The Ottawa Junior Senators (French: Sénateurs Juniors d'Ottawa), colloquially known as the Jr. Sens, are a Junior A ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Junior Senators compete in the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL) as a member of the East Division and play their home games at the 2,000-seat Peplinski Arena, inside the Jim Durrell Recreation Centre building.
Founded in 1979, the team is the second franchise in the City of Ottawa to use the Senators name, but is not affiliated with the NHL Ottawa Senators.
History The Senators joined the Central Junior A Hockey League in 1979. In 1992, the Ottawa Senators changed their name to the Ottawa Junior Senators and nickname to the Jr. Sens following the founding of the NHL team of the same name. Ottawa won their first Art Bogart Cup in 1983 over Pembroke. Ten years later, they won their second championship. In 1995, Ottawa came close against the Cornwall Colts for their third championship. The 2000-01 season was memorable for the Junior Senators as they achieved the lowest goals allowed in the league (173) and finished 2nd, despite being 10 points behind the Cornwall Colts, as both teams met in the championship finals. The series went to 7 games, but the Junior Senators lost in a humiliating 7-0 loss.
The following year, the Junior Senators were determined to repeat their previous season, and settled for 3rd overall behind Cornwall and Nepean. Ottawa managed to defeat Nepean in 6 games and return to the final. This time, Ottawa won the series in 5 games and qualified for the Fred Page Cup in Truro. The semi-final game against the Valleyfield Braves and Ottawa Junior Senators meant the winner would go to the Royal Bank Cup in Halifax, as the hosts Halifax Oland Exports already earned a bye to the final. Ottawa punched their ticket to the Royal Bank Cup winning 7-2 over the Braves. Ottawa lost the Fred Page Cup championship game 4-2 to Halifax.
At the Royal Bank Cup, the Jr. Sens ended up finishing 4th with a 1-3 record. Ottawa faced Halifax for the fourth time, and the semi-final was a back and forth scoring game, but Halifax ended up taking the game 9-7 and eventually capturing the Royal Bank Cup.
The championship team was lost in a blockbuster trade with the Gloucester Rangers, who were rebuilding their team and overcoming a dead-last finish in the 2001-02 standings. Despite only carrying three returnees, the Junior Senators still managed to upset the top 2 teams in the league en route to the Art Bogart Cup against Nepean. Ottawa couldn't handle the Nepean Raiders and lost the series in 5 games.
The Ottawa Junior Senators wouldn't return to the semi-finals until 2009. Ottawa lost the previous three game 7 semi-final games. The most-heartbreaking loss was in 2015, when the Pembroke Lumber Kings scored the game winner with just under a minute left in the game.
For the 2012-13 season, the Ottawa Junior Senators changed their colours back to blue, white and red, and returned to their old logo that they last used in 1995.
In fall 2016, the Junior Senators were chosen to host the Fred Page Cup in 2018. Ottawa was slated to host the 2003 tournament, but pulled out and hosting duties were awarded to Cornwall.
After appearing in the championship final for two consecutive years, but falling to the Carleton Place Canadians, the 2017-18 Junior Senators were finally able to conquer their arch nemesis who were once again favored to win it all. Ottawa surprised the hockey observers by knocking out Carleton Place in five games. They then followed the act by claiming their first ever Fred Page Cup which earned them a trip to the Royal Bank Cup in Chilliwack, British Columbia where they lost in the semi-finals to the host Chiefs.
In the 2018-19 season, Ottawa faced Carleton Place in the finals for the fourth consecutive season. The Junior Senators took it to the favoured Canadians and claim the championship series in five games. They once again claim the Fred Page Cup before flying to Brooks, Alberta for the National Junior A Championships where they lost to the host Brooks Bandits 4-3 in the semi-finals. Goaltender Francis Boisvert took home the tournaments MVP.
