Ron Valentine is profiling the 10 teams participating in the 2023 Centennial Cup in Portage la Prairie May 11-21. Today: the Ottawa Junior Senators.

By Ron Valentine

Representing the Central Canada Hockey League at the Centennial Cup will be the OTTAWA JUNIOR SENATORS. 

The club completed its regular campaign winning the six-team Yzerman Division with 42 wins and 89 points from their 55-game schedule. They were ranked seventh in the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s final Top 20 of the season.

In the playoffs for the Art Bogart Cup, the Senators took the trophy for the fourth season in a row. In Round 1, they beat the Cornwall Colts 4-1, recording two shutouts in the process. The one loss they had came in overtime. Next up were the Brockville Braves and they got past that club also in five. All were low-scoring contests. 

In the Bogart Cup final, captain Wil Murphy had the eventual game winner in their 6-2 win over the Smiths Falls Bears in Game 7. The Bears, who finished first in the Robinson division with 77 points, took a two-game lead only to see the Senators fight back to take the next three. Game 6 featured a quick overtime goal by Owen Watson to force the decider.

The club has won the Bogart Cup six times. This will be their third straight appearance at the national championship tournament.

Three players had 50 points or more in the regular season. Vincent Velloci led the way with 59. Massimo Gentile had 56, including 30 goals, and Anton Sorensen, from Wheaton IL, had 54. 

In the postseason, Chase Lammi, coming off a 46-point regular campaign, led the way with 24 points. Mickael Hebert followed with 22 while Gentile had 19, including the most goals with 11.

In net, Rorke Applebee, from Chateauguay, QC, had a 2.07 goals against average in 31 games and Connor Chibley posted 2.16 in 24 games. In the playoffs, the club went entirely with Applebee who posted three shutouts and had a GAA of 1.93.

The team plays at the Fred Barrett ice pad on Antrim Road in Ottawa. They were forced into this tiny community arena this season when it was deemed their former home, the Jim Durrell Memorial Arena, had structural problems.

The club was founded in 1979 as the Ottawa Senators and won their first league title in 1983.

Martin Dagenais is the director of hockey operations, Jamie Mayo the general manager and Kyle Makaric, nominated for CJHL coach of the year award, is in his second season as head coach. 

Makaric, 33, hails from La Salle ON and played junior hockey for the Chatham Maroons, where he later became bench boss. Post-junior he suited up for the University of Windsor Lancers where he was assistant coach for one season. Kyle was an assistant coach for the silver-medal winning Team Canada East at the World Junior A Challenge in Cornwall in December.

Coach Kyle: "We are first and foremost a defensive-minded team, where everyone buys in each game. We stress the importance of playing without the puck. We had the fewest goals against, 126, in the regular season and the two top goalies."

In the playoffs in Round 1, we played the 8th-seeded Cornwall Colts and we were expected to win. In Round 2 we met the seventh-seeded Brockville Braves who were coming off an upset win over the No. 2 seeds, the Navan Grads, and they played us tough. In the final we faced the Bears, a team built on strong offence and quick transition but we did not doubt ourselves despite losing the first two games."

"We have six players returning from last season's Centennial Cup team and they are vital to us. They will give the other players the knowledge needed on how the event is run and how to prepare for the games. Our captain, Wil Murphy, has been and will continue to be our leader. A quiet guy, who when he speaks everyone listens, has a great work ethic in the gym and on the ice. He will do whatever it takes to win."

"Last season at the Cup was a disappointment for us. We needed a win to advance to the second round but Summerside beat us in overtime. It's going to be a challenge again with the champions of all the leagues competing again but our goal is set. To be successful we all have to remain on the same page, we must be fearless, we can't worry about the record of our opponents. We all start with a clean slate."

'Tis said defence wins championships and the Junior Senators are well qualified in that regard.

Their first game in Portage will be on Day 2 of the competition, May 12, as they take on the Quebec champion Terrabonne Cobras.
 

For more on the Centennial Cup, go to the tournament website: https://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/national-championships/men/national-junior-a/2023