Something short of a miracle: Sens fall to Sharks, 4-3

Published on February 19, 2010 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Binghamton Senators News Release


BINGHAMTON, N.Y. - In lieu of the Olympic games in Vancouver, the Binghamton Senators honored one of the greatest moments in American sports history, the "Miracle on Ice" United States 4-3 victory over the Soviet Union in the 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid, by donning the same jerseys as the triumphant underdogs. The Senators came into Friday night's game the underdog to the Atlantic Division-leading Worcester Sharks, and although the scoreboard and attire looked the same at the end of the game, it was the Sharks who left Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena with the 4-3 victory.

The Sens struck first 6:45 into the first period. Defenseman Geoff Kinrade picked up the puck in the B-Sens zone and busted up the right hand boards. Kinrade deked out the defenseman, cut into the slot, and chipped a backhand into the chest of Sharks' goaltender Alex Stalock. Forward Martin St. Pierre trailed the play, and was shoved into the Sharks' net by defenseman Mike Moore. St. Pierre's skate inadvertently kicked the puck over the goal line, giving the Sens a 1-0 lead.

The B-Sens' opened up the second period at a disadvantage. Within the first 25 seconds of the period, forward Keegan Dansereau and defenseman Drew Bannister were called for interference and holding, respectively, giving the Sharks a 5-on-3 power play. During the penalty kill, defenseman Derek Smith had broken his stick, adding to the B-Sens' troubles. But both Derek Smith and Zack Smith used their bodies to block three shots, and clear the zone. As the penalties expired, the Senators were met with a thunderous ovation from the home crowd.

The Sharks would tie the game up eight minutes into the second period. Two B-Sens defenders were caught chasing Worcester winger T.J. Trevelyan carrying the puck behind the Binghamton net. Trevelyan banked a pass to himself off the side of the cage and just barely stuffed the puck by goaltender Mike Brodeur.

Exactly three minutes later, the Sharks took the lead on the power play off of a Kinrade interference penalty. Setting up in the Binghamton zone, defenseman Jason Demers fed a pass from the left hand boards to center Benn Ferriero at the point. Ferriero wound up and blasted a slap shot over the left shoulder of Brodeur to give Worcester a 2-1 lead.

The B-Sens answered back four and a half minutes into the third. Defenseman Neil Petruic intercepted a clearing attempt in the Worcester zone and wristed a laser towards the front of the net. Goaltender Alex Stalock made the initial save, but St. Pierre was in front to bury the rebound into the back of the net for his second goal of the night, and to tie the game at 2-2.

Three minutes later,Tomas Kudelka, playing as a forward tonight, nearly mirrored Petruic's play, intercepting a lead pass from the Worcester zone. Kudelka skated one-on-one with the lone Sharks' defender and fired a slap shot that deflected off the defender's stick. The puck hung up in the air before a surprised Stalock watched it soar over his head and into the Worcester goal to give the Sens their first lead since the first period.

But the Sharks would tie the game, again on the power play, midway through the third period. Jason Demers passed along the blue line to winger Jamie McGinn at the opposite point. McGinn wristed a shot through traffic that found its way under the right arm of Brodeur and into the mesh to tie the game at three a piece.

With just over three minutes left in the game, the Sharks tallied a dagger due to a Sens' defensive mistake. The Sharks fore-check dominated in the corner of the Binghamton zone, as defenseman Danny Grouix came out of the scramble with the puck. Grouix fed a cross-ice pass through the slot to an undefended Dan DaSilva skating in backdoor by the far post. DaSilva faked the shot and used his long reach to slip the puck over the goal line while almost completely behind the net to give Worcester the 4-3 lead.

With just over a minute left, Brodeur was pulled for an extra attacker, but to no avail. Josh Hennessy fired a shot out of desperation in the final seconds of regulation, but was smothered up into the chest of Stalock, securing the Sharks their fourth straight win.

The Senators return to action tomorrow, Saturday Feb. 20, in the first ever American Hockey League outdoor game, the Mirabito Outdoor Classic, squaring off against East Division rivals, the Syracuse Crunch, at the Grandstand at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, New York. Drop of the puck is 1 P.M.

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American Hockey League Stories from February 19, 2010


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