By Kevin Gould, Cornwall Standard-Freeholder
There’s some local flavour in that CCHL title for the Ottawa Junior Senators.
The Sens won the CCHL title on Saturday, beating the Carleton Place Canadians 5-4 and winning the final series 4-1.
Defenceman Adrien Bisson is from Cornwall, and forward Nick Lalonde played with the Cornwall Colts and has family ties to the Seaway City.
Lalonde led the CCHL in playoff scoring, with five goals and 18 assists in 18 games.
It was quite the playoff ride for Cornwall’s Bissonm, 19.
Speaking with Ottawa coach Martin Dagenais the other day, the Junior Sens bench boss raved about the play of Bisson.
“He’s been unbelievable,” said Dagenais of Bisson. “I think after this series, some D1 teams (US College) will come knocking at the door.”
The knock against Bisson, if there has been one?
“More consistency is what he needs, to play D1,” said Dagenais. “They see what we see, a lack of consistency.”
Wasn’t a problem in the postseason, where Bisson was rock solid, especially in the series against Carleton Place.
“He has been very consistent for us, he’s been very good. It’s so easy to get motivated to play CP,” said Dagenais, who expects big things from Bisson next season.
“He’s a steady D-man. Not flashy, not overly big but he is tall, and he hits. He looks like a skinny kid, but he hits hard.
“Next year will be a huge year for him. He’ll play big minutes for us.”
Bisson scored three goals and 21 assists for the Sens in the regular season, and added two goals and three assists in 16 playoff games.
We never root from the press box of course, but it’s hard not to feel happy for Dagenais. He is one of the good guys in the CCHL.
The crafty coach/GM made a lot of moves during the season, all geared to challenging Carleton Place for top spot in this season where Ottawa is hosting the Fred Page Cup. Still, with all the moves, the team almost always lost when it came time to play CP in the regular season.
Going up 3-0 in the final against CP? Well, no one saw that coming and as Dagenais said the other day, it could have just as easily been 3-0 for the Canadians. The teams are that close.
Have felt for a few years that the Junior Sens are good. Very good. Just happen to be in the same league as an exceptional team, the boys in blue and yella from Carleton Place. Wrong place at the wrong time. Until now.
The CCHL final didn’t start that well for the Junior Sens, who were overwhelmed to start the series.
“Other than the first period of Game 1, it’s been extremely close,” said Dagenais.
“That small rink, they’re so physical. It’s a huge difference compared to other rinks in our league.
“Since that start, I think we’ve been right there with them, maybe even better five-on-five.”
The Junior Sens weathered the storm so to speak in that first game and got an incredible effort from goaltender Connor Hicks to steal the win.
The two teams will meet again at the Fred Page Cup. Carleton Place will be at the Fred Page Cup for the fifth consecutive year. Last year, the Canadians lost in the final to the Terrebonne Cobras, after winning the three previous Fred Page titles.
This year’s Royal Bank Cup is being held in Chilliwack, BC, from May 12-21.
At the Fred Page Cup, there will be a Junior Sens alumni vs. NHL alumni game. Names have yet to be announced for the NHL team, but the Sens’ roster is on their website. Our favourite of course is Bob Gould. No, not the longtime NHLer, and no, not my Great Uncle Bobby, but rather the longtime CCHLer, who played with Ottawa and Pembroke from 1988-93.
Road trip for a couple of high school teams — long ones too. The Holy Trinity Falcons women’s rugby team is in Ireland for some friendlies, while the St. Joseph’s Panthers are in Washington for an elite level tourney.
Kudos to Dan Fontaine of St. Lawrence Secondary, for spearheading the recent Indoor World Cup tournaments at the Benson Centre fieldhouse, featuring local high school soccer teams.
Not sure four high school teams fighting for supremacy in an exhibition tournament qualifies as a “World Cup” but we certainly like the enthusiasm.
It’s something that could catch on. With the high school season being what it is (what it has been the past few years because of soggy field conditions is a regular season crammed into a couple of weeks, or even days), it makes sense to head indoors for the beautiful game.
Here’s hoping the tournament expands, includes more schools (how about every one), with maybe a senior and junior division.
And hey, city officials, give them a break on renting the field house, which sits dormant at those times anyway
