Category: Sports

NHL: Michkov scores in OT, the Flyers rally to beat the Senators 5-4

Posted on By Richard A. Whittaker

OTTAWA, ON — Matvei Michkov scored from a sharp angle at the side the goal at 4:05 of overtime to give the Philadelphia Flyers a 5-4 comeback victory over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night.

Anthony Richard and Bobby Brink tied it for Philadelphia midway through the third period with goals in a 2:03 span. Travis Sanheim and Travis Konecny also scored. Ivan Fedotov made 33 saves.

Brady Tkachuk, Drake Batherson, Josh Norris and Adam Gaudette scored for Ottawa, coming off road victories over Boston and Toronto. Linus Ullmark made 14 saves.

NHL: Horvat leads the Islanders past the Senators 4-2

Posted on By Richard A. Whittaker

OTTAWA, ON — Bo Horvat had a goal and two assists, and the New York Islanders beat the Ottawa Senators 4-2 on Thursday night.

Anders Lee had a goal and an assist for New York, which won for the third time in four games. Oliver Wahlstrom and Jean-Gabriel Pageau also scored, and Semyon Varlamov made 28 saves.

Nick Jensen and Drake Batherson scored for Ottawa in the third period. Tim Stutzle had two assists.

Senators goaltender Anton Forsberg made 21 stops.

Wahlstrom’s first goal of the season lifted New York to a 3-0 lead 2:41 into the third. But Jensen scored his first of the year at 7:43 and Batherson made it 3-2 with his sixth with 5:33 remaining.

But Horvat put it away with an empty-netter with 10 seconds to go.

Ottawa had a scary moment on a power play midway through the first period when Josh Norris’ shot deflected off Ryan Pulock and caught Stutzle hard in the forehead.

Stutzle returned to start the second period and played the remainder of the game.

NHL: Forsberg nets shutout as Senators beat Kraken 3-0

Posted on By Richard A. Whittaker

OTTAWA, ON — Anton Forsberg stopped 22 shots and recorded a shutout against the Seattle Kraken for the second year in a row, lifting the Ottawa Senators to a 3-0 win on Saturday night.

Brady Tkachuk scored in the second period, his team-leading seventh of the season.

Adam Gaudette opening the scoring in the first period with a backhanded chip-in after a coach’s challenge overturned an initial no-goal ruling. Gaudette has scored six goals in his last five games.

Tim Stutzle added an empty netter with just over two minutes remaining.

The Kraken had plenty of chances as the Senators began to run out of gas on the second night of a back-to-back, but had no answer for Forsberg. Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer made 20 saves in a losing effort.

NHL: Blues end Canada road swing with 8-1 loss to Senators

Posted on By Richard A. Whittaker

OTTAWA, ON – Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stützle and Adam Gaudette each scored two goals as the Ottawa Senators beat the St. Louis Blues 8-1 on Tuesday night.

The game was delayed 30 minutes due to power outage at the Canadian Tire Centre, but the Senators offense came out fully charged after that.

Josh Norris scored a minute into the game, while Noah Gregor added another just three minutes later before Stützle — who snapped a six-game goalless drought — added his first of the game.

Linus Ullmark made 26 saves to record his second victory of the season.

The Senators chased Blues’ starting goalie Joel Hofer after he let in five goals — including back-to-back power-play efforts from Tkachuk in the second period — on 21 shots.

Jordan Binnington allowed three goals in relief.

The Blues finally got on the board with a power-play goal from Dylan Holloway at 9:04 of the third period.

It was the second time in 15 days the Senators scored eight goals, after an 8-7 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 14.

CFL: Redblacks beat Tiger-Cats in regular-season finale

Posted on By Richard A. Whittaker

OTTAWA, ON — The Friday night game between the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Ottawa REDBLACKS didn’t mean a lot with regard to the standings, but you wouldn’t be able to tell with how the game panned out in the nation’s capital. Both teams fought until the very end in a game which had seven lead changes, but it was the REDBLACKS who finished on top 37-31 to end their five-game losing spell.

