The Smiths Falls Bears tried to dig themselves out of a two-goal hole, but the Ottawa Senators held on for a 2-1 victory.
Ottawa took a 2-0 lead during the second period, only to have Smiths Falls storm back on a Matthew Kenney goal 19:24 into the third period to pull to one goal down.
The Bears were stymied by the Senators' netminder Marcus Paulino, who stopped 29 shots during the victory. Despite the solid performance, Paulino will actually see his goals against average rise, as it stood at 1.0 entering the contest.
Ottawa pulled out the victory even though it was hit with 12 penalty minutes.
The Senators did not reach the goal total they have come to expect this season. Ottawa puts an average of 4.3 pucks into the net per game.
The Senators were helped by Jim Pearson, who racked up one goal. Pearson scored 6:40 into the second period to make the score 2-0 Ottawa. Geoffrey Lawson picked up the assist. Mitchell Gibson also scored for Ottawa. In addition, Ottawa received assists from Alexandre Way, Isaac Anderson, and Greg Meireles, who each chipped in one.
Smiths Falls stifled Ottawa's power play, and did not give up a single goal while down a man.
More assists for Smiths Falls came via John Curran and Corey Caruso, who contributed one each.
The Senators registered zero goals on three power play opportunities. Evan DeBrouwer recorded 24 saves for the Bears. Smiths Falls incurred six minutes in penalty time with three minors.
