Ryan Dzingel Leads Feisty Binghamton Senators In Win

These two teams have not liked one another one bit all season long as the feisty Binghamton Senators defeat the visiting Lehigh Valley Phantoms by a 4-3 margin. Senators’ rookie forward Ryan Dzingel took advantage of a costly turnover and scored his 16th with less than two minutes left in the third period as Binghamton edges closer to third place in the East with only one point now separating the two division rivals.

GAME RECAP

Just over three minutes in Phantoms’ Derek Mathers and Senators’ Guillaume Lepine emerged from getting tangled in the corner and decide to settle their differences as these to teams are no strangers in some fisticuffs. Mathers ends it rather quickly with some upper cuts with Lepine losing his balance. Forward Cole Schneider lets loose Shane Prince with a hailmary as Prince goes on a breakaway, only to have goaltender Rob Zepp glove his backhander.

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Shortly after, defenseman Troy Rutkowski would get Binghamton on the scoreboard first as he accepts a dot to dot pass from Prince and rifles home a one timer beating Zepp short-side, low for the power play tally. A little more than two minutes later Binghamton strikes again when defenseman Alex Grant blasts one from the point and is redirected off of Derek Grant sending the puck past Zepp for a 2-0 lead. Shots end up even at ten a piece.

Lehigh Valley cuts the lead by one with forward Jason Akeson skating from behind the cage and sends the puck into traffic in front as Blair Jones gets a stick on it sending it past netminder Chris Driedger making it now a 2-1 contest. Later on in the second, Senators’ Danny Hobbs knocks Akeson down with a high hit as Phantoms’ Adam Comrie isn’t too thrilled and goes after Hobbs, but as the two wrestle to the ice, Comrie decides to throw some cheap shots from his knees at Hobbs while he’s being tied up by the linesmen.

Defenseman Mark Alt pulls the Phantoms into a tie scoring just 11 seconds into the third period as he receives a pass from Akeson and uses Senators’ defenseman Chris Wideman as a screen and shoots high far side for his second of the season. Just three minutes later Binghamton regains the lead with Steven Delisle in the box for high sticking. Alex Grant makes a cross ice feed to Prince and he swiftly sends a wrist shot that eludes Zepp as that is Shane’s team leading 25th of the season making it now a 3-2 game.

Akeson is finished yet however, as Lehigh Valley ties it once again as he picks up a backhand pass from off the stick of Andrew Johnston and whistles a shot high blocker side beating Driedger, as he was slow in reacting to the shot. Then here comes Dzingel to save the day, picking up a turnover from defenseman Robert Hagg near the blue line and speeds in with the puck on Zepp, sending a high backhander as he roofs it to the back of the net past Zepp’s glove for the game winner with 1:54 left. Phantoms pull their goaltender with a 1:07 left but the Senators survive a late fury with under 20 seconds remaining.

NOTES & OBSERVATIONS

Binghamton ended up going 2/3 on the power play while holding the Phantoms on the PK to 0/4.
Driedger not as sharp tonight as the Phantoms habit of shooting high corner, to his blocker side, as goal’s #3 and #4 should’ve been stopped.
Lepine and Mathers went toe to toe in Round II during one of the breaks in the third period with Lepine landing several punches sending Mathers twirling down to the ice, as that would end both players night.
Darren Kramer shared his blessings with Jones after the horn goes off near center ice and Zack Stortini is not a happy camper as he circles and circles away from one of the linesmen as he wants to state his mind to whomever, while Derek Grant controls his team mates telling them to get off the ice. That’s Captain related as he should have been the one wearing the C this year.
3 fights this evening as this increases the club’s league leading to 102.
Newcomer Alex Wideman was a scratch and was seen up in the stands with Mike Sdao.
Shots ended up 35-31, wait for it…Senators!

B-SENS LINES

Forwards – Prince-Camper-Schneider, Dzingel-D Grant-Robinson, Kramer-McCormick-Mills, Guptill-Hobbs-Thompson

Defense – Claesson-Lepine, Johnson-Grant, Rutkowski-Wideman

Out – Matt Tassone, Patrick Mullen, Danny New and David Dziurzynski, injured. Mike Sdao and Alex Wideman, healthy.

UP NEXT

The Albany Devils are set to play a home game against the Senators on Saturday night.

*Cover Pic & Inserts Courtesy of SenShot’s Photographer Alicia Strauch

Next: Mike Sdao Voted Man Of The Year, Alex Wideman Signs ATO With Binghamton Senators

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