Binghamton Senators Pre-Game: Host Hershey Bears

The Sens and Bears battle for the eighth time this season tonight at the Arena. Bears have won three out of their last four games to climb out of the bottom of the East while the Senators have been victorious in eight out of their last nine contests and looking to improve on an imposing 12-3-0-3 record on home ice. Hershey is 5-6-2-0 away from Giant Center. Newly selected AHL All-Star Mike Hoffman, who leads the club in scoring and is second in the league with 40 points, helps carry the way in cushioning the Sens three point lead in the East.

(22-10-0-3) 47 pts

/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#sthash.eiDTkNPD.dpuf(8-4-0-0) 16 pts

First in East Division

VS.

(15-12-3-3) 36 pts

Fourth in North Division

B-Sens Projected Lineup

Forward Lines

Hoffman-DaCosta-Schneider

Puempel-O’Brien-Petersson

Prince-Grant-Robinson

Dziurzynski-Hamilton-Cowick

Defensemen

Borowiecki-New

Sdao-Claesson

Eckford-Wideman

Goaltenders

Lawson / Hammond

Scratches

Injured Reserve:

Healthy: Forward Darren Kramer and Ludwig Karlsson, Defenseman Ben Blood.

Notes & Observations

• Nathan Walker and Patrick Wey are both out with lower body injuries however Wey has been recently upgraded to ‘day to day’ and might see some ice time tonight.
• Ex-B-Sens forward Dustin Gazley returns to Binghamton for the first time since his playing days for Bingo last season. Gazley recently got the call up and has a goal and an assist in three games for the Bears. He previously was playing for the Reading Royals of the ECHL (8g 10a 25gms). Ryan Potulny will also return to Binghamton as the veteran signed on late last month and has been held pointless in four games so far for Hershey.
• Rookie Matt Puempel (11g 7a) and D-man Fred Claesson (2g 12a +20) are the only players to have played in every game this season for the B-Sens.
• Tonight’s game marks the eighth already between the two clubs but they will have the next three months off from one another. The I-81 rivals still have two remaining games left to play, but not until the second weekend of April with a home and home affair on the 11th and 13th.
• Hoffman will be representing Binghamton in the AHL All-Star Game. Here is my article on his selection.
• Tim Murray was hired by the Buffalo Sabres for the GM role on Thursday. Pierre Dorion, Ottawa’s director of player personnel and Randy Lee, Ottawa’s director of hockey operations/player development, will be named co-assistant GM’s for the Binghamton Senators for the time being.

Three Cogs in the Machine

Hershey: Forwards Brandon Segal (7g 17a 28gms) and Casey Wellman (9g 10a 30gms), Defenseman David Kolomatis (5g 11a 28gms).

Binghamton: Forwards Hoffman (16g 24a 33gms) and Stephane Da Costa (12g 20a 32gms), Defenseman Chris Wideman (5g 19a 33gms).

Head-to-Head Results

B-Sens won their last game played against the Bears 4-1 on Dec. 26. Hershey leads the series 4-2-0-1.

B-Sens Tweet of the Day

Media Coverage

Tune into iHeartRadio for audio and streaming online.

*Cover photo courtesy of Alicia Strauch.