From grassroots programs to in-arena recognition, the Belleville Senators continue to play an active role in supporting hockey at the local level throughout the Quinte region.
Whether it’s connecting young players in local minor hockey associations with professional role models, sharing the results of our local junior teams during home games, or contributing time and resources to community initiatives, the Senators remain committed to growing the game across the Bay of Quinte, beyond the ice at CAA Arena.
Throughout the season, Senators players, coaches, and staff regularly engage with local hockey organizations, reinforcing the importance of development, inclusivity, and community connection. These efforts help strengthen the pathway from minor hockey to higher levels of the game, while also ensuring young athletes feel seen and supported.
The Senators are also committed to keeping the tradition of junior hockey in the Bay of Quinte strong, adding Senators and “support local hockey” rink boards around the community, that proudly feature the logos of the Wellington Dukes, Trenton Golden Hawks, Frankford Huskies, and Picton Pirates. The Sens will also welcome those teams to CAA Arena for matchups throughout the season.
“As the Bay of Quinte’s professional hockey team, supporting local hockey is a responsibility we take seriously,” said Belleville Senators Vice President of Business Operations John Mathers. “We’re proud to help create opportunities for young players to develop, feel connected to the game and our club, and to see a pathway forward. The strength of our organization is directly tied to the strength of our hockey community, and we’re committed to continuing that support throughout the season and beyond.”
As the season continues, this page will be updated with the latest examples of how the Belleville Senators are giving back to local hockey — celebrating the programs, players, and partnerships that make the sport thrive in our community.
Frankford Huskies – PJHL Schmaltz Cup Semifinal Series Update
The magical playoff ride of the Frankford Huskies made its final stop over the weekend.
Game 2- WHALERS 3 @ HUSKIES 4 (OT)
A little bit of overtime magic was in store on Tuesday night for the Frankford Huskies.
Belleville native Rheydan McCoy sunk the game-winner just 39 seconds into the bonus frame to win Game 2 of the PJHL Schmaltz Cup Semifinals 4-3 over the Fergus Whalers and even the best-of-seven series at a game apiece.
Playing at the home of their OJHL affiliates, the Trenton Golden Hawks, Frankford got the partisan Quinte West crowd fired up first for the second straight game by scoring first late in the opening period through Spencer Stanutz and his 10th of the postseason on a power play from Blake Ellis and Ty McCambridge.
Fergus answered with a pair of goals in the second before the Huskies offence came back to life in the third, with Keegan Juchau burying his team-leading 15th of the playoffs about a minute into the frame.
The Huskies didn’t waver when Fergus wrestled the lead back, pouncing with less than three minutes to play in the third on a goal by affiliated player Ryan Foley to set the stage for McCoy’s heroics.
The winner was McCoy’s third of the postseason.
Stanutz assisted on the tying and winning markers for a three-point night, with McCambridge adding a pair of assists and Juchau, Liam Storms and Riley Grimmon adding single helpers.
Much like he has all playoff run, Liam Boyer was solid with some timely saves, making 25 in total for the victory.
Game 3- HUSKIES 3 @ WHALERS 6
Frankford was riding a high off its Game 2 overtime victory, but going back on the road to a tough building in Fergus proved to be a daunting environment.
The Whalers came out of the first period ahead 2-1, with Everett Force and Ryan Forwell responding to a Deke Osterhout opening tally.
The two squads traded markers in the second, with Game 2 OT hero McCoy notching his fourth of the postseason and Ryan Turney scoring his third, sandwiched between two more Whalers goals, giving the hosts a 4-3 lead heading into the final frame.
Fergus would end up putting it away in the third with two markers to take advantage of the series back to Frankford for Game 4.
Stanutz, McCambridge, Avery Wease and Brock Davy had the assists, and Boyer made 26 stops in the defeat.
Game 4- WHALERS 5 @ HUSKIES 3
Needing a big win to get themselves on even footing, the Huskies fell behind 2-0 less than three minutes into Game 4 on goals from Fergus’ Justin Ewald and Liam Eveleigh.
