B-Sens Weekly

Published on March 7, 2012 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Binghamton Senators News Release


LAST WEEK...

Friday, March 2: Binghamton 5, Syracuse 2

Shots: Binghamton 27, Syracuse 43

PP: Binghamton 1 for 8, Syracuse 1 for 5

The Binghamton Senators defeated the Syracuse Crunch 5-2 on Friday at the OnCenter.

Four of the B-Sens' five goals were scored in the first period. Mike Hoffman (two goals, one assist) and Corey Locke (one goal, two assists) led the Binghamton offense, each posting three points on the night.

In the second period, the Crunch cut into the lead that the B-Sens had built up as Patrick Maroon and Luca Caputi scored goals.

Pat Cannone added some insurance for the B-Sens as he scored at 2:07 of the third to give the B-Sens a comfortable three goal lead.

Ben Bishop made his second career start in goal for the B-Sens, stopping 41 shots to improve to 26-14-0. Antero Niittymaki started things in goal for the Crunch, but was pulled in favor of Iiro Tarkki after allowing four goals on 12 shots. Tarkki made 14 saves in the game's final two periods.

Saturday, March 3: Binghamton 0, Hershey 3

Shots: Binghamton 17, Hershey 38

PP: Binghamton 0 for 3, Hershey 0 for 5

The Binghamton Senators fell 3-0 to the Hershey Bears at the Giant Center on Saturday night. The B-Sens were shutout for the sixth time this season and for the second time at the hands of the Bears.

The line of Kyle Greentree, Ryan Potulny and Graham Mink combined on a pair of goals for the Bears to give them a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

Greentree opened the scoring, burying a feed from Potulny at 12:44 of the first to put the hometown Bears on the board.

At the 14:50 mark, Potulny snuck the puck through a scrum in front of the B-Sens' goal, beating Mike McKenna to stretch his team's lead to two. Mink and Greentree combined for the assists.

The score remained 2-0 Bears until the final minute of play in the second period. With 44.4 seconds remaining on the clock Mink scored to put the Bears ahead by a trio of goals. The goal was Mink's third point in the game.

McKenna ultimately ended the night with 35 saves as he fell to 13-17-1 on the season. His counterpart, Braden Holtby, stopped all 17 shots he faced to improve to 20-14-2.

Sunday, March 4: St. John's 5, Binghamton 2

Shots: St. John's 41, Binghamton 23

PP: St. John's 3 for 6, Binghamton 0 for 3

Three third period goals - two of which came on power play - helped the St. John's IceCaps break a 2-2 tie and coast to a 5-2 victory over the Binghamton Senators at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena on Sunday evening.

Defenseman Paul Postma scored the game winner on a power play at the 4 minute mark of the final period of play.

Patrice Cormier and Aaron Gagnon each posted a goal and an assist for the IceCaps. John Albert and captain Jason Jaffray rounded out the St. John's side of the scoresheet.

Jack Downing and Corey Locke scored for the B-Sens.

Ben Bishop tended goal for the B-Sens, making 36 saves and he fell to 26-15-0 on the season. Eddie Pasquale made 21 saves for the IceCaps to improve to 16-7-0.

Record: 23-32-2-2

Standings: The B-Sens are fifth place in the East Division (50 points).

THIS WEEK...

Wednesday, March 7 @ Toronto Marlies (Toronto Maple Leafs) - 11 a.m.

The B-Sens begin a three game road trip in Toronto today as they square off against the Marlies in a rare late morning tilt. Game time is 11 a.m. The teams last met in Binghamton during opening weekend (Oct. 8). The B-Sens fell to the Marlies in that game, 3-2.

Toronto enters the week with a record of 32-20-4-3 and 71 points, good for first place overall in the North Division. They are 6-3-0-1 in their past ten games.

Forward Mike Zigomanis leads all Marlies players in assists (35) and points (51).

Binghamton native Jerry D'Amigo has posted 33 points (13 goals, 20 assists) in 59 games with the Marlies this season and is tied for second overall on the team in plus-minus at plus-11.

Friday, March 9 @ Rochester Americans (Buffalo Sabres) - 7:35 p.m.

Saturday, March 10 @ Rochester Americans - 7:35 p.m.

The B-Sens complete their week as they travel to Rochester for back-to-back tilts on Friday and Saturday night. The meetings will be the fifth and sixth of eight between the teams this season. The games are also two of four in which the teams will face one another in the month of March. The Amerks travel to Binghamton on March 17, and then the B-Sens make the trip back up to Rochester on March 23 to conclude their season series.

The Amerks enter the weekend with a record of 28-22-6-3 and 65 points, tying them with the Lake Erie Monsters for second place in the North Division.

Forward Derek Whitmore leads the Amerks in shorthanded goals (2), assists (33) and points (41). Goaltender David Leggio ranks fourth amongst his peers in saves with 1,051.

Fans can listen to all the road action this week live on "Binghamton's Classic Hits" BIG 107.5 (WBBI-FM). Voice of the B-Sens, Grady Whittenburg will have the call beginning 30 minutes before game time as he hosts the Countdown to Faceoff.

SENS SNIPPETS...

Goaltender Ben Bishop made over 40 saves for the second straight game in the B-Sens' 5-2 victory over the Syracuse Crunch on Friday night. He stopped 41 of the Crunch's 43 shots on goal. On Tuesday, Feb. 28 he turned aside 41 of the St. John's IceCaps' 42 shots en route to a 5-1 victory. Bishop is 26-15-0 with 2.27 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage in 41 games this season with Binghamton and the Peoria Rivermen.

B-SENS BRINGING IT HOME TO THE COMMUNITY...

B-Sens coaches Kurt Kleinendorst and Steve Stirling, and B-Sens players Mark Borowiecki, Tim Conboy, Mike McKenna, Mark Parrish and Patrick Wiercioch will participate in an Open House event, sponsored by Harding Brooks Insurance, on Monday, March 12 to benefit the Jack Jablonski Fund.

Jack Jablonski, known as Jabby or Jabs to his friends, is a 16 year old hockey player from Minnesota. On Dec. 30, Jablonski was checked from behind and careened into the boards head first, severing his spinal cord.

The B-Sens have joined forces with the Broome County High School Hockey Association and Southern Tier Hockey Association locally, as they raise money to assist the Jablonski family with their mounting medical expenses.

The evening will feature a chance to talk with the coaches and players about this season, last year's run for the Calder Cup and hockey in general.

The event will take place at the private home of Bob and Chris Lacey (656 Oak Hill Road, Binghamton) on Monday, March 12 from 6 to 9 p.m. In addition to a meet and greet with B-Sens coaches and players there will be appetizers, pizza and beverages.

Tickets to the event are $25 per person or $50 for a family of four. 100% of the proceeds from the evening will benefit the Jack Jablonski Fund. For more information or to purchase tickets please call 607-648-3456.

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American Hockey League Stories from March 7, 2012


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