During the season bingo has had success playing versus the Penguins compiling a very solid record of 6-2-0-2. This long series has seen a little bit of everything as you would expect it to, seeing it was a ten game series. We seen a lot of tight games, some needed extra time and we also seen a couple lop sided scores. In this series the Senators should be able to walk away the winner but like we’ve seen our own team do not that long ago, upsets do happen! They do not possess the same type of goaltending that we seen at the beginning of the year in Robin Lehner and Ben Bishop, as both are now full time NHLers. But Nathan Lawson is a very solid AHL goaltender and has played on teams in the past that have had success in the playoffs, in the Hamilton bulldogs.

As for the Penguins, they have a lot of players at the top of their line-up that have quite a bit of AHL experience, such as: Chad Kolarik, Trevor Smith and Riley Holzapfel to name a few. Their team is built a little differently than the Senators, as they have a few high scoring centers and it kind of dips down after that, as for Bingo has a more balanced attack. This should be a good series as their are a lot of variables, someone might come out and steal the show. It is quite possible seeing as Bingo has a lot of newer young players trying to prove to the parent club that they deserve a shot at the NHL level, Luke Richardson has seen a couple of his players bust of of their shell and is hoping for more.

Due in large part to the NHL lockout the Penguins just like the Senators got quite of few of their players stripped from their team as the NHL made it’s return. Opposite to the B-Sens, Wilkes-Barre finished the season on a losing streak. To state the obvious, teams would prefer to start the playoffs on the right foot and that might give the B-Sens the edge they might need to wrap up this series fairly quickly! But then again as we know, anything can happen in the playoffs!

Game 1 – Sat., Apr. 27 – W-B/Scranton at Binghamton, 7:05
Game 2 – Sun., Apr. 28 – W-B/Scranton at Binghamton, 5:05
Game 3 – Thurs., May 2 – Binghamton at W-B/Scranton, 7:05
*Game 4 – Sat., May 4 – Binghamton at W-B/Scranton, 7:05
*Game 5 – Mon., May 6 – W-B/Scranton at Binghamton, 7:05

*If Necessary

Prediction: 3-1 Senators Series Victory

To open up the month of April Bingo hosted the Norfolk Admirals for back to back games in Binghamton. They were given a glorious chance to pass the Syracuse Crunch and get into 3rd place to lead their division but were unable to do so losing both games. Losing one game 2-1 and then on the next night were shut out 3-0, Cole Schneider was the lone scorer in both games for the home team. Nathan Lawson and Marc Cheverie each lost a game in the back to back loses.

After being on the losing end of back to backs, the B-Sens received another chance to redeem themselves versus the Albany Devils, in which I’m sure was a must wins for Luke Richardson and his team.  Cole Schneider opened the scoring in the first period. It was Schneider and Mark Stone who lead to the way as the Senators went on to win 5-3 as Lawson made 27 saves. It was what they needed, a win after being on the wrong end of the scoreboard against Norfolk. The following night, the boys traveled to Albany to play the final game of the back to back. This time around it was Corey Cowick who got in with the scoring, leading the way along with Mark Stone who both finished with a goal and an assist in the 5-0 shutout of the Devils, Lawson making 35 saves. Should note that newly signed Buddy Robinson Scored his first pro goal in this contest and also finished the night with 6 shots on goal.

The Binghamton Senators didn’t have much time to celebrate their back to back wins as the had to get back on the road and travel that night to face the Adirondack Phantoms. There was no score in this one until the 3rd period as Pat Cannone opened the scoring and it wasn’t until the very last second, at the .3 mark that the phantoms would tie it to bring it into overtime. the extra frame solved nothing, so both teams would need the shootout. This shootout was a marathon! It took fifteen(!) rounds to solve this game. Unfortunately the B-Sens were on the losing end of it but the game finished with a very interesting end!

As we get near the playoffs, it is important to note that both the Binghamton Senators and the Syracuse Crunch play for the most part teams that aren’t presently in the playoff picture. The teams playing them will be looking to play the role of spoiler as the regular season nears it’s completion. The final game of the season may be a good one as the Senators and Crunch will play each other to wrap up the regular season, this game may decide who wins the division with only a handful of games remaining!

As mentioned earlier the playoffs are quickly approaching not only for the Senators but also for Binghamton. The AHL regular season ends around a week earlier than the NHL so look for the AHL to be sending in some reinforcements to their respective NHL clubs as they get eliminated. Also look for a Binghamton Senators series preview once we figure out who is playing who in the AHL Playoffs!