Estevan, SK – The Ottawa Jr. Senators season comes to an end after losing in overtime against the MHL champions Summerside Western Capitals. The Jr. Sens had to win in regulation to move on, but it was not meant to be.
The Capitals would open the scoring midway through the first period after Colby MacArthur’s pass went off a skate, right to Aaron Brown who shot it in the net. It was the first time in the tournament that Ottawa allowed the first goal of the game.
The Jr. Sens bounced back when Bodie Nobes took a wrist shot from the right point, which was tipped in by Thomas Freel. The captain was back in the lineup for the first time since Game 1 of the Bogart Cup Finals against Hawkesbury.
When the second period started, OJS goaltender William Desmarais made a breakaway save just 10 seconds in, which kept the game tied. He made two more big saves in the first half of the second before Braxton Ross forced a turnover in the neutral zone and scored on a breakaway. Ottawa had their first lead of the game.
The Capitals would control the play during the first 10 minutes of the third. It would result in a couple of penalties from Sam Edwards and Philippe Jacques. William Irvine tied the game up on the man advantage. The shots to start the third were 9-1 in favor of Summerside, but Ottawa didn’t quit.
Massimo Gentile would continue his strong play by scoring his third of the tournament, after a mad scramble in front of the Summerside net. OJS was now up 3-2, and in a good position to win the game in regulation. Unfortunately, forward Brendan McCarthy took advantage of a bad Ottawa change and got one final shot on Desmarais which tied the game and essentially ended Ottawa playoffs’ hope.
MacArthur would then score on a breakaway in overtime to get his team the two points. Ottawa had to settle for one point and finished the Centennial Cup tournament with a 1-1-2-0 record, good for only five points. They finished in 4th place in group B.
“It’s a disappointing end to a very successful season, but we just weren’t good enough this week, said team president Martin Dagenais, when we caught up with him after the game. The fact that we didn’t really face adversity in the CCHL playoffs could be the reason for it, but it seemed that we were never able to play with a sense of urgency, and that can’t happen in a tournament like this.”
Graduating players this year are Thomas Freel, Simon Isabelle, Sam Edwards, Jake Code, Max Bush, David Mabey, and William Desmarais. Phillippe Jacques is also moving on as he is expected to play for RIT next season at the NCAA Division 1 level.
