Ottawa, ON – A mid-week matchup between arch-rivals ended in victory for the Ottawa Jr. Senators, handing the Carleton Place Canadians an 8-4 defeat.
Alex Park and Robbie Stewart got the scoring started 58 seconds apart in the opening frame. It was their first CCHL goals respectively and just over three minutes in, the Jr. Senators were up by a pair.
It was the first goals from the Jr. Senators blueline since March 7, 2020, in which Tucker McIntosh and Maxime Blanchard found the back of the net.
“That was really great to see from Parksy (Alex Park) and Stewy (Robbie Stewart),” said Jr. Senators Head Coach Kyle Makaric. “It’s a really positive thing for our team. We encourage our defence to be aggressive and feel like they’re a part of the play as a five-man unit. To see the puck go across the line for a couple of those guys is very encouraging.”
Kerfella Toure answered back for the Canadians as he managed to find open space and fire it past Schnell.
Thomas Freel and Julian Recine later notched goals two minutes apart, leading to a Canadians timeout with the score then at 4-1.
On a late powerplay, the timeout paid off, as Toure redirected home his second of the period to cut into the lead after the opening 20.
In the second, Massimo Gentile made no mistake off a turnover to beat the reigning honourable mention for CCHL Player of the Week, Joe Chambers just 16 seconds in.
Bill Gourgon made things interesting midway through the second, steering home a point shot to make it a 5-3 game. As the period drew to a close, a relentless Jr. Senators attack ended with Vincent Velocci threading the needle to Philippe Jacques who found the back of the net.
With the score at 6-3 to begin the third, the Canadians made a change in goal, bringing in Carp native Brady McEwan who had to deal with two 5-minute Jr. Senators powerplays. Thomas Freel scored his second of the night, while Vincent Velocci also scored. Caleb Kean blasted one past Schnell to get one back for the Canadians midway through the frame.
The Jr. Senators found themselves playing keep away as the game drew to a close, only surrendering four shots in the final period.
Thomas Freel and Julian Recine remain red hot to begin the season, recording four points each in the victory. They lead the way on the CCHL scoring leaderboard with eight points through the first three games.
“I think (our offence) comes in waves,” added Makaric. “We have a bunch of guys on different lines and they all drive their own line. I feel comfortable throwing any one of them out there and the same with who is in or out of the lineup. The guys have earned my trust and respect early on with how they compete and play. It’s a testament to the organization we have for finding and drafting these guys. They’re great kids and they fit the mold perfectly
With the win, the Jr. Senators start 3-0 for the first time since the season-opening showcase of the 2017-2018 season.
Felix Schnell made 16 saves for his second win of the season, while Joe Chambers stopped 24 of 30, followed by Brady McEwan’s 16 stops.
The Jr. Senators went 2-for-6 on the man advantage while the Canadians went 1-for-5.
The Ottawa Jr. Senators return to the ice on Sunday at the Navan Memorial Centre to take on the 2-0 Grads with puck drop scheduled for 3:300 PM. Catch all the action with Davide Disipio on the Jr. Senators Broadcast Network at Mixlr.com/OJSradio. The game will also be streamed on Hockey TV.
