Ottawa, ON – The Ottawa Jr. Senators faced off against the Hawkesbury Hawks in the Bogart Cup Finals for Game 3 Sunday night, which saw James Taylor scoring his first career CCHL playoff goal and the game-winner. Ottawa leads the Bogart Cup Finals 3-0.
Hawkesbury was off to a terrific start in the first period. They know that it is a must-win for them. Antoine Dorion scored off a turnover from Alexander Park early and then Josh Spratt got the second goal for Hawkesbury on a 2-on-1.
Hawkesbury netminder Matthew Tovell took an interference penalty which turned the tides for the Jr. Sens. The first power-play unit of Jacques, Recine, Isabelle, Velocci, and Nobes had a really great first power play, which led to a rebound goal for Vincent Velocci. Ottawa would cut the lead to one heading into the second period.
During the second period, the Hawks took lots of control in the offensive zone, but their power play wasn’t able to execute on two attempts to start the period. Before the second ended, Julian Recine made a toe drag move on the right faceoff circle and was able to create a rebound for Simon Isabelle.
Ottawa and Hawkesbury were tied at two heading into a very important third period in this series. Tomislav Brennan gave a stretch pass off the right boards for Braxton Ross, who cut around the defense of Hawkesbury and was able to score on the backhand, by going top shelf. Ottawa wasn’t done yet, James Taylor was able to score on a wrap-around that saw Ottawa take a 4-2 lead. It was Taylor’s first CCHL playoff goal.
William Desmarais, who’s been terrific in a game, allowed a goal from Josh Spratt on a sharp angle coming off the faceoff. Ottawa did take a penalty in the final minute and the penalty kill didn’t allow Hawkesbury to generate any scoring chances.
Ottawa outshot Hawkesbury 34-31 as the Jr. Senators outplayed the Hawks during the third period. Hawkesbury went 0-for-5 on the power play while Ottawa went 1-for-2. Will Desmarais goes to 10-1 in the playoffs after making 28 saves while Matthew Tovell had 30 saves.
Game four happens in Hawkesbury Tuesday night at 7:30pm from the Robert Hartley Sports Complex. Ottawa will look for their sixth Bogart Cup in franchise history and will try to win their third consecutive Bogart Cup. You can catch the action live on the Jr. Senators Broadcast Network at mixlr.com/ojsradio.
