The Ottawa Senators were unable to find the win in their final game at this weekend’s Prospects Challenge in Buffalo as the team fell 4-1 to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
As with the Senators’ other two games, this one was a physical one. Combined, the Senators and Blue Jackets combined for a total of 72 penalty minutes.
The physicality of this weekend was right up defenceman Gabriel Eliasson’s alley. “I played my style here and I play physical,” said the 2024 draft pick. “It was nice to be in a physical tournament here. I think I did great with the physicality, too.”
It was a tale of a neutral zone battle to start the game. The Blue Jackets opened the scoring just past the halfway point of the first, but the teams closed out the period with a combined total of just 11 shots.
Less than four minutes into the second period, defenceman Carter Yakemchuk scored his first in a Sens jersey as he followed up a rebound and placed it into the net.
“[Jackson Stewart] took a shot on net and there was just a scramble in front, and it ended up popping to me on the back door,” Yakemchuk said when recounting his goal. “I’m happy I got one.”
