By Matt Wilson
Ottawa, ON – The Ottawa Jr. Senators and the Brockville Braves are set to begin the 2020 CCHL Bogart Cup Playoffs on Wednesday night from the Brockville Memorial Centre, making this a rematch from last years second round series which resulted in an OJS four game sweep of the Braves.
The Braves won the season series between the two teams three games to two but Ottawa won the most recent match up and only game between the two teams in the second half 4-3 in a marathon fifteen round shootout which saw Max Bush become the hero in a massive win for the Jr. Senators.
TOP PERFORMERS FOR BROCKVILLE
- Justin McRae RW – GP 62, G 26, A 32, PTS 58
- Simon Kerr D – GP 61, G 17, A 36, PTS 53
- Josh Spratt C – GP 56, G 17, A 31, PTS 48
- Austin Paul F – GP 62, G 21, A 25, PTS 46
- Parker Casey C – GP 52, G 16, A 26, PTS 42
The Brockville Braves finished the season with a record of 36-16-3-7 and the season was headlined by a CCHL season high fifteen game winning streak between October 18th and December 1st which included all three regular season wins against the Jr. Senators. The Braves are led behind the bench by former NHLer Randy Jones along with legendary assistant coach Walter Dubas and Devin Payne and are led between the pipes by Colorado College NCAA Division 1 commit Jake Begley.
GOALTENDING NUMBERS FOR BROCKVILLE
- Jake Begley G – GP 43, W 25, L 12, OTL 2, SV% .917, GAA 2.53
Jake Begley has been a stalwart between the pipes for the Brockville Braves this season. The St. Paul MN native started 43 of the Braves 62 regular season games and ranks third in the CCHL among qualified goaltenders in save percentage and goals against.
TOP PERFORMERS FOR OTTAWA
- Ethan Mulhearn C – GP 62, G 21, A 29, PTS 50
- Julien Recine F – GP 60, G 20, A 30, PTS 50
- David Berube F – GP 60, G 20, A 26, PTS 46
- Thomas Freel LW – GP 61, G 26, A 19, PTS 45
- Owen Cole C – GP 32, G 9, A 22, PTS 31
The Ottawa Jr. Senators had an up and down season which was riddled with injuries throughout. Ottawa finished the season with a record of 34-25-3 but finished the regular season on a high note winning seven of their last ten heading into the playoffs. The Jr. Senators are led behind the bench once again by Martin Dagenais who is looking to win his third straight Bogart Cup championship along with legendary assistant coach Jamie Mayo and newcomer this season Ben Reinhardt. Ottawa is led between the pipes by early season acquisition Bryan Landsberger.
GOALTENDING NUMBERS FOR OTTAWA
- Bryan Landsberger G – GP 35, W 18, L 15 OTL 1, SV% .917, GAA 2.36
- Felix Schnell G – GP 21, W 10, L 5, OTL 2, SV% .892, GAA 2.77
Jr. Senators captain Owen Cole knows it will take a lot to take down a team like the Brockville Braves.
“Really it just comes down to the details that are so important in the playoffs” said Cole. “It’s a combination of all the little things that we have to do right as a team and everyone being on the same page and buying in. We have a very good team and we have been very good as of late, so we need to continue playing the way we have been”
Cole knows just how important it is to come out flying for game one on Wednesday night in Brockville.
“We need to go into Brockville on Wednesday and play OJS hockey right off the bat and dictate the pace of the game.”
SERIES SCHEDULE
- OJS @ Brockville Wednesday March 11th 8:00 pm
- Brockville @ OJS Friday March 13th 7:30 pm
- OJS @ Brockville Sunday March 15th 3:00 pm
- Brockville @ OJS Wednesday March 18th 7:30 pm
- OJS @ Brockville Friday March 20th 7:30 pm **If Necessary
- Brockville @ OJS Sunday March 22nd 7:30 pm **If Necessary
- OJS @ Brockville Tuesday March 24th TBD **If Necessary
Ottawa and Brockville will open the first round series on Wednesday night from the Brockville Memorial Centre with puck drop scheduled for 8:00 pm. All OJS playoff games will be broadcast LIVE on the FM radio dial on CKDJ 107.9 as well as mixlr.com/ojsradio and on Hockey TV. Mason Detre, Josh Primeau and Matt Wilson will provide commentary and analysis on every game.