Despite the high scoring totals and lofty passing numbers from both starting quarterbacks, it was the Ottawa defence who came up with the biggest play of the game. That unit denied Hamilton on the goal line on three straight plays in the dying seconds to hold on to the result and finish the regular season with a winning record.

Dru Brown threw for 445 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. Rookie receiver Kalil Pimpleton ended his day with 167 yards on six catches, plus a score. Dominique Rhymes also passed the century mark with 115 yards on six catches of his own.

Despite the loss, Bo Levi Mitchell was able to make Tiger-Cats history, setting a franchise record for passing yards in a season after throwing for 425 at TD Place Stadium. Mitchell threw for a touchdown and an interception on the day, while Steven Dunbar Jr. recorded 180 receiving yards on nine catches.

NHL: Senators knock off the Lightning 5-4

Posted on By Richard A. Whittaker

OTTAWA, ON — Drake Batherson had two goals and an assist, and the Ottawa Senators handed Tampa Bay its first loss of the season with a 5-4 victory over the Lightning on Saturday.

Josh Norris, Brady Tkachuk and Noah Gregor also scored for Ottawa (3-2-0), and Anton Forsberg made 25 saves. Jake Sanderson collected three assists.

Gregor’s short-handed goal lifted the Senators to a 5-3 lead 6:17 into the third period. It was his first goal of the season.

Nikita Kucherov scored his NHL-best seventh goal for Tampa Bay. Nick Paul, Jake Guentzel and Mitchell Chaffee also scored for the Lightning (3-1-0).

NHL: Jacob Markstrom stops 30 shots, Devils beat the Senators 3-1

Posted on By Richard A. Whittaker

OTTAWA, ON — Jacob Markstrom stopped 30 shots and lost his shutout bid in the final minutes as the New Jersey Devils beat the Ottawa Senators 3-1 on Thursday night.

Erik Haula, Nathan Bastian and Paul Cotter scored for the Devils, who won for the third time in four games and improved to 5-2-0.

The Senators, who were coming off an 8-7 overtime victory against Los Angeles on Monday, struggled to beat Markstrom.

Brady Tkachuk was the only scorer for the Senators, beating Markstrom, with a power-play goal with 65 seconds remaining in the third period.

Anton Forsberg, making his second straight start and hoping to rebound after getting pulled Monday, made 32 saves in the loss.

Haula opened the scoring early in the second period and Bastian added a short-handed goal, giving New Jersey a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes. Cotter scored midway through the third.

NHL: Norris scores overtime goal to lift Senators past Kings 8-7

Posted on By Richard A. Whittaker

OTTAWA, ON – Josh Norris capped a two-goal effort with the game-winning goal 56 seconds into overtime and the Ottawa Senators beat the Los Angeles Kings 8-7 on Monday.

Zack MacEwen also had a pair for the Senators, with Jake Sanderson, Drake Batherson, Thomas Chabot and Claude Giroux also chipping in.

Anton Forsberg surrendered three goals on nine shots before being replaced by Mads Sogaard, who was recalled on an emergency basis Monday morning and allowed four goals on 17 shots.

Kevin Fiala and Alex Laferriere each scored a pair for the Kings, while Trevor Lewis, Adrian Kempe and Tanner Jeannot also scored. Darcy Kuemper made 33 saves.

Tied 6-6 midway through the third, Norris gave the Senators their first lead of the game, but Jeannot tied it up with 5:34 remaining.

The Kings have not lost to the Senators in regulation since Jan. 10, 2019.

NHL: Ullmark victorious in Ottawa debut as Senators top defending champion Panthers 3-1

Posted on By Richard A. Whittaker

OTTAWA, ON – Linus Ullmark’s official debut with the Senators was a success, with the goaltender making 30 saves in a 3-1 win over the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.

With the Senators holding a 2-1 lead in the third, Ullmark was solid making saves on Anton Lundell, Mackie Samoskevich and Carter Verhaeghe.

Ottawa took a two-goal lead in the first with Tim Stutzle’s power-play goal and a great solo effort from Shane Pinto to beat Sergei Bobrovsky, who made 29 saves, with a laser over the shoulder.

