It was a tough week for the Ottawa Jr Senators, who picked up a pair of losses last week in games against the Renfrew Wolves and Rockland Nationals. Though the team remains in the second place overall, the organization is 2-4 since the end of its prolific 11-game winning streak between October and November.
The team started the week with a Friday night matchup in Renfrew. Caleb Mead’s seventh goal of the season came just under nine minutes into the game in what seemed to be a promising start. However, Renfrew scored three unanswered goals before the end of the opening 20 minutes, leaving Ottawa at a 3-1 deficit going into the second.
Deklyn Campbell’s goal early in the second period fueled Ottawa’s bid for a comeback. Though they outshot the Wolves 19-15 throughout the second and third period, the team ultimately could beat Renfrew goaltender Herman Reese, who shut the door, securing the win for the home team.
On the positive side, the game marked Ottawa captain Xavier Guillemette’s return to the lineup. It was the overage forward’s first game in the lineup since Oct. 19 due to a nagging injury.
The second matchup of the week featured a clash between the top two teams in the CCHL. With a 1-1 score in the season series between Ottawa and Rockland going into the evening, it promised to be an exciting contest between two strong teams.
From the drop of the puck, the Nationals controlled the pace of play, quickly racking up a trio of goals credited to captain Mathys Laurent, who ended the night with a goal and two assists, Anthony Sergeyev and Théo Landry. Just like in the game against Renfrew, the Jr Senators would end the first period down 3-1 after Ben Kozyra scored his fifth goal of the season before the end of the period.
The scoring slowed in the second frame with just one goal scored between the two sides. Rockland managed to extend its lead to 4-1 thanks to Josh Penney scoring his 11th goal of the year. By the midway point of the third period, the score was 5-1 in favour of Rockland after Guillaume Labre scored his second goal of the season.
Ottawa managed to push back towards the end of the game, scoring a pair of goals to put the final score at 5-3. Team-leading scorer Clément Valette scored the first of the two goals while Caleb Mead was credited with the second, giving the 2008-born forward goals in back-to-back games.
The Jr Senators will look to bounce back this week on the road. They face the Cornwall Colts on the road on Thursday night before tangoing wth the Brockville Braves on Friday. You can watch both games on Flohockey.tv, and you can tune in to Ojsradio.mixlr.com for a radio broadcast of the game on Friday.
