BUFFALO | On paper, the Ottawa Senators were not a threatening team with only five players drafted, including no first or second round picks. At the other end of the ice, the Canadian counted 14 drafted players and three first-round picks with David Reinbacher, Filip Mesar and Logan Mailloux.
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In this third and final game of the rookie tournament, CH triumphed over the Senators 2-1 on Sunday at the LECOM Harborcenter in Buffalo. The imbalance in talent was more evident in the scoring column, with 35 shots compared to 16 for Jean-François Houle’s side.
“We played with great intensity and did some good things, especially in the offensive zone,” Houle said. It was a good game.”
Riley Kidney and Jan Mysak, two second-round picks from the organization, both scored goals in the game. Logan Mailloux often knocked on the door without hitting the target. The former London Knights played a good game and seemed much calmer than in his first game against the Sabres.
After a 6-3 loss to the Sabres, the tournament’s best team, the Habs posted two straight wins, against the Bruins (4-1) and the Sens.
Seven inches less
David Reinbacher described his time in Buffalo as a formative experience. The fifth pick in the last draft also revealed the reality of ice hockey in North America.
“It’s different at home [en Europe], there is no doubt. But it was fun, I said [Riley] McKay that it was the first fight I saw in a match. Bravo to him for wanting to win for his team.”
In the second period, McKay battled Montreal’s Djibril Toure, a 6-foot, 198-pound juggernaut. The defender invited to the Senators camp won his fight. But we will honor the bravery of McKay, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound winger.