The Ottawa Senators survived a determined comeback attempt by the Smiths Falls Bears on the way to a 3-1 win.
A goal by Carter Malette put Ottawa up 3-0 in the third period, but Smiths Falls pulled to within two on Broydon Stufko's tally 15:27 into the third period.
The Senators were led by Elie Boulerice, who had one goal. Boulerice scored 1:53 into the third period to make the score 2-0 Ottawa. Jody Sullivan picked up the assist.
Ottawa excelled on the penalty kill, not giving up a single goal in three chances.
Zacharie Car also scored for Ottawa. More assists for Ottawa came via Isaac Anderson, Daniel Sarracco, Mitchell Gibson, and Zachary Cross, who contributed one each.
The Bears managed to stay out of the box better than usual, registering one minor for two minutes in penalty time. Smiths Falls ended up below its season average of 17.0 penalty minutes per game. The Bears' offense operated below their season average. Smiths Falls puts an average of 3.7 pucks into the net per game.
Other players who recorded assists for Smiths Falls were Matthew Kenney and Josh Leblanc, who each chipped in one.
Ian Andriano made 23 saves for the Senators on 24 shots. Ottawa incurred four minutes in penalty time with two minors. The Bears' Evan DeBrouwer stopped 21 shots out of the 24 that he faced.
