Yesterday, the Ottawa Junior Senators U-18 Combine kicked off with a set of three games that took place in the early afternoon. There was a large amount of young talent that hit the ice with the goal of impressing the Jr Senators staff and picking up some experience in the process.
Each of the six teams played in a single game on day one of the combine. In general the games were close, with strong play displayed across the board.
Team Black vs. Team Red
Game one of the combine featured the black team taking on the red team in what ended up being the highest scoring game of the day. Black jumped out to an early lead, tallying three goals before the end of the second period. However, the red squad managed to push back late in the second period, grabbing a pair of goals to make it close heading into the final frame. Not to be denied, black grabbed another goal to extend the lead to 4-2 before capitalizing on an empty net to make the final score 5-2.
Jr Senators 2025 fourth-round pick Kairui Gardner was a standout in the game, scoring a pair of goals for the black squad. Xavier Wren scored a goal and added an assist to end the day with two points, while Jack Howell also scored a goal in the contest.
Notable standouts for Team Red included Matthew Durocher and Arjun Uppal, who both registered a goal in the game.
Team Blue vs Team Burgundy
The second game of the day was a tight contest between Team Blue and Team Burgundy. The two sides were caught in a deadlock at one goal apiece heading into the final frame. Team Blue thrived in the 3-on-3 portion of the game, scoring four goals to make the final score 5-1 in their favour.
Kairui Gardner scored a hattrick in the game despite playing in back-to-back games. He looked dynamic and skilled throughout the game, consistently making plays in the offensive zone. 2024 fifth-round pick Devin McCarthy also had a great game, scoring a goal and adding an assist to finish the day with a pair of points. Team Blue’s fifth goal of the game was netted by 2025 tenth-round pick Luciano Dinardo.
Nick Colson scored Team Burgundy’s only goal, with 2025 seventh-round pick Noah Meloche picking up an assist on the play. A lot of credit has to go to the goalie tandem of Jack Maceachern and Ryker James who played well for Team Blue.
Team Orange vs. Team Purple
Similar to the second game of the day, Team Purple and Team Orange played a very tight game that was ultimately decided late in the third period. Purple opened the scoring, grabbing a 1-0 lead that would last until late in the second period when Team Orange managed to tie the game on a bad-angle shot. In the third period, the two teams exchanged goals to keep things tied before Team Purple found a late goal to push past Team Purple.
Matthieu Perron and Cooper Dawe scored goals for the Team Orange. The team displayed a very balanced attack throughout the game, with all players chipping in on offensive chances. Noah Meloche, who pulled double duty did pick up an assist in this game.
Jacob Srdoc, Maddan Kelly and Logan Jack scored goals for Team Purple. Srdoc’s game winning goal was scored on a pretty passing play between the aforementioned defender and Zach Ouellet.
Each of the six teams will play two more games tomorrow before the rosters are trimmed down for the all-star game on Sunday. We want to remind everyone that all of the remaining games can be listened to on ojsradio.mixle.com
