Ottawa, Ontario – The Ottawa Jr. Senators dropped game two of their best of seven Quarterfinal against the Kanata Lasers 4-1 on Wednesday night at the Jim Durrell Sports Complex.
The loss is just the first game two loss against a first round opponent for Ottawa since the 2014-15 season. They are now 7-5 in game two’s overall.
Ottawa tied it early in the third period. Kyle Jackson scored his first career playoff goal, splitting the defense, and beating Lasers goaltender Gabriel Carriere on his backhand.
Connor Sleeth then scored two unanswered goals for Kanata, coming just over four minutes after Ottawa’s tying goal. Both of Sleeth’s goals were rockets from the top of the circle that beat Francis Boisvert high.
Prior to the two Sleeth goals, Ottawa defenseman Adrien Bisson received a two minute penalty and a game misconduct after checking Austin Holmes from behind. Ottawa had the power-play so they went to 4-on-4 and Sleeth made no mistake after he was given a lot of time and space, making it 2-1.
“The guys played the 4-on-4 like a penalty kill,” said Ottawa Jr. Senators Assistant Coach Chris Kushneriuk. “We gave them the time and space and Sleeth put a good shot on net because we had loose coverage. It should have been man-on-man right away.”
Chris Kushneriuk also said what hurt them was going 0-for-6 on the power-play.
“It’s not a concern when you’re generating scoring chances, but I felt that we were losing a lot of battles and we were trying to take guys one-on-one and we lost a lot of momentum on the power-play so that was an issue. As a coaching staff we didn’t make an adjustment.
Kushneriuk later added that Kanata’s top guys were better than their top guys.
“We had glimpses of great play from our top guys and other times they weren’t there. I thought their top guys moved the puck better and capitalized on their scoring chances.”
Former Jr. Senator’ Gabriel Carriere made 42-saves in Kanata’s first playoff win since 2011. Sleeth finished the game with three-points (2G/1A), Trevor Poeze added two assists and Connor Lockhart scored his first career CCHL goal with the empty netter.
The loss snaps Ottawa’s nine game winning-streak. It’s also the first time they’re tied 1-1 in a series since the 2016-17 Bogart Cup Final, when Ottawa was taking on Carleton Place.
Game three is tonight (Thursday March 21st) at the Kanata Recreational Center, with puck drop set for 7:30. You can catch the broadcast on both CKDJ 107.9 – FM and online at mixlr.com/ojsradio.
