The Ottawa Senators continue to shock the league, as they notched their fifth-straight win on Saturday night. The Senators overcome two separate deficits before pulling away with a 3-2 lead midway through the third period thanks to a goal by rookie sensation Mike Hoffman. Hoffman added an empty net goal for his 23rd of the season to salt away the win for Ottawa. Unheralded goaltender Andrew Hammond has recorded an unbelievable 5-0 record to start his NHL career. The recent win streak has returned the Senators to playoff contention, as they nip at the heels of the wildcard Boston Bruins for the final playoff spot. With two games in hand and two remaining against the Bruins, can the Senators pull it off?
The Senators continue a tough road trip with games this week against the Minnesota Wild (Tuesday) and Winnipeg Jets (Wednesday), who hold down the final two playoff spots in the Western Conference right now. The busy week continues as the Senators return home to host the Buffalo Sabres on Friday and the Calgary Flames on Sunday.
The Ottawa 67’s have already clinched their playoff spot in the Eastern Conference of the OHL. As we described last week, there isn’t much room in the standings for position change, as the 67’s trail the OHL-leading Oshawa Generals by 25 points yet sit 15 points ahead of the 3rd-place Belleville Bulls in the East Division. With their position cemented, the 67’s must focus on maintaining good performance as they head toward the playoffs. It took a team effort to lock up a 5-0 win over Saginaw on Friday, but the team followed it up with a tough 3-1 road loss to Plymouth on Sunday.
The 67’s have another very busy week ahead, as they host the London Knights on Friday before heading off to battle with the Niagara Ice Dogs and Mississauga Steelheads to wrap up the weekend.
University basketball playoffs are underway. On the women’s side of the coin, the GeeGees defeated their crosstown rival Ravens by a score of 74-58 to advance to the OUA quarter-finals. The GeeGees suffered a tough 73-47 loss to the Ryerson Rams, thus ending the seasons for both of Ottawa’s women’s basketball teams.
The men’s Ravens crushed the Lakehead Thunderwolves to advance to the second round of the playoffs. The GeeGees used their high-flying offense to roll over the Laurentian Voyageurs 116-71. The University of Ottawa plays host to the OUA Final Four this upcoming weekend, where the Ravens will face off against the Ryerson Rams and the GeeGees do battle with the Windsor Lancers.
May the best team win!
