Carlos Verde
CARLETON PLACE, ONT. —
Forward Samuel Knoblauch led the way with a multi-point night and game-winning goal for Carleton Place on Wednesday night, as the Canadians beat the visiting Ottawa Jr. Senators 4-3 to take a 2-1 lead in the Bogart Cup CCHL final.
“I really liked our first period, that’s the best first period we’ve played all playoffs long,” said Canadians head coach Jason Clarke, whose team outshot Ottawa 9-8 and controlled long stretches of the opening frame Wednesday. “Both teams played physical. Ottawa’s not going to roll over — they’ve got a lot of experience and are well-coached.”
Shawn Kennedy opened the scoring for the hosts at the 7:27 mark of the first period, when his snap shot from the slot beat Ottawa netminder Ian Andriano.
Isaac Anderson brought the Jr. Sens back to level terms, somewhat against the run of play, at 18:10 of the first period.
The Canadians retook the lead at 4:58 of the second period, when Mercyhurst-commit Geoff Kitt buried a short-handed marker.
Brent Hill then doubled the Carleton Place lead three minutes later on a powerplay goal.
As was the theme throughout the night, Ottawa seemed to grow into the second period and Anderson’s second of the evening — a pretty redirect off a Jaren Burke feed — at the 15:05 mark cut the Jr. Sens deficit to one.
Knoblauch then restored CP’s two-goal lead five minutes into the third period. It would prove to be a critical insurance marker, as a Teddy Simson goal for Ottawa with 190 seconds remaining set up a nervy finish.
With the Ottawa net empty and the Jr. Sens pressuring, the Canadians battened down the hatches to grit out a 4-3 win and take their first series lead of the Bogart Cup.
“We were flat in the first, much better in the second, (and) really took it to them in the third period,” said Ottawa head coach Marty Dagenais. “We made two mistakes in the second period, (with) some of our go-to guys, and it cost us the game.”
The series will return to Ottawa for Game 4 on Friday night. Puck drop is slated for 7:30 p.m. at the Jim Durrell Complex on Walkley Road.
