Kitchener, Ont. - The Florida Panthers rookies scored twice in the second period and then held on to a third-period one-goal lead to defeat the Ottawa Senators 2-1 this afternoon. This was the first of two games in Day 1 of the four-team rookie tournament.

Shawn Matthias beat Sens goalie Brian Elliott on a power-play goal at 1:12 of the second frame to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead. Mike Duco doubled his team’s lead on an even-strength goal at 15:13.

Ottawa’s Steven DaSilva scored on the power play, beating Tyler Plante, at 6:33 of the third period to cut the Panthers’ lead in half. Nick Foligno and Cody Bass earned the assists.

In the second game, the Penguins beat the Maple Leafs 6-5 in a shoot-out.

The Senators face off against the Leafs tomorrow at 6:30 p.m., while the Panthers meet the Penguins in round-robin action.

Click here for the scoresheet (PDF format).

Click here for the Senators’ camp guide (PDF format) and here for the photo gallery.

Rookie tournament schedule:
Friday, Sept. 7:
Florida 2 Ottawa 1; Pittsburgh 6 Toronto 5 SOL
Saturday, Sept. 8:
Florida vs. Pittsburgh at 2 p.m.; Toronto vs. Ottawa at 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 9:
Ottawa vs. Pittsburgh at 2 p.m.; Toronto vs. Florida at 6:30 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 10:
Consolation game at 2 p.m.; Championship game at 6:30 p.m.

Rookie tournament standings:

	GP	W	L	OTL	GF	GA	Pts
Florida	1	1	0	0	2	1	2
Pittsburgh	1	1	0	0	5	5	2
Toronto	1	0	0	1	5	5	1
Ottawa	1	0	1	0	1	2	0