B-Sens Weekly

Published on February 25, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Binghamton Senators News Release


LAST WEEK: The B-Sens (26-23-5-4, 61 pts.) defeated the Rochester Americans 4-0 behind Brian Elliott's first professional shutout on Friday night. The shutout performance was sandwiched between losses to the Toronto Marlies. The B-Sens opened the week with a President's Day contest against the Penguins, and fell just short.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18th vs. WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON (2-3 L): The Penguins capitalized on early B-Sens penalties with two power-play goals. Dave Gove added an even-strength tally to give the Penguins a 3-0 lead after two periods. The B-Sens mounted a comeback in the third period firing 14 shots at Marc-Andre Fleury. Alexander Nikulin buried his ninth goal of the season off a feed from Denis Hamel. Seven minutes later fellow rookie Nick Foligno redirected a Lawrence Nycholat shot past Fleury for his second goal of the year. Brian Elliott made 20 saves in the losing effort.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20th vs. TORONTO (2-4 L): For the second straight game, the B-Sens fell behind early and mounted a late charge. The Marlies opened a 1-0 lead with a Kris Newbury marker late in the first period. Chris Harrington buried an unassisted marker early in the second period followed by a power-play tally off the stick of Jeremy Williams two minutes later. After another Marlies goal, Greg Mauldin got Binghamton on the scoreboard with his 12th tally of the season. Denis Hamel added his 25th, a shorthanded tally, late to make it a 4-2 final.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22nd @ ROCHESTER (4-0 W): Brian Elliott turned away 37 shots to power Binghamton to a 4-0 win, his first professional shutout performance. Just two minutes into the game, rookie Shawn Weller buried his seventh goal of the year. Denis Hamel added a power-play goal late in the period to give the B-Sens a 2-0 advantage. The B-Sens capitalized on a 5-on-3 power-play with a marker from Justin Mapletoft. Defenseman Matt Kinch added the third Binghamton power-play tally early in the third period. Scott May and Derek Smith finished the night with two assists each, while Denis Hamel and Justin Mapletoft each had a goal and an assist.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23rd @ TORONTO (1-5 L): The Marlies outshot the B-Sens 24-13 at Ricoh Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. Derrick Walser opened the scoring at 1:26 of the first period followed by Tyler Doig's first tally of the year to give the Marlies a 2-0 lead. Defenseman Matt Kinch responded with his second goal in as many games midway through the second period. John Mitchell added to the Marlies lead with his 17th goal of the season. Toronto added two more goals in the final period to seal the win.

THIS WEEK: The B-Sens will play four divisional games this week, with three of those games away from Arena ice. The week starts with a midweek tilt in Albany against the River Rats. The B-Sens then head to Philadelphia on Friday night and to Bridgeport on Saturday night before finishing the week at home on Sunday against the Penguins.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27th @ ALBANY (7:00): The B-Sens won the last meeting with the River Rats with a 3-2 shootout win in Albany on Feb. 13. Denis Hamel and Ilya Zubov scored in regulation and Niko Dimitrakos tallied the lone shootout marker to secure the win for Binghamton. Brian Elliott stopped all five Albany shooters. Zubov has scored on Albany netminder Michael Leighton twice this season. Leighton is tied for first in the AHL in both save percentage (.929) and shutouts (5). Winger Brandon Nolan leads the way for Albany with 23 goals and 25 assists.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 29th @ PHILADELPHIA (7:05): The B-Sens have won two of the last three games against the Phantoms. Jeff Glass has backstopped the Senators to both wins, stopping 75 of 80 shots faced. The B-Sens set a franchise record with three shorthanded goals in the 5-3 win over the Phantoms on Jan. 19. Alexander Nikulin and Shawn Weller each have three goals against the Phantoms this season. Jared Ross powers the Phantoms offense with 47 points (16+31=47).

SATURDAY, MARCH 1st @ BRIDGEPORT (7:00): The Sound Tigers are 6-3-0-1 in their last ten and sit just one point ahead of Binghamton in the East Division. The B-Sens have won four of six games against Bridgeport this season. Winger Greg Mauldin buried two goals in the B-Sens 3-2 win over the Sound Tigers on Jan. 11. Jeff Glass posted a 4-0 shutout against Bridgeport on Nov. 30. Denis Hamel tallied two goals in that contest. Bridgeport is home to the AHL's leading goal scorer, Jeff Tambellini, who has 29 goals in addition to his 29 assists. Rookie Kyle Okposo has 20 points (7+13=20) in his first 21 professional games.

SUNDAY, MARCH 2nd vs. WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON (5:05): The Penguins have dropped two straight games. The B-Sens won three of the first four against the Penguins this season, but have dropped the last three against their I-81 rivals. Denis Hamel collected the B-Sens only hat trick this season in a 4-2 win over the Penguins on Oct. 27. Tim Brent has 41 points (12+29=41) for the Penguins.

SENS IN THE COMMUNITY: Six Binghamton Senators will participate in the 6th Annual Johnson City Firefighters vs. Teachers Charity Basketball Game on Monday, Feb. 25 at 6:30 at the Johnson City High School Gym. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA).

SENS SNIPPETS: The B-Sens are a perfect 9-0-0-0 when they scored four goals in a game. Binghamton will play three Sunday games in March. The team is a perfect 4-0-0-0 on Sundays.

SENS LEADERS:

POINTS: HAMEL (26+17=43) & NYCHOLAT (10+29=39)

GOALS: HAMEL (26), ZUBOV (14)

ASSISTS: NYCHOLAT (29), NIKULIN (27)

PPG: HAMEL (12), NYCHOLAT (6)

SHG: MAPLETOFT (7), HAMEL (3)

GWG: HAMEL (5), HENNESSY & DONATI (3)

WINS: GLASS (14)

GAA: GLASS (2.72)

SENS ON THE AIR: Catch all the action LIVE on WINR 680-AM & WENE 1430-AM, via webcast or B2 Networks streaming video cast at www.binghamtonsenators.com

B-SENS TICKETS: 2007-08 coupon books, 10 game & 5 game plans are on sale. Single game tickets are also on sale. Please call the Binghamton Senators' executive office at (607) 722-SENS for information on ticket packages.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from February 25, 2008


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central