By Matt Wilson
Ottawa, ON – The Ottawa Jr. Senators ended the 2019-2020 CCHL Regular Season on both a high and a low note as they split a weekend home and home with the Kanata Lasers, clinching sixth place in the CCHL and a first round series with the Brockville Braves.
Ottawa 5, Kanata 4 (March 7th)
On Saturday night the Ottawa Jr. Senators took to the ice at the Jim Durrell Complex for the final time in the regular season as the Kanata Lasers made their last ever visit to Walkley Road.
In an exciting game which saw OJS jump out to a 3-0 lead early in the second period, the Lasers were able to storm back and get within a goal twice, but in the end the Jr. Senators were able to weather the storm and come away with a 5-4 victory in regulation.
Penalties were one of the main story lines of the night as Ottawa took 8 different minor penalties which resulted in three different power play goals for the Lasers.
Tucker McIntosh, Josh Shimizu, Ethan Mulhearn, Vincent Velocci and Maxime Blanchard were the goal scorers for the Jr. Senators in the game, meanwhile Bryan Landsberger made 38 saves on 42 shots between the pipes.
With a Smiths Falls Bears win on Saturday night, Ottawa needed at least a point during the rematch with Kanata on Sunday afternoon to clinch the sixth seed in the CCHL’s standings.
Kanata 3, Ottawa 2 (March 8th)
On Sunday afternoon the Ottawa Jr. Senators traveled to the Potvin Arena at Richcraft Sensplex to take on the Kanata Lasers for the second straight day, a win for Kanata in regulation clinched the 8th seed and a date with the Carleton Place Canadians in the first round of the playoffs meanwhile for OJS a regulation loss has the Jr. Senators locked in to the sixth seed and a matchup with the Brockville Braves in round one.
Both teams came out firing early in the game and the physicality was at an all time high with the lack of open ice at the Potvin Arena.
Felix Schnell started the game for Ottawa but was pulled after Liam Markhauser scored his second goal of the game early in the second period, Bryan Landsberger entered the game after stopping 38 shots and getting the victory in net against Kanata the night before and played well throughout the afternoon, other then one puck handling mishap which resulted ultimately in the game winning goal for Kanata.
Thomas Freel and Conor Smart scored both of the goals for Ottawa, Freel finishing a nice passing play while both teams were playing four on four and Smart jamming a puck past JP Tourigny on a power play.
The loss in regulation for the Jr. Senators sets up a rematch from last years second round against the Brockville Braves. Brockville won the season series between the two teams three games to two but Ottawa won the most recent match up back on January 22nd with a 4-3 shootout win on home ice. The full series schedule along with a full series preview will be released in the coming days, keep an eye on the teams official social media feeds for more information as it becomes available.
