B-Sens weekly

Published on April 4, 2005 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Binghamton Senators News Release


LAST WEEK: The Senators won three of their four games last week and briefly took command of first place in the East Division. The Sens begin this week one point behind the Philadelphia Phantoms for the East Division lead with six regular season games remaining. Binghamton is already assured a playoff berth – their third in three seasons.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30TH vs. PHILADELPHIA (7-4 W): The Senators regained control of the East Division with a 7-4 win against the Philadelphia Phantoms on Wednesday night. JASON SPEZZA picked up his 100th point of the season with an assist on ANTOINE VERMETTE'S goal at 18:34 of the first period. BEN EAGER tied the game early in the second before BRANDON BOCHENSKI and CHRIS NEIL built a two-goal lead for the Sens. But the Phantoms tied the game before the conclusion of the period with goals from PATRICK SHARP and another from BEN EAGER. The Sens began the third period on fire though and scored four goals in the first 13 minutes. PAT KAVANAGH, JASON SPEZZA, CHRIS NEIL and JOSH LANGFELD all scored in the final period as the Sens won 7-4. It was CHRIS NEIL'S first multi-goal game as a Senator since joining the team on March 2nd. RAY EMERY made 33 saves on 37 shots in his fourth consecutive start. Phantoms goalie ANTERO NIITTYMAKI was pulled from the game in the third period after allowing six goals on 43 shots. Binghamton was 2 for 8 on the power play while Philadelphia was 2 for 5.

FRIDAY, APRIL 1ST vs. WORCESTER (3-2 SOW): The Senators fell behind 2-0 in the first period of Worcester's only appearance at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena this season. JAY McCLEMENT and AARON MacKENZIE tallied the IceCat goals. JOSH LANGFELD began the Senators comeback with a goal at 3:08 of the middle period. Then DENIS HAMEL tallied his 34th goal of the season with Worcester's ARIS BRIMANIS in the penalty box for a high-sticking major. After a scoreless overtime the Senators won their first home shootout of the season. JASON SPEZZA scored the lone shootout goal and BILLY THOMPSON stopped all five IceCat chances after blocking 39 of 41 shots in the win. Worcester's JASON BACASHIHUA made 28 saves on 30 shots. Binghamton was 1 for 8 with the man advantage while Worcester failed to convert on all eight of their chances.

SATURDAY, APRIL 2ND vs. MANITOBA (4-3 W): Binghamton again fell behind 2-0 but was able to rally and hold their East Division lead. Wingers LEE GOREN and JESSE SCHULTZ lifted the Moose to an early advantage before BRANDON BOCHENSKI got the Sens on the board with a goal at 17:44 of the opening period. JOSH LANGFELD, CHRIS KELLY and DENIS HAMEL scored the next three goals and Manitoba could only muster a last minute goal with an extra attacker as the Sens won 4-3. HAMEL'S empty net goal was his 35th of the season – a new career high for the Senators leading goal scorer. The win was the Senators first at home against Manitoba in four tries. RAY EMERY stopped 23 of 26 shots for the win while Manitoba's ALEX AULD made 35 saves on 38 shots. Binghamton once again scored a power-play goal going 1 for 5 with the man advantage. Manitoba was scoreless in four chances.

SUNDAY, APRIL 3RD @ BRIDGEPORT (2-5 L): Playing their fourth game in five nights the Senators were beaten 5-2 on Sunday in Bridgeport. JASON SPEZZA extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one point to 14 – a new franchise record. He scored the game's first goal on a breakaway at 8:46 of the first period. But the Sound Tigers got the next five goals including two from defenseman CHRIS CAMPOLI as they built a 5-1 lead. The Senators only other goal came from the stick of BRIAN McGRATTAN who also tallied 12 penalty minutes in the game putting him past 500 for the season. BILLY THOMPSON blocked 15 of 20 shots in the loss. Sound Tigers goalie DIETER KOCHAN made 40 saves to win for the fourth time in five tries against Binghamton.

THIS WEEK: The Sens will play two on the road and two at home this week. Binghamton plays Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday and Saturday with a non-divisional match against Rochester in between. The Sens will then play in Bridgeport for the second consecutive Sunday.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6TH @ WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON (7:05 p.m.): The Senators hold a 5-1-0-0 lead in the season series and have won five straight since being shutout 2-0 on Halloween. Three on Binghamton's wins have come in overtime with ANTOINE VERMETTE, DENIS HAMEL and JESSE FIBIGER scoring the sudden death goals. JASON SPEZZA leads all scorers in the series with 11 points (3g, 8a) in six games. Winger RAMZI ABID is the leading scorer for the Penguins. He has seven points (3g, 4a) in six games. Penguins goalie MARC-ANDRE FLEURY has a 2.98 goals-against average and a 1-2-0 record in four games. RAY EMERY has a 1.98 goals-against average and a 3-1-0 record in four games. The Sens league-leading power play has converted on 22.6% of its chances (7/31) while holding the Penguins to a 14.3% (4/28) success rate in the series.