Gustav Forsling scored the lone goal for the Panthers (1-1-0).

NHL: Pinto nets hat trick to lead Senators past Canadiens 4-2

Posted on By Richard A. Whittaker

OTTAWA, ON – Shane Pinto capped off the NHL pre-season with a hat trick, leading the Ottawa Senators to a 4-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.

It was the final exhibition game for both teams with Ottawa finishing with a 5-1-1 record, while Montreal was 2-4.

Michael Amadio also scored for the Senators, while Linus Ullmark looked solid stopping 23 shots.

Christian Dvorak and Arber Xhekaj scored for the Canadiens. Sam Montembeault made 15 saves.

Trailing 4-1, and struggling to beat Ullmark, Xhekaj found a way with a shot from the point midway through the third.

After a solid first Pinto continued to lead the way for the Senators in the second chipping in with a goal and an assist to give Ottawa a 4-1 lead.

Just 22 seconds into the period, Amadio tipped in an Artem Zub shot. Four minutes later, Pinto forced a turnover on the Montreal power play and scored on a breakaway, beating Montembeault with a backhand.

The Senators took a 2-1 lead in the first period after Pinto scored a pair of goals.

Pinto opened the scoring just 44 seconds into the game when he picked up a Noah Gregor rebound.

Ottawa, with a two-man advantage, made it 2-0 at 5:57 after Pinto tipped a Jake Sanderson shot past Montembeault.

Montreal cut the lead in half late in the period after a battle for the puck behind the net led to a bouncing puck in front and Dvorak was able to put it past Ullmark.

CFL: Webb’s Interceptions Leads Redblacks Over Argos

Posted on By Richard A. Whittaker

OTTAWA, ON – The Ottawa REDBLACKS took down the Toronto Argonauts in front of a wet – but boisterous – hometown crowd, cashing two points with the 41-27 win.

The REDBLACKS enjoyed plenty of first-quarter success, which was kicked off just over three minutes into the contest, with Damon Webb picking off a Chad Kelly screen pass, and taking it back for a major, opening the scoring in a big way.

Ottawa’s defence flexed their muscles once again on the very next play from scrimmage, with Brandin Dandridge getting an interception of his own, which the REDBLACKS capitalized on, with a 37-yeard field goal to push their lead to 10. Then, both teams traded field goals back and forth, before another big splash play from Ottawa’s defence.

Webb took advantage of an off-target throw, corralling his second interception of the game, and running it back 96 yards for a major, the first time in REDBLACKS team history they’ve scored a pair of pick-sixes in a single game.

Less than five minutes later, the offence got in on the party, as Dru Brown found Andre Miller over the middle for a 50-yard catch-and-run, scoring his first CFL touchdown in a big way.

Before the end of the half, the REDBLACKS added a single point on a long punt, and with time winding down, they converted on a first-and-20 to give Lewis Ward a chance at a 51-yard kick, which he hit, putting his side up 31-3 at the break.

As good of a football team as Toronto is this season, a fightback was to be expected, and they got it going early in the second half, with Tommy Nield hitting paydirt. The REDBLACKS answered back shortly after, however, with Khalan Laborn scampering up the middle for a 33-yard score, his first in the CFL, making it three Ottawa players hitting the milestone.

The Argos scored next with another field goal, and tacked on a major and a two-point conversion soon thereafter, but still faced a large deficit as the game clock wound down in the fourth quarter. Ward pushed Ottawa’s lead back up to 20 points with seven minutes left to play.

Still fighting, Toronto marched the length of the field to score a touchdown with less than a minute to go, but it was for not, with Dominique Rhymes securing the ensuing onside kick, practically ending the game.

With the win, the REDBLACKS have extended their lead for second place in the East Division to five points with six games to go, and sit three points back of the Montreal Alouettes for the top spot.

The REDBLACKS are back on the field next Saturday, when they travel to Hamilton for a 3 p.m. meeting with the Tiger-Cats.

CFL: Ottawa defence delivers as Redblacks hold off the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 23-19

Posted on By Richard A. Whittaker

OTTAWA, ON — Not even the pouring rain could dampen the spirits of the Ottawa Redblacks following a 23-19 win over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers Thursday night.

