B-Sens Pre Game: W-B/Scranton Penguins
By Jeff Ulmer
The last game between Binghamton and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was Game 3 in the playoffs this past spring which didn’t bode very well for Bingo as they were eventually swept in 3 games. Turn the page on the calendar to a new season as they take on the first place Penguins for a 7:05 pm faceoff tonight at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. The two division rivals will lace