Binghamton Senators Weekly

January 3, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Binghamton Senators News Release


LAST WEEK: The Binghamton Senators went 2-2-0-0 last week to pick up four points and currently occupy third place in the East Division with 41 points.

MONDAY, DEC. 27TH @ SYRACUSE (4-2 W): The Senators defeated the Crunch for the fourth time this season and remained undefeated in the season series (4-0-0-0). BRANDON BOCHENSKI scored the game's first goal, and his seventh of the month, at 8:23 of the first period. The Crunch would receive a five-minute power play when BRIAN POTHIER was called for a boarding major at :44 of the second period. But the Senators got short-handed goals from CHRIS KELLY and JOSH LANGFELD to outscore the Crunch 2-1 while down one player. RAY EMERY earned the win by stopping 37 of 39 shots. The Senators were 1 for 3 on the power play while the Crunch went 2 for 7.

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 29TH @ HERSHEY (3-7 L): Hershey jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the Senators third game in four nights. PAT KAVANAGH extended his point streak to four games with a goal in the first period and BRIAN McGRATTAN scored his third goal in four games. CHARLIE STEPHENS continued to be hot against his former team and scored a goal in the third period. Hershey forward ERIC PERRIN, who played in last year's Stanley Cup finals, had four points (two goals, two assists) in leading the Bears to victory. RAY EMERY made 32 saves on 39 shots and PETER BUDAJ stopped 32 of 35 shots to pick up the win. Neither team scored on the power play with Binghamton going 0 for 3 and Hershey going 0 for 5.

FRIDAY, DEC. 31ST VS. SPRINGFIELD (7-1 W): DENIS HAMEL tallied his first hat trick as a Binghamton Senator and his team cruised to a 7-1 victory on New Year's Eve. JASON SPEZZA and JOSH LANGFELD had big nights as well. SPEZZA had his second four-point night of the season (two goals, two assists) and LANGFELD chipped in two goals and one assist. BILLY THOMPSON won his fourth consecutive start by making 20 saves on 21 shots. The Senators have won on New Year's Eve in each of the team's three seasons. American Hockey League teams playing in Binghamton have won 15, lost five and tied three games on the holiday. The Senators power play was successful in 3 of 6 opportunities while the Falcons were 1 for 6 with the man advantage.

SATURDAY, JAN. 1ST @ WORCESTER (2-3 L): The IceCats and Senators traded goals for the first two periods, but Binghamton could not get one in the third and fell 3-2 on the road Saturday evening. JOSH LANGFELD and DENIS HAMEL each followed up their strong New Year's Eve game with a goal. HAMEL assisted on LANGFELD'S first period goal giving him a two-point night. Worcester forward BLAKE EVANS scored at 14:20 of the third period to give his team the win. Only eight penalty minutes were called between the two teams setting a new Binghamton franchise record for fewest combined penalty minutes in a game. Neither team was successful on the power play with Binghamton going 0 for 1 and Worcester going 0 for 3.

THIS WEEK: The Senators have two home games this week. On Friday, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins come to town and Syracuse visits on Saturday.

FRIDAY, JAN. 7TH VS. WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON: The Penguins return to Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena for the second time this season. Their first trip resulted in a 3-2 overtime loss that concluded with an ANTOINE VERMETTE breakaway goal. JASON SPEZZA leads the Senators in scoring against the Penguins with five points (two goals, three assists) in three games. The Senators are 2-1-0-0 against the Penguins the season.

SATURDAY, JAN. 8TH VS. SYRACUSE: Binghamton will be trying to defeat the Crunch for the fifth time in five games this season. JASON SPEZZA has six points (one goal, five assists) against the Crunch this season and leads Binghamton in scoring in the series. Binghamton goalie RAY EMERY has a 3-0-0 record against Syracuse with a 1.96 goals against average and a .944 save percentage.

SENS SNIPPETS: Several Senators continue to climb the league scoring charts. JASON SPEZZA starts the week tied for the league lead in scoring with 49 points (14 goals, 35 assists)....DENIS HAMEL is tied for second in the AHL in goals with 22....The Senators have scored four goals in each of their four games against the Syracuse Crunch this season....Denis Hamel's New Year's Eve hat trick was the fourth of his AHL career...Defenseman JAN PLATIL and forward GREG WATSON each played in their 100th career AHL game last week. PLATIL played in game number 100 on Friday against Springfield while WATSON skated in game 100 on Saturday against Worcester...Rookie BRANDON BOCHENSKI finished the month of December with seven goals and six assists in 15 games and is now tied for third among all rookies in scoring with 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists) in 32 games.

SENS IN THE COMMUNITY: Several Binghamton Senators will be at the American Red Cross Blood Center at 26 Court St. in downtown Binghamton on Tuesday signing autographs and giving out t-shirts to those who donate blood. The blood drive will take place between 2 and 7 p.m. and donors are invited to bring their children.

PRACTICE & GAME SCHEDULE FOR THE WEEK OF JANUARY 3RD (SUBJECT TO CHANGE):

Monday, Jan. 3 Off Day

Tuesday, Jan. 4 10 a.m. Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena

Wednesday, Jan. 5 10 a.m. Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena

Thursday, Jan. 6 10 a.m. Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena

Friday, Jan. 7 10 a.m. (Pre-game skate) Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena

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

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

7:05 p.m. Syracuse @ Binghamton

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.



American Hockey League Stories from January 3, 2005


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