The season opener was one to remember for the Redblacks (1-0) with thunder and lightning forcing a 60-minute weather delay with 2:09 left in regulation and Ottawa leading 23-17.

“The vibe in our locker room was we wanted to get back out there,” said Redblacks coach Bob Dyce. “These guys wanted to win this game the way it should have been on the field for 60 minutes and so we were in there and we stayed mentally prepared to go out there and finish the game.”

The teams returned to the field with the rain still coming down.

The Blue Bombers (0-2) marched to the Ottawa seven-yard line in the final minute, but Damon Webb made a diving deflection on a Zach Collaros pass into the end zone.

“I was up against the line and I was like, ‘Can’t let them score,'” said Webb. “I’ll do anything, lay out, just to make sure I make the play and do the job. That’s all it was.”

Lorenzo Mauldin IV then sacked the Winnipeg quarterback on the next play to turn the ball over on downs.

“We got down there pretty quickly, two plays,” said Collaros. “At first and seven from the seven we’ve got to get the ball in there.”

Collaros wasn’t happy with his own performance and said he needs to be better.

Ottawa conceded a safety with 14 seconds left and a Blue Bombers’ Hail Mary at the buzzer was incomplete.

Winnipeg head coach Mike O’Shea felt his team had a lacklustre first half, but liked the squad’s pushback in the second half.

“I’m just glad that we got a chance to get back out there and finish it for real,” said O’Shea. “It would have probably left a sour taste in everyone’s mouth if we didn’t get to finish it. We came up short.”

Ottawa led 16-10 at the half.

The Blue Bombers, who hadn’t lost the first two games of a season since 2016, managed to take the lead midway through the third quarter.

Collaros, who was 15 for 31 for 285 yards with two interceptions, connected with Keric Wheatfal for a 76-yard gain before he was pulled down at Ottawa’s five-yard line.

Chris Streveler completed the drive by pushing in a two-yard TD to take a 17-16 lead with 4:51 remaining in the third quarter.

The Redblacks stuck to their game plan and regained the lead.

With 7:09 remaining, Dru Brown – making his debut with the Redblacks – connected with Justin Hardy for a 42-yard gain to put Ottawa on Winnipeg’s five-yard line.

A short run put Ottawa on the two and with heavy rain falling, Brown found Hardy alone in the end zone. Ottawa fell short on the two-point conversion, but a single off a Richie Leone punt put Ottawa ahead 23-17.

Brown finished 20 for 33 for 238 yards and one touchdown.

“You always feel like you can do better,” admitted Brown. “But I have learned and I’m going to enjoy this tonight and I will be extremely critical on myself tomorrow.”

A decent start to the game allowed Ottawa to take the lead going into the second half, but Dyce felt his team lacked discipline at times and penalties cost them field position.

“One of the things we talked about is not beating ourselves and eliminating the preventable penalties,” said Dyce. “I didn’t feel we did a great job of that in the first half.”

On the game’s opening drive, the Redblacks reached the five-yard line but settled for a 12-yard field goal.

Late in the first quarter, the Redblacks extended their lead with a drive sparked by Devonte Dedmon’s 45-yard punt return to the Winnipeg 27-yard line. Four plays later, Dustin Crum punched in a one-yard touchdown.

Adarius Pickett intercepted Collaros at midfield early in the second quarter, leading to a 31-yard Lewis Ward field goal. Five minutes later, Winnipeg responded with a 45-yard Sergio Castillo field goal to make it 13-3.

Though Collaros struggled early, he redeemed himself with a 47-yard pass to Chris Demski, reaching Ottawa’s 35.

After a sack pushed them back 17 yards, a face-mask penalty gave the Blue Bombers another chance, resulting in Johnny Augustine’s four-yard touchdown run.

With just over two minutes left in the half, Ottawa drove downfield but settled for a 34-yard field goal after a penalty nullified a promising drive.

The Blue Bombers finished the game without defensive end Celestin Haba, defensive back Deatrick Nichols and defensive tackle Miles Fox.