Season-by-season record Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against Season GP W L T OTL GF GA Points Finish Playoffs1979-80 50 22 21 7 - 270 219 51 4th CJHL1980-81 50 12 31 7 - 200 260 31 6th CJHL1981-82 49 33 14 2 - 254 203 68 1st CJHL1982-83 48 30 11 7 - 263 189 67 1st CJHL Won League1983-84 54 26 21 7 - 283 284 59 3rd CJHL1984-85 54 23 31 0 0 252 292 46 4th CJHL1985-86 60 27 26 0 7 310 303 61 5th CJHL1986-87 54 24 21 4 5 215 236 57 4th CJHL1987-88 56 44 12 0 0 336 195 88 1st CJHL1988-89 56 33 23 0 0 282 261 66 4th CJHL1989-90 55 21 29 3 2 245 290 47 6th CJHL1990-91 54 30 19 1 4 244 224 65 4th CJHL1991-92 57 48 9 0 0 386 179 96 1st CJHL1992-93 57 41 8 4 4 433 272 90 1st CJHL Won League1993-94 57 31 23 3 1 284 251 66 5th CJHL1994-95 54 26 21 3 4 260 240 58 6th CJHL1995-96 54 35 17 2 0 237 228 72 2nd CJHL1996-97 54 29 18 7 0 156 161 65 3rd CJHL1997-98 56 15 30 8 3 156 220 41 9th CJHL1998-99 54 26 26 2 0 209 227 54 7th CJHL1999-00 56 32 21 3 0 234 202 67 4th CJHL2000-01 55 37 14 4 0 247 137 78 2nd CJHL2001-02 55 31 11 10 3 237 169 75 3rd CJHL Won League2002-03 55 20 27 6 2 268 308 48 8th CJHL2003-04 55 14 39 0 2 182 278 30 9th CJHL2004-05 57 20 25 4 8 166 231 42 9th CJHL 2005–06 57 30 20 4 3 226 203 67 2nd East Lost quarter-final 2006–07 55 29 20 4 2 181 178 64 1st East Lost quarter-final2007–08 60 12 43 2 3 148 298 29 11th CJHL Did not qualify2008-09 60 30 23 - 7 194 201 67 6th CJHLLost semi-final2009-10 62 33 24 - 5 216 204 71 5th CJHL Lost semi-final2010-11 62 26 29 - 7 207 215 59 9th CCHL Did not qualify2011-12 62 33 26 - 3 221 192 69 7th CCHL Lost quarter-final2012-13 62 40 16 - 6 220 175 86 1st CCHL Lost semi-final2013-14 62 39 20 - 3 259 185 81 1st of 6 East3rd of 12 CCHL Won quarterfinals, 4-1 (Colts)Lost semifinals, 3-4 (Bears)2014-15 62 44 13 4 1 244 147 93 1st of 6 East2nd of 12 CCHL Won quarterfinals, 4-0 (Rangers)Lost semifinals, 3-4 (Lumber Kings)2015-16 62 44 14 4 4 215 153 96 1st of 6 East2nd of 12 CCHL Won quarterfinals, 4-1 (73's)Won semifinals 4-2 (Hawks)Lost CCHL Finals, 3-4 (Canadians)2016-17 62 41 18 1 2 203 159 85 1st of 6 East3rd of 12 CCHL Won quarterfinals, 4-1 (Bears)Won semifinals, 4-0 (Colts)Lost CCHL Finals 1-4 (Canadians)2017-18 62 46 9 5 2 254 192 99 1st of 6 East2nd of 12 CCHL Won quarterfinals, 4-2 (Lumber Kings)Won semifinals 4-3 (Braves)Won CCHL Finals 4-1 (Canadians)Advance to Fred Page Cup2018-19 62 43 16 0 3 234 154 89 1st of 6 East2nd of 12 CCHL Won quarterfinals, 4-1 (Lasers)Won semifinals 4-0 (Braves)Won CCHL Finals 4-1 (Canadians)Advance to Fred Page Cup2019-20 62 34 25 3 0 207 175 76 3rd of 6 East6th of 12 CCHL Playoffs Cancelled2020-21 Season cancelled due to covid-19 pandemic restrictions2021-22 55 43 8 2 2 227 137 90 1st of 6 East1st of 12 CCHL Won quarterfinals, 4-1 (Bears)Won semifinals 4-1 (Wolves)Won CCHL Finals 4-0 (Hawks)Advance to Fred Page Cup2022-23 55 48 8 3 2 218 126 89 1st of 6 East1st of 12 CCHL Won quarterfinals, 4-1 (Colts)Won semifinals 4-1 (Braves)Won CCHL Finals 4-3 (Bears)Advance to Fred Page Cup2023-24 55 24 28 3 0 146 172 51 5th of 6 East10th of 12 CCHL Did not qualify2024-25 55 26 28 1 0 169 186 53 5th of 6 Yzerman10th of 12 CCHL Did not qualify2025-2655361522184142762nd of 6 Yzerman3rd of 12 CCHLWon quarterfinals, 4-1 (Wolves)Lost semifinals 4-1 (Bears)