FRIDAY, APRIL 8TH vs. ROCHESTER (7:05 p.m.): College Night – Tickets for college students with valid identification cost $12. Jared Campbell will perform in the Arena Club prior to the game and during intermissions and student only prize raffles will be held throughout the game/NY Lotto Night – The first 500 people ages 18 and older that enter the Arena will receive a NY lottery ticket voucher/Members of the Seton Catholic girls basketball team will be in attendance at the game and will be honored for their state championship during a first period timeout. Binghamton and Rochester have alternated wins since the Americans won the series opener 5-4 in overtime on Nov. 6. The Sens will try to even the season series in the final regular season meeting between the teams. Rochester has already clinched the North Division championship and leads the league with 108 points. Former Amerk DENIS HAMEL (3g, 8a) and JASON SPEZZA (2g, 9a) lead the series in scoring with 11 points in seven games. Rookie THOMAS VANEK paces Rochester with 10 points (3g, 7a) in seven games. Amerks goalie RYAN MILLER leads the league in wins (39) with three of those coming against Binghamton. He has a 3-3-0 record and a 3.50 goals-against average in six games. RAY EMERY is 2-3-0 against the Amerks with a 3.39 goals-against average.

SATURDAY, APRIL 9TH vs. WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON (7:05 p.m.): Ken Wilson Chevrolet B-Sens truck shootout – One lucky fan will be selected to shoot a puck on the ice during the first intermission with a chance to win the Senators 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer Ext. promotional truck. The Sens and Penguins meet for the final time this season and second time this week in an important East Division contest on Saturday.

SUNDAY, APRIL 10TH @ BRIDGEPORT (4:05 p.m.): The Sens will visit the Arena at Harbor Yard for the second consecutive Sunday on April 10th. No team in the East Division has won more home games than Bridgeport who have won 25 on home ice this season. The Sens enter the final of eight regular season games with a 2-3-0-2 record against Bridgeport. ANTOINE VERMETTE is Binghamton's leading scorer in the series with seven points (4g, 3a) in seven games. Winger ROB COLLINS also has seven points (4g, 3a) in seven games to lead Bridgeport.

SENS SNIPPETS: JASON SPEZZA surpassed the 100-point plateau in the Senators 7-4 win against Philadelphia on Wednesday. His 100th point came on an ANTOINE VERMETTE goal in the first period. SPEZZA'S 76 assists are the most by any player in the AHL since PETER WHITE recorded 78 helpers for the Philadelphia Phantoms during the 1997-98 season. The AHL record for assists in one season is 89 set by George "Red" Sullivan of Hershey during the 1953-54 season...BRIAN McGRATTAN needs only 17 more penalty minutes to tie former teammate DENNIS BONVIE'S single season AHL record. BONVIE recorded 522 penalty minutes during the 1996-97 season as a member of the Hamilton Bulldogs. McGRATTAN also reached 1,000 penalty minutes in his AHL career on Sunday. He has 1,005 penalty minutes in three seasons and has more PIMs this season (505) than his previous two seasons combined...With his empty-net goal on Saturday against Manitoba DENIS HAMEL set a new franchise record for goals in a season breaking ANTOINE VERMETTE'S record of 34 set two seasons ago. It was also HAMEL'S eighth game-winning goal breaking the record held by VERMETTE and BRAD SMYTH from the 2002-03 season...Sens goalie RAY EMERY has not lost in regulation in his last seven starts. He is 5-0-2 since a 3-4 regulation loss at Rochester on March 11th...With their 4-3 win against Manitoba on Saturday night the Senators clinched their third playoff berth in three seasons....Binghamton is now only two wins and three points away from tying a couple of franchise records set during the team's inaugural season. Two wins will give the Senators 43 this season, tying the 2002-03 Senators win total. The 2002-03 team had 97 points, a mark the Senators can reach on Friday against Rochester...

SENS IN THE COMMUNITY: No community appearances scheduled.

PRACTICE & GAME SCHEDULE FOR THE WEEK OF APRIL 4TH (SUBJECT TO CHANGE):

Monday, April 4 Off Day

Tuesday, April 5 10 a.m. Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena

Wednesday, April 6 10 a.m. (Pre-game skate) Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena

7:05 p.m. Binghamton @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

Thursday, April 7 10 a.m. Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena

Friday, April 8 10 a.m. (Pre-game skate) Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena

7:05 p.m. Rochester @ Binghamton

Saturday, April 9 TBD (Pre-game skate) Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena

7:05 p.m. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton @ Binghamton

Sunday, April 10 4:05 p.m. Arena at Harbor Yard

Binghamton @ Bridgeport

SENS LEADERS: POINTS: JASON SPEZZA – 105 GOALS: DENIS HAMEL – 35

ASSISTS: JASON SPEZZA – 76 PPG: DENIS HAMEL – 16

GWG: DENIS HAMEL - 8

SHG: CHRIS KELLY – 4 PIM: BRIAN McGRATTAN – 505

WINS: RAY EMERY – 23 GAA: BILLY THOMPSON – 2.45

B-SENS ON THE AIR: All Binghamton Senators games are broadcast live on 680-WINR, a Clear Channel station. Fans can also access the broadcasts online at www.binghamtonsenators.com. Tune in 30 minutes prior to faceoff for Countdown to Faceoff with the voice of the Binghamton Senators, Grady Whittenburg.

GET YOUR TICKETS: Tickets remain on sale for each of the B-Sens remaining regular season home games. Tickets are $15 for the sides and $14 for the ends. Fans can purchase tickets at the following locations: Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena box office (Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Saturday, 12 p.m. – 5 p.m.), Binghamton Senators executive office, third floor of the arena (Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. and on game days until the end of the second period.), www.ticketmaster.com or by calling (607) 722-SENS.

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