AHL American Hockey League

Spezz-tacular run puts Senators atop East

Published on January 24, 2005 under American Hockey League (AHL) News Release


SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... Riding the torrid pace of star center Jason Spezza, the Binghamton Senators have won eight in a row and 13 of their last 15 to take over first place in the AHL's East Division heading into the last week of January.

The B-Sens moved into the top spot on Saturday night, posting a 4-3 win over St. John's in front of 14,210 fans at the Corel Centre in Ottawa; Binghamton ended the weekend with a three-point lead over Philadelphia atop the East. In search of the franchise's second division title in three years, rookie head coach Dave Cameron is joined behind the bench by co-coach John Paddock and assistant Mike Busniuk, who have a combined 11 career Calder Cup championships to their credit.

Spezza, a 2003 AHL All-Star and All-Rookie selection, has erupted for 13 goals and 18 assists for 31 points in his last 14 contests, including 11 multiple-point games. He has also chipped in seven power-play goals in that span after scoring just one in his first 31 outings. The Senators, who lead the AHL in power-play efficiency at 22.7 percent for the season, are on a 25-for-72 clip (34.7%) over those 14 games, and their special teams play has also accounted for a league-leading 11 shorthanded markers on the year.

Spezza's 69 points lead the AHL, and he has more assists (47) than any other Senator has points. But Binghamton's surge has been far from a one-man show. Brandon Bochenski, who leads all AHL rookies in scoring this season, has recorded 18 points (6g, 12a) in 13 games since Christmas. Denis Hamel, a 25-goal scorer for the fourth time in his AHL career, has recorded a point in 10 straight games (7g, 10a). Defenseman Anton Volchenkov has reigstered 12 points (3g, 9a) and a plus-9 rating during the Sens' eight-game winning streak; he had nine points and a minus-1 in 26 games prior. And in goal, Ray Emery has won his last five starts, while Billy Thompson is riding a personal seven-game winning streak.

The Senators are averaging more than 4.5 goals per game during their 13-2-0-0 spurt, and are now second only to league-leading Manchester in overall offense with 154 goals on the season. Binghamton is also one of the most experienced teams in the league, as their roster boasts 268 games played in the NHL during the 2003-04 season alone.

The Sens hit the ice for four games in five nights this week, beginning with a visit from Providence on Wednesday night. Binghamton travels to Rochester on Friday before hosting Albany and Syracuse.

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PPD., SNOW ... The Blizzard of '05 caused five postponements over the weekend, with its effects reaching as far as Texas. It was 74 degrees Fahrenheit in Houston on Saturday, but the snow in the Midwest kept Grand Rapids from traveling south, and forced the postponement of the first half of their two-game series at the Toyota Center. The Philadelphia-Hershey game at the Giant Center was also called off, rescheduled for Feb. 2.

As the storm moved east, three contests in New England scheduled for Sunday were postponed. Games in Worcester, Lowell and Providence were shelved as upwards of three feet of snow fell on parts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.


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600 FOR MALTAIS ... Chicago Wolves mainstay Steve Maltais reached another impressive milestone on Wednesday night, recording the 600th goal of his professional career in a 6-3 loss to Hamilton.

Maltais ended a nine-game drought and beat Bulldogs rookie Yann Danis on a power play at 10:38 of the first period. Of his 600 goals, 208 have come in the American Hockey League, and 449 have been scored in a Wolves uniform.


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WANTED: ALL-STAR COACH ... With one week to go, four coaches are still in the running to earn the right to lead the PlanetUSA team at the 2005 Dodge AHL All-Star Classic. The team with the best points percentage after play on Sunday (Jan. 30) will send its coaching staff to the event. Manchester's Bruce Boudreau (.767) is in the driver's seat with a chance to be an All-Star coach in his home building. Also still in the race are Hartford's Ryan McGill (.716), Rochester's Randy Cunneyworth (.709) and Manitoba's Randy Carlyle (.705).

Rosters for the event will be announced this Wednesday (Canada) and Thursday (PlanetUSA). Claude Noel of the defending Calder Cup champion Milwaukee Admirals will coach the Canadian team.


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ETC. ... St. John's forward Kyle Wellwood recorded a point on each of the Maple Leafs' nine goals (3g, 6a) in three games last week... Ajay Baines, who missed nearly a month with an injury suffered in the Spengler Cup tournament, scored a goal in his return to the Norfolk lineup on Friday night; Baines played all 80 games for the Admirals in 2001-02 and again in 2003-04... Cincinnati has won a franchise-record seven straight home games... Hartford ran its home winning streak to nine games and ended Lowell's overall winning streak at seven by erasing a three-goal deficit and beating the Lock Monsters on Saturday, 6-4; after scoring two goals in his first 32 games of the season, Jed Ortmeyer recorded a hat trick in the win... Gavin Morgan had two goals in his first 38 games before scoring three times in Hamilton's 6-3 win over Chicago on Wednesday... Rochester is 19-3-0-3 in its last 25 games... Grand Rapids ended two seven-game home losing streaks (one overall and one to Chicago) with a 6-3 win over the Wolves on Friday... Jiri Hudler is expected to return to the Griffins this week after spending two months in the Czech Republic with his ailing father... Mark Hartigan scored three times in the third period of Syracuse's 4-2 win over St. John's on Friday... Mikko Koivu has six goals and three assists in his last six games for Houston... Bridgeport's road winless slide hit 13 games (0-11-1-1) with a 3-1 loss in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday; the Sound Tigers have not won a game in regulation since Dec. 15, going 2-11-1-1 with two shootout wins... Wednesday's Hartford-Springfield contest was the first AHL game to feature two penalty shots since a Hamilton-Rochester playoff contest on May 5, 1999.

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American Hockey League Stories from January 24, 2005


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