LAST WEEK: The B-Sens secured their first home win on Friday night against the Syracuse Crunch and followed on Saturday night with a non-divisional win over the Worcester Sharks to take all four points last week.
FRIDAY, NOV. 7 vs. SYRACUSE (4-1 W): The B-Sens dominated the Crunch to earn their first home victory of 2008-09. Rookie Zack Smith scored his team-leading seventh goal of the year. Newcomer Drew Fata buried a goal in his first game with Binghamton. Ilya Zubov tallied the eventual game-winning goal while Ryan Shannon (0+2) and Brendan Bell (1+0) extended their point streaks to seven games. Brian Elliott turned away 30 shots to backstop the B-Sens to their fifth win of the year before a sellout crowd at the Arena.
SATURDAY, NOV. 8 vs. WORCESTER (5-4 W): The B-Sens outlasted the Sharks in a game that saw seven power-play goals and 73 total shots, 52 coming from Worcester. Netminder Brian Elliott set a new career-high with 48 saves, including 21 in the final period. The B-Sens power-play unit dominated the early stages, scoring four goals in the first 21 minutes. Ironically, an even-strength marker at 4:23 of the second period by center Cody Bass, his first of the year, proved to be the game winner. Ryan Shannon tied a career-high with three assists and extended his point streak to eight games (4+8). Ilya Zubov notched three points (1+2) for the second time this season, while defenseman Mattias Karlsson buried one goal and added an assist. Brendan also had a marker and a helper to extend his point streak to eight games (4+5).
THIS WEEK: The B-Sens head north to Canada for two games against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The two teams meet on Tuesday afternoon in Summerside, P.E.I., followed by an evening contest in St. John’s, N.L. on Wednesday. Binghamton returns home on Friday, Nov. 14 to host the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins for the first time this season. The B-Sens finish their busiest week of the season on the road, first at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday, Nov. 15 and at Hershey on Sunday, Nov. 16.
TUESDAY, NOV. 11 @ BRIDGEPORT (1 p.m. ET - played @ Summerside, P.E.I.) &
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 12 @ BRIDGEPORT (5:30 p.m. ET - played @ St. John’s, N.L.):
The B-Sens look to change their fortune against the Sound Tigers after losing on consecutive nights on home ice earlier this month. The Sound Tigers (10-3-0-1, 21 pts.) have rattled off wins in three straight and six of their last seven games to jump to the top of the East Division standings. Ryan Shannon scored in both games against Bridgeport this season. The Sound Tigers attack is led by Kurtis McLean (5+10) and Mike Iggulden (7+7).
FRIDAY, NOV. 14 vs. WB/SCRANTON & SATURDAY, NOV. 15 @ WB/SCRANTON (7:05 p.m.): The
B-Sens face the defending Eastern Conference champion Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for the first time this season. Sniper Chris Minard leads the AHL in goals (13) and game-winning goals (4), while his 20 points are good for second in the league. The Penguins (7-4-0-1, 15 pts.) have won four of their last five games.
SUNDAY, NOV. 16 @ HERSHEY (5:00 p.m.): The Hershey Bears (9-5-0-1, 19 pts.) high-scoring attack has registered 60 goals already this year, tops in the AHL. Former B-Sen Alexandre Giroux has nine goals for the Bears and Keith Aucoin leads the team with 19 points (5+14). A total of eight players have 10 or more points for Hershey through 15 games. Defenseman Brian Lee averaged an assist per game against Hershey during the 2007-08 season.
SENS SNIPPETS: The B-Sens face their busiest week of the season, playing five games in six days with four games away from the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. Defenseman Brendan Bell will skate in his 300th AHL game on Tuesday against Bridgeport. The B-Sens currently have five players riding point streaks. Binghamton had a season-high four power-play goals against Worcester on Saturday night.
B-SENS LEADERS:
POINTS: Shannon (5+9=14) & Zubov (7+7=14)
GOALS: Z. Smith (8)
ASSISTS: Shannon (9)
POWER-PLAY GOALS: Shannon (4)
SHORT-HANDED GOALS: None
GAME-WINNING GOALS: Z. Smith & Zubov (2)
SHOTS: Z. Smith (30)
WINS: Elliott (5)
SAVES: Elliott (246)
GAA: Elliott (2.43)
SAVE PERCENTAGE: Elliott (0.925)
B-SENS PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
11-10-08 - travel day (no practice)
11-11-08 - game vs. Bridgeport @ Summerside, P.E.I.
11-12-08 - game vs. Bridgeport @ St. John’s, N.L.
11-13-08 - travel day (no practice)
11-14-08 - game-day skate - 10 - 10:45 - BCVMA
game - 7:05 vs. WBS Penguins
11-15-08 - game-day skate - 10 - 10:45 - BCVMA
game - 7:05 @ WBS Penguins
11-16-08 - game - 5 @ Hershey
B-SENS ON THE AIR: Catch all the action LIVE on WINR 680-AM & WENE 1430-AM, via webcast or streaming video cast at www.ahllive.com
B-SENS TICKET PACKAGES: 2008-09 full-season, half-season tickets, coupon books, 10-game, 5-game and 4-game plans are on sale. For information on ticket packages contact the Binghamton Senators’ executive office at (607) 722-SENS.