Jr. Sens fall short against league leading Colts.
Cornwall defenceman Thomas Lang, right, and Ben Robillard come together after the Ottawa forward ripped a shot on net during the Colts 3-2 win over the Jr. Senators at the Jim Durrell Complex on Sept. 21.
Matthew Jay
After a solid start to the season, the Ottawa Jr. Senators were less than thrilled to walk away on the losing end of a 3-2 loss to the league-leading Cornwall Colts.
The visiting Colts built a three-goal lead by about the seven-minute mark of the third period, but the Jr. Sens stormed back to fall just short on Wednesday, Sept. 21 at the Jim Durrell Complex.
“I felt like we dominated that game to be honest,” said Jr. Sens forward Drew Anderson. “We worked the puck well down low, and they couldn’t handle that.”
Playing without forwards Deric Boudreau and Conor Brown, who were invited to participate in the Team Canada East selection camp, Anderson said the team was able to raise their game against the Colts.
“Those two guys have a big impact on our team, but I think we handled it pretty well without them.”
Defenceman Joe Shecter, who was named the game’s third star, and forward Ben Robillard scored for the Jr. Senators, while Drew Henry, Mark Rath and Youssef Kabbaj scored for the Colts.
Following the game, Jr. Sens head coach Martin Dagenais said his team suffered a few moments of indiscipline that proved to be their undoing.
“I thought we worked hard, but two of the three goals came from mental mistakes,” he said. “We didn’t (miss) a lot, but when we did they made us pay.”
The Colts first goal came after a turnover on an Ottawa power play that led to an odd-man rush, while the second goal scored by Rath was a wide-open shot from just inside the blue line that goaltender Eddie Zdolshek likely should have stopped.
“It was too bad,” Dagenais said. “I thought we showed character coming back from 3-0, but if you’re going to beat a team like Cornwall, you’ve got to play the entire 60 minutes.”
Zdolshek would go on to redeem himself later on in the game, however, making key saves in the third as Ottawa got caught deep in the Cornwall end several times pressing for the winning goal.
Dagenais said the game would serve as a good example of the types of things the Jr. Sens will have to avoid this season, especially against the leagues top teams.
“Obviously you’ve got to be disciplined,” he said. “I thought we were (for the most part), but again, two of the penalties we took in the third (period) were in the offensive zone. ... But you’ve got to be disciplined because they have the best power play in the league.”
The Jr. Senators will look to rebound from the loss when they visit the Kemptville 73’s on Friday, Sept. 23 before returning to the Jim Durrell Complex on Saturday to take on the Kanata Stallions at 7:30 p.m.
Brown named CCHL Corporate Hype player of the week
Ottawa Jr. Senators forward Conor Brown was honoured for his stellar start to the Central Canada Hockey League campaign by being named the top player over the opening week of the season. A Greely native in his third season with the Jr. Sens, Brown racked up three goals and seven assists to lead Ottawa to victories over Smiths Falls, Carleton Place and Gloucester. Cornwall goalie Lukas Hafner, forward Craig Cowie of the Nepean Raiders and Karson McCartney, a forward for Smiths Falls received honourable mentions.