4 Goal Third Period Fuels Binghamton Senators 6-3 Win Over Syracuse

Shane Prince had two goals and an assist and Cole Schneider had a pair of goals in leading the Binghamton Senators to a 6-3 victory over the rival Syracuse Crunch and giving rookie goaltender Chris Driedger his first AHL win in turning aside 25 of 28 shots. Binghamton roared back with four unanswered goals in the third as they have won three out of their last four games.

GAME RECAP

Syracuse’s Matthew Corrente challenges David Dziurzynski as the opening puck drop takes place one second in with Dizzy landing often getting the best of Corrente. Five seconds later Eric Neilson and Darren Kramer show up for the dance and each trading blows. Now with that out of the way, we get to some hockey as Schneider scores his first of two in the period potting the rebound in from a Aaron Johnson shot from the point.

Senators make it 2-0 as Johnson sends a floater in on net and it hits two Senators with Schneider getting the final touch, with Jean-Gabriel Pageau receiving the primary assist. Soon after Syracuse gets on the board when Philippe Paradis danced around a fallen Chris Driedger and shooting into the open net as Driedger was down making the initial save on Yanni Gourde. Then Jake Dotchin battles for the puck along center ice by the wall and dishes to a streaking Paradis and he skates by Alex Grant and Fredrik Claesson forcing a shot in close range into the back of the net to tie it up.

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Paradis follows up on a shorthanded breakaway but Alex Grant dives at Paradis and trips him with his stick forcing a penalty shot. Paradis skates in with a left-handed fake shot that undresses Driedger and skates right flipping home the puck on his backhand with Driedger already committed sliding over but it’s too late as Crunch take a 3-2 lead heading into the locker room on  Paradis’ hatty.

Johnson and Paradis are jarring at one another in a melee near the corner boards as Luke Witkowski and Kramer also exchanging pleasantries and both receive 10 minute misconduct’s, leaving the Crunch with only four defensemen with Corrente gone as the chippiness continues. Senators with huge pressure on the power play with Kristers Gudlevskis coming up big keeping the Crunch lead.

At 18:10 in the third Prince skates into the zone and shoots a wrist shot that Gudlevskis can’t handle and gets a stick on his own rebound and scores between Gudlevskis’s legs to tie up the game. Prince would then follow up with his second of the evening stripping the puck from Witkowski behind the net following a dump-in by Johnson and swings around in front of the cage shooting through Gudlevskis to give the Senators a 4-3 lead.

Senators tightening up defensively breaking up plays and having good puck control, as they go up 5-3 on Derek Grant‘s sixth of the season as Prince files a cross ice pass to Grant and he shoots high, short side. Dziurzynski adds an empty netter with 46 seconds left for good measure to solidify the win by a score of 6-3.

NOTES & OBSERVATIONS

• Senators nailed it this time in comeback fashion. The win gives them their seventh point in the last four games and they have turned the corner and are coming together as they reach a .500 record.
• Opening fight saw Corrente receive a game misconduct for tossing his elbow pad off as he was rather dramatic in preparing his fight with flinging his stick, throwing his gloves way in the air and his pad, that left his team with only five defensemen the rest of the way. Nice job Corrente.
• Alex Grant had three bad turnovers plus that terrible slide to break up Paradis’ breakaway, also Patrick Mullen was just as bad in handling the puck.
• Johnson and Paradis really don’t like each other (neither does the team’s they represent) but at the time the Crunch were up 3-2, and it looked like something might have been brought up about the score, as that might have fueled the Senators up during the second intermission.
• Senators outclassed out shot Syracuse 33-28 as that department seems to be in order instead of giving up 40 or so a game like they were.
• Scott Greenham served as back up as Andrew Hammond has been out recently getting banged up during practice.
• Binghamton slowly crawling their way to the top of the division sitting in third place five points out of first with WB/Scranton having played two more.

PLAYER’S  SPOTLIGHT CARD

B-SENS LINES

Forwards – Guptill-Pageau-Schneider, Puempel-D Grant-Robinson, Thompson-Camper-Prince, Kramer-McCormick-Dziurzynski

Defense – Claesson-Grant, Johnson-Mullen, New-Wideman

Out – Brad Mills, Gm. #16 of 20 gm. AHL Suspension, Mike Sdao and Ryan Dzingel are healthy scratches.

UP NEXT

Senators return back home to play the Rochester Americans Saturday night.