Attendance As of March 8, 2025 SeasonGamesTotalAverage2006–07314,3711412007–08314,0921322008–09315,4251752009–10315,3631732010–11315,2391692011–12314,2471372012–13315,3011712013–14315,5181782014–15315,6111812015–16315,7041842016–17315,5491792017–18275,1551912018–19285,7922072019–20285,3901932020–21DID NOT PLAY DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC2021–22255,1332052022–23273,6701362023–24273,4361272024–25273,583133 Fred Page Cup Eastern Canada Championships MHL - QAAAJHL - CCHL - Host Round robin play with 2nd vs 3rd in semi-final to advance against 1st in the finals. Year Round Robin Record Standing Semifinal Gold Medal Game 2002 W, Truro Bearcats 6-0L, Halifax Oland Exports 3-6L, Valleyfield Braves 7-8 1-2-0 2nd of 4 W, Valleyfield Braves ?-? L Halifax Oland Exports 3-4Halifax RBC Hosts-advance as FPC reps 2018 W, Edmundston Blizzard 4-1W, Carleton Place Canadians 3-22OTW, Longueuil College Francais 3-2 2-1-0-0 1st of 4 n/aW, Longueuil College Francais 10-1Fred Page Cup Champions 2019 W, Amherst Ramblers 4-1OTL, Princeville Titans 4-3W, Yarmouth Mariners 5-2 2-0-1-0 2nd of 4 W, Amherst Ramblers 4-3W, Princeville Titans 9-2Fred Page Cup Champions 2022 Fred Page Cup eliminated - league champion goes directly to National Finals (Centennial Cup).
Royal Bank Cup Canadian Jr. A National ChampionshipsDudley Hewitt Champions – Central, Fred Page Champions – Eastern, Doyle Cup Champion – Pacific, ANAVET Cup Champion – Western, and HostRound-robin play with top four in semifinal games and winners to finals. Year Round-robin Record Standing Semifinal Gold medal game 2002 W, Rayside-Balfour Sabrecats (Central) 4–3OTL, OCN Blizzard (Western) 3–4L, Halifax Exports (Host) 1–2L, Chilliwack Chiefs (Pacific) 3–5 1–3 4th of 5 L, Halifax Exports 7–9 — 2018 OTW, Wellington Dukes (Central) 2–1OTL, Chilliwack Chiefs (Host) 3–4OTL, Wenatchee Wild (Pacific) 2–3OTL, Steinbach Pistons (Western) 5–4 0–2–2–0 3rd of 5 L, Chilliwack Chiefs 2–3 — 2019 W, Portage Terriers (Western) 3–0L, Prince George Spruce Kings (Pacific) 0–4L, Brooks Bandits (Host) 1–2L, Oakville Blades (Central) 4–7 1–3–0–0 4th of 5 L, Brooks Bandits 3–4 —
Centennial Cup - Revised format 2022 Canadian Jr. A National ChampionshipsMaritime Junior Hockey League, Quebec Junior Hockey League, Central Canada Hockey League, Ontario Junior Hockey League, Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League, Superior International Junior Hockey League, Manitoba Junior Hockey League, Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, Alberta Junior Hockey League, and Host. The BCHL declared itself an independent league and there is no BC representative.Round-robin play in two 5-team pools with top three in pool advancing to determine a Champion. Year Round-robin Record Standing Quarterfinal Semifinal Championship 2022 L, Dauphin Kings (ManJHL), 1-2OTL, Flin Flon Bomers (SJHL), 2-3W, Soo Thunderbirds (NOJHL), 4-0OTL, Summerside Western Capitals (MarJHL), 3-4 1-0-1-2 4th of 5 Pool B did not qualified did not qualified did not qualified 2023 OTW, Terrebonne Cobras (LQJH), 2-1L, Brooks Bandits (AJHL), 1-5W, Yarmouth Mariners (MarJHL), 4-3OTL, Timmins Rock (NOJHL), 1-2 1-1-1-1 2nd of 5 Pool A Won 4-2Collingwood Blues Lost 0-3Brooks Bandits did not qualified
Championships CJHL Bogart Cup Championships: 1983, 1993, 2002, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023 Eastern Canadian Fred Page Cup Championships: 2000, 2018, 2019 CJAHL Royal Bank Cup Championships: None
Notable alumni Peter Ambroziak David Appleby Eric Beaudoin Brendan Bell Alain Chevrier Dean De Fazio Ben Eager Dave Ellett Garry Galley Steve Graves Tim Higgins Alan Kuntz Marc Lamothe Guy Larose Peter Lee Charlie Luksa Justin Papineau Larry Regan Jamie Rivers Shawn Rivers Randy Robitaille Derek Smith Chris Therien Wayne Thomas
References
External links Ottawa Junior Senators Website