A Foley power play goal from Juchau and Davy gave the Huskies a chance to get into the last period within striking distance, but Frankford’s budding momentum wound up being dashed with 34 seconds remaining in the frame.
Forwell stuck home his second of the night and largely took the wind out of Frankford’s sails.
Osterhout scored at the 7:46 mark of the third stanza on a power play, but his Huskies couldn’t take advantage of the remaining time and dropped behind 3-1 in the series.
Game 5- HUSKIES 1 @ WHALERS 3
With their backs against the wall and little room to maneuver, the Huskies got the coveted first goal on a power play with five-and-a-half minutes left in the opening frame courtesy of Osterhout.
The Plainfield native’s 11th of the playoffs, assisted by McCoy and Ryan Foley, held up until the midway point of the second when Andrew McClure buried the equalizer on Boyer.
The tie held up until the 7:29 mark of the third, when McClure put Fergus ahead for good in the series.
An empty-netter from Martin sealed the five-game series victory for the Whalers, sending them to the Schmaltz Cup final to meet the winner of the Lakeshore Canadians-Tavistock Braves. Tavistock leads that series 3-1 as of this writing.
In a postseason full of heroic performances, Boyer was brilliant again in his efforts to will Frankford to at least one more game with 37 saves in a game where his team was outshot two-to-one.
On December 8, rookies Landen Hookey and Tomas Hamara took part in the Belleville Bearcats First Shift skate at the Mackay Insurance Arena inside the Quinte Sports & Wellness Centre. They helped beginner-level players learn some basics and played a game of giant-on-ice tag!
On December 12, Jake Chiasson and Wyatt Bongiovanni joined the U9A Belleville Bearcats for a skate at World Elite Training on Bell Boulevard in Belleville, helping run drills and getting to know the players.
On December 17, Jorian Donovan, Jamieson Rees, and Oskar Pettersson stopped by two Quinte West Minor Hockey practices to help out the coaching staff and share their knowledge. They also played a spirited scrimmage, with the three Senators and a young goalie taking on close to 20 players on the other side, at one point.
OJHL Recap – March 30th – Trenton Golden Hawks
#1 TRENTON GOLDEN HAWKS VS #4 NEWMARKET HURRICANES
The Trenton Golden Hawks have prolonged their 2025-26 season and Buckland Cup championship defence at least one more game.
With their backs against the proverbial wall, the Hawks doubled the Newmarket Hurricanes 6-3 in Game 4 of the OJHL East Conference Semifinal Series.
Trailing 3-0 in the series, Trenton got the exact start it was looking for when Joey Brehmer struck 24 seconds into the night for his second of the postseason from his starting linemates Isaiah Shantz and Thomas Kuipers.
Continuing the pesky behaviour they’ve displayed all series, the Hurricanes managed to tie and then go ahead on goals less than a minute apart courtesy of Chase Yanni on a powerplay and Kristian Lamanna.
The Hawks got their fight back in the second stanza, burying a pair via veterans Josh Penney and Andrew Wycisk.
Penney, the Odessa native, buried a powerplay goal at 8:29 from Shantz and Kuipers, before Wycisk’s counted for his first of the playoffs on account of help from Lucas Digiantommaso and Duncan Schneider.
The Hawks jumped further ahead with two more in the final frame courtesy of another powerplay tally, this one from Digiantommaso, and an even strength goal, the first of the postseason from Wyatt Gregory.
The Gregory marker chased the previously stellar Carter Froggett from the net in favour of Alex Armellin for the remainder of the night.
The two teams traded powerplay markers, scored by Lucas Teixiera and Digiantommaso with Trenton holding onto its three-goal advantage.
Colton Drillen-Roach turned in a solid performance with 24 saves as Trenton outshot Newmarket 43-27.
