By: Daniel Vazzoler
After a pair of disappointing games from the Carleton Place Canadians, as described by the coaching staff, to start the Bogart Cup Finals against the Ottawa Jr. Senators, the Canadians looked to get back into the series on Monday but lost 2-1 in over-time.
The Canadians were put through a hard skate between Games Two and Three and it appeared to work in way the team competed in Game Three. However, a lack of scoring touch proved to be the difference.
“I thought it was our best game of the series so far,” Carleton Place coach Jason Clarke said. “We just took a lot of undisciplined penalties and had some unfortunate bounces but I liked the way our team played tonight … sometimes you need to create your own bounces.”
Darcy Walsh opened the scoring in the second period before Tim Theocharidis tied the game with a long-range wrist shot on the power play less than two minutes later.
Michael Leach for Carleton Place and Connor Hicks for Ottawa continued to keep pucks out of the net until the extra frame when Owen Guy capitalized on a loose puck on the edge of the crease to chip in for a 3-0 series lead.
“On the last goal, it was two guys not playing the game the right way and that’s what happens,” Clarke explained. “It’s stuff that we talked about all year long, guys that are on the ice have to play the game the right way and play hard. That’s what happens in over-time, it takes one little turnover and one guy not doing the right thing in the right areas and that’s what happens.”
Given the way the regular season went for the Canadians, few people – if any – could have predicted the finals going this way. Following the game, some of the players said they are starting to feel the emotions of being one game away from losing the Bogart Cup but still have belief in coming back.
“Never expect to go down 3-0 but I think there’s still a lot of confidence in the room,” assistant captain Sam Knoblauch said. “They just beat us three times in a row so I think there’s no reason why we can’t beat them three times in a row. We have a lot of confidence in this group, we know what we’ve done this season.”
The challenge ahead of the Canadians is daunting but the clichés are flying around the locker room heading into Wednesday’s Game Four.
“We just need to play like we did in Game Three and just take it one shift at a time, one period at a time, one game at a time,” Clarke said. “I know it’s a cliché but it’s the way we’ve got to look at it.”
Knoblauch added he and his team-mates can’t look at trying to force a Game Seven and instead follow the coach’s message and look one game at a time.
Playoff Matchups Around the League
* = if necessary
BOLD = higher seed home game
Bogart Cup Finals
(1) CPC vs (2) OJS – OJS leads 3-0
GAME 1: CPC vs OJS – OJS 2-1
GAME 2: OJS vs CPC – OJS 3-2 (OT)
GAME 3: CPC vs OJS – OJS 2-1 (OT)
GAME 4: OJS vs CPC – Wed., Apr. 18 – 7:30 p.m.
GAME 5: CPC vs OJS – Sat., Apr. 21 – 7:45 p.m. *
GAME 6: OJS vs CPC – Sun., Apr. 22 – 7:30 p.m. *
GAME 7: CPC vs OJS – Tues., Apr. 24 – 7:30 p.m. *
Semi-finals
(1) CPC vs (4) HAW – CPC wins 4-0
GAME 1: CPC vs HAW – CPC 4-2
GAME 2: HAW vs CPC – CPC 3-2
GAME 3: CPC vs HAW – CPC 4-1
GAME 4: HAW vs CPC – CPC 5-1
(2) OJS vs (3) BRO – OJS wins 4-3
GAME 1: OJS vs BRO – OJS 6-1
GAME 2: BRO vs OJS – OJS 5-1
GAME 3: OJS vs BRO – BRO 3-1
GAME 4: BRO vs OJS – OJS 5-1
GAME 5: OJS vs BRO – BRO 6-5 (OT)
GAME 6: BRO vs OJS – BRO 4-2
GAME 7: OJS vs BRO – OJS 5-1
Quarter-finals
(1) CPC vs (8) ROC – CPC wins 4-1
GAME 1: CPC vs ROC – CPC 6-2
GAME 2: ROC vs CPC – ROC 3-2 (OT)
GAME 3: CPC vs ROC – CPC 4-2
GAME 4: ROC vs CPC – CPC 3-0
GAME 5: CPC vs ROC – CPC 7-2
(2) OJS vs (7) PLK – OJS wins 4-2
GAME 1: OJS vs PLK – OJS 5-0
GAME 2: PLK vs OJS – OJS 6-2
GAME 3: OJS vs PLK – PLK 4-2
GAME 4: PLK vs OJS – OJS 4-0
GAME 5: OJS vs PLK – PLK 4-3
GAME 6: PLK vs OJS – OJS 6-1
(3) BRO vs (6) KAN – BRO wins 4-0
GAME 1: BRO vs KAN – BRO 5-3
GAME 2: KAN vs BRO – BRO 5-4 (OT)
GAME 3: BRO vs KAN – BRO 4-3
GAME 4: KAN vs BRO – BRO 4-2
(4) HAW vs (5) CRW – HAW wins 4-3
GAME 1: HAW vs CRW – HAW 4-3
GAME 2: CRW vs HAW – CRW 4-2
GAME 3: HAW vs CRW – HAW 4-3 (OT2)
GAME 4: CRW vs HAW – HAW 3-1
GAME 5: HAW vs CRW – CRW 3-2 (OT2)
GAME 6: CRW vs HAW – CRW 4-3 (OT)
GAME 7: HAW vs CRW – HAW 9-0
