the board, though. Snyder got the puck past rookie goalie Ryder Fetterolf, cutting the 67’s lead in half.
In the regular season, Fetterolf posted a 2.07 goals-against average and 0.923 save percentage, leading the league in both categories.
Fetterolf and teammate Jaeden Nelson were awarded this year’s Dave Pinkney Trophy as the goaltending tandem that allowed the fewest goals against.
“I’m lucky this year — I’ve got a team of a lot of guys that rise to the occasion,” Cameron said. “There’s nobody on the team this year that was a passenger and didn’t contribute to our successes.”
The teams traded goals throughout the next period: Ekberg recorded his second just over a minute in, followed by one from Frontenacs forward Tomas Pobezal and another by Ottawa forward Nic Sima to make it 4-2.
But like their earlier two-goal leads, the 67’s didn’t hold on for long. Kingston defender Will Bishop scored after the halfway point and 11 seconds later, forward Riley Clark found the back of the net, tying the game at 4-4.
“We came into the game knowing it was gonna be a hard game. It’s a bit of a rivalry,” Bowes said.
Ekberg had a chance to regain the lead, but Kingston defender Lukas Moore denied him the hat-trick by taking him down on a breakaway. Moore headed off the ice with a double-minor penalty for roughing and holding.
With 30 seconds left in the frame, Ottawa defender David Bedkowski scored to give his team a 5-4 lead heading into the third period.
Ekberg led the game with two goals, as defender Kohyn Eshkawkogan racked up four assists.
While the 67’s capitalized on two of their three power play opportunities, Cameron said there is still room for improvement.
“I don’t care how good your power play is,” he said. “It’s going to ebb and flow a little bit.”
“We can fix some things. I didn’t think we played our perfect game, but to come out with a win is everything that matters. It was fun,” Ekberg added.
Ottawa dominated the third period, keeping possession of the puck in their opponent’s end. Both teams were quiet until around the 13-minute mark, when 67’s forward Cooper Foster ripped a one-time shot into the Frontenacs’ net to take a 6-4 lead.
During the final four minutes of the game, Kingston had a 5-on-3 chance to make a comeback, but Ottawa defender Connor Bewick shut them down by scoring a short-handed empty net goal, upping the lead to 7-4.
Bowes said the high-scoring win came from a collective effort from players and fans.
“We had a pretty good record here this year. Great fans … I like to call it ‘stadium pulse,’ like when you score a goal and it hits. It definitely helps out quite a lot,” he said.
“You generate emotion [from] scoring, big fights and big hits,” Cameron added.
Bowes said heading into Game 2 of the series, the team needs to work on discipline.
“I think they’re gonna want to push because we took Game 1. They’re not gonna want to go back to home down two,” Bowes said.
The 67’s will look to continue their momentum against the Frontenacs this Sunday before hitting the road for a pair of away games. Puckdrop is 3 p.m. at TD Place.
“It won’t be easier, but I think you just got to keep playing and trusting each other.”
Featured image by Tim Austen
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