The Hawks followed up the Game 4 victory with a 3-2 triumph in Game 5 on Sunday at the Duncan McDonald Community Gardens over the Newmarket Hurricanes to reduce their series deficit to 3-2.
OJHL Recap – March 16th – Wellington Dukes
#3 PICKERING PANTHERS VS #6 WELLINGTON DUKES
DUKES CAN’T SOLVE STINGY ‘CATS
Game 3- Dukes 2 @ Panthers 3
In arguably Wellington’s best overall performance of the series to this point, the team went right down to the wire but came up short of an equalizer in a 3-2 Game 3 loss last Tuesday.
Special teams came up big in a penalty-filled affair for the Dukes, who went seven-for-seven on the penalty kill and notched their only two goals of the game on seven power play opportunities.
Will Mitchell and Evan Erwin scored their first goals of the playoffs and Dryden Riley was sensational again with 32 saves and a second assist in as many games.
Game 4- Panthers 2 @ Dukes 0
The Wellington Dukes showed a lot of fight right down to the end, but couldn’t find a hole on Anthony Sciere and the Pickering Panthers.
Despite outshooting Pickering 37-35, the visiting goaltender stole the show with a shutout to eliminate the Dukes from the Buckland Cup Playoffs 2-0 in Game 4 on Friday night.
The other major player for Pickering was a former Duke, Kyle Kavc, who burned his old team in his former stomping grounds with both Panther markers.
The end of the game got wild, with multiple fights and chaos in the final minutes thinning down both benches, but the Panthers ultimately came out the winners.
Riley made 33 saves and gave his team a chance in the series, earning the Dukes Playoff MVP award in the season-closing awards banquet.
The Panthers will now go on to play #2 seeded Stouffville Spirit in the other second round series which begins as early as Friday in Stouffville.
PIRATES CAN’T REPLICATE MAGIC VERSUS CHIEFS
Game 1- Pirates 2 @ Chiefs 5
Perhaps a bit weary and spent after their dramatic comeback against Amherstview just two nights prior, the Picton Pirates were held to 18 shots against the Tod Division winning Lakefield Chiefs in a Game 1 defeat on Saturday night.
Missing the first round series hero Luc Amat, the Pirates got Ben Smith (3rd of the postseason) and Wesley Jackson (2nd) to pick up the slack offensively, but it wasn’t quite enough for a victory.
Nolan Lane turned in another valiant performance with 33 saves.
Game 2- Pirates 2 @ Chiefs 4
Picton turned in a much sharper Game 2 performance, leading 2-1 after 40 minutes but the strength of the Chiefs was evident in the third period.
Lakefield netted three unanswered in the final frame to send the Pirates back home trailing 2-0 in the series.
Isaiah More and Jackson (for a second straight game) found the net past Braeden Derks in the Lakefield crease.
More added an assist, along with Jakob DaCosta and Nate Woods and Lane was in solid form again with 26 saves.
Game 3- Chiefs 6 @ Pirates 3
A rough start put the Pirates behind the eight-ball and in the series in Game 3.
The Chiefs put four into the Picton net before the opening 20 minutes were up, and the home side was left scrapping and clawing for answers all night.
Cole Stevenson registered a two-goal, three-point night and Ben Smith chalked up a goal and a helper.
Lane and Nick Parodo split the net, with the rookie Parodo busy making 36 stops in relief.
Game 4- Chiefs 4 @ Pirates 3
Picton showed excellent bounce-back with its back against the proverbial wall, but again, it was a late Lakefield charge that put an end to the locals’ joyride.
Luc Amat, Stevenson and More scored in the first 26:08 of regulation to help Picton build a 3-1 lead, but the Chiefs weren’t about to let the Pirates off the hook.
Like in Game 2, the Chiefs rattled off three straight tallies, with the winner coming at 5:37 of the third, then locked down the defensive zone, showing their outstanding mettle that made them the Tod Division leaders during the regular season.
Lane made his last junior hockey game a busy one with 45 saves.
