Ottawa, Ont. —
The first month of the 2017-18 CCHL season is just about in the books, and the middle of the pack is no closer to being broken up.
While the Carleton Place Canadians and Ottawa Jr. Senators have raced ahead of the pack, 4th through 12th in the league are separated by just six points.
News broke this week that the Hawkesbury Hawks, who’ve battled arena problems throughout September, will move temporarily to Alexandria.
Release: Hawkesbury temporarily moves to Alexandria due to arena issues. #CCHL | https://t.co/T2Qijl4BfN
— CCHL PR (@CCHL_PR) September 25, 2017
Kemptville forward Neal Samanski will begin serving his five-game suspension this weekend.
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Storylines
- McArthur to Brockville — 20-year-old forward Mike McArthur’s journey in #TheCentral has come full circle, as he was dealt this week from Rockland to Brockville — the same place he started in 2015. McArthur was nearly a point-per-game player with Gloucester last season, and could add some offence to a scoring-challenge Braves team.
- Surging Sens — Marty Dagenais’s Jr. Sens shot back towards the top of the CCHL standings with a trio of wins last weekend. This week, the league’s best offence — anchored by Chiwetin Blacksmith, Owen Guy and Nick Lalonde — faces tough tests in Cornwall and Pembroke (twice).
- Pressure On in Kemptville — With the 73’s sitting firmly in last place at 2-7 on the year, the screws are tightening around the team. Contests against Kanata (twice) and Rockland — two middle-of-the-pack teams — will be a good indicator as to which direction Kemptville’s season will go.
Games to Watch
Friday: Carleton Place (8-1-1) at Hawkesbury (4-3-0) | 8:00 p.m., Glengarry Arena | The Canadians are soaring and Hawkesbury is…well they’ve basically played one game-per-week so it’s difficult to judge. The Hawks are moving to Alexandria for the time being while their home arena is fixed — it’ll be interesting to see what kind of crowd they get on Friday night.
Saturday: Pembroke (6-3-0) at Ottawa (7-2-0) | 7:30 p.m., Jim Durrell Sports Complex | A meeting of the second- and third-place teams is always a mouth-watering one, but especially given that the Lumber Kings and Jr. Sens are two of the league’s hottest teams. PLK owns the best offence (42GF) in the league, while Ottawa is also firing at a 4-plus goal-per-game rate. High-octane indeed.
Sunday: Smiths Falls (4-5-0) at Brockville (5-6-0) | 3:00 p.m, Brockville Memorial Centre | Neither the Bears nor Braves will be thrilled to be under .500, and both will see Sunday’s meeting as a winnable contest. The Braves have the added pressure of having played more games than everybody else, so look for Jesse Winchester’s team — 2-1 at the BMC this season — to play with some intensity.
