Ottawa, Ontario – The Ottawa Jr. Senators defeated Hawkesbury 4-0 in game four of the CCHL Finals to sweep the Hawks, and win their third consecutive Bogart Cup.
The Jr. Senators were stuck inside their defensive zone to start the game, but were able to play very good defense until Julian Recine forced a turnover inside the Hawks zone and set up Simon Isabelle for the game’s first goal.
The next big moment of this game happened when William Desmarais had to make a huge stop on Willyam Gendron, who was all alone from the right face off circle. Sam Edwards would then score on a one-timer from the top of the left faceoff circle to give Ottawa a two goal lead.
Before the first period ended, Ottawa left Nicholas Tan all alone in the slot, but Desmarais made a huge pad save to keep it a two goal lead.
There wasn’t any scoring throughout the second period, but Desmarais once again made a huge save, this time on Jeremy Tremblay on a partial breakaway. Ottawa had three power play opportunities during the second period, which included a 5-on-3 power play but were not able to capitalize.
In the third period, Ottawa was able to defend their own zone very well, and got two empty net goals from Massimo Gentile and Simon Isabelle. That sealed the win for the visiting team.
Ottawa became Bogart Cup Champions for the third straight season and won their sixth championship in franchise history. William Desmarais made 35 saves and was named CCHL Playoffs MVP. The Sherbrooke, Quebec native was 11-1 during the playoffs, with 1.55 GAA and a 943 SV%.
Julian Racine led his team in points throughout the playoffs with seven goals, and 12 assists for 19 points. Simon Isabelle collected 10 goals and 17 points. Bodie Nobes and Philippe Jacques each had 14 points.
For Ottawa’s Kyle Makaric, who’s in first year as head coach of the Jr. Senators, it was not only nice to get the win, but even better to get the sweep, as the team will now have a week off before leaving for Estevan, Saskatchewan to compete in the Centennial Cup.
“We sure didn’t expect to sweep Hawkesbury, but we’ll take it. Our captain (Thomas Freel) has a serious injury and that should give him time to come back in full force. We also have other players with minor bumps, but we should be pretty healthy for our first game in Estevan.”
For first year general manager Jamie Mayo, there was two main reasons for the sweep: the play of William Desmarais and his team’s ability to score the big goal. In the last two CCHL playoffs, the Jr. Senators have now gone an unreal 24-3.
“William was definitely deserving of the playoff MVP award. Every night, his play motivates the players. They know thay with him in nets, we can beat anyone. As for the group of players themselves, they keep surprising us. Every time we think we might be in trouble, someone steps up and scores a big goal for us. There’s no quit on this team”.
Team president Martin Dagenais, who was Ottawa’s head coach and GM for the last seven years, was in attendance for all four of Ottawa’s wins against the Hawks. Although he is no longer behind the bench, winning the CCHL playoffs was just as satisfying for him.
“It’s different for sure. When I sit in the stands, I’m pretty calm. I try to show no emotion but sometimes I do get nervous. For this team to go 12-1 in the playoffs, that’s incredible. We are no longer the underdogs that everyone loves to cheer for anymore. We have taken Carleton Place’s place as the league villains, and we kind of like that. It’s just extra motivations for our coaches and players.
The Ottawa Jr. Senators will go to the Centennial Cup for the fourth time in franchise history. Ottawa will play the Manitoba Junior Hockey League champions Dauphin Kings on Friday May 20th at 12:00 MDT / 2:00 EST in the first game of the Centennial Cup Tournament. You can catch all the Centennial cup round robin games on the Jr. Senators Broadcast network at mixlr.com/ojsradio.
