The Ottawa Senators hosted their annual Sens Skills competition Sunday at the Canadian Tire Centre. Hundreds of fans gathered at the arena to help fuel up the Ottawa Senators before they kick off the latter part of the season. “The Senators are split into two different teams of black versus white and they compete. They get to do all different sort of skills like hardest shot and just have a lot of fun,” says Alyssa Almstedt, coordinator of Player and Hockey Community Outreach with the Ottawa Senators. Ottawa Senators players duked it out in six skills-related competitions, including fastest skater, hardest shot and a three-on-three hockey. Almstedt says the competition is very exciting and the team is ready to head into the last part of the season. She says the event is also a great way for the team to feel the support of the fans. Matthew Clark, a fan in attendance at the competition, says he’s hoping the team can make a push for a playoff spot. “I think they have an opportunity to at least challenge for the playoffs. I would have liked to see them in a little bit of a better position going into the second half but definitely still positive,” Clark said. The NHL season was put on pause for the Milano Cortina Winter Games, where six Ottawa Senators competed. Brady Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson brought home a gold medal in the tournament competing with the U.S. and Nikolas Matinpalo won bronze with Finland. Fans will be welcoming the team back for their final 25 games of the season. “I think that now that Ullmark is back, that they’re going to have a lot stronger second half of the season. I think the guys that played in the Olympics, had a good time there and, they’re going to be refreshed and ready to go for the second half,” Adam Lariviere, an Ottawa Senators fan, said. Fans are hoping that the team makes it to the playoffs by giving it everything they’ve got, scoring goals and winning games. “Hopefully they can make a push to make the playoffs,” says Richard Cameron, an Ottawa Senators fan. “Hope they get a good trade deadline and we can push for the playoffs,” says Zayden Leaity, fan. “Go Sens go. Let’s go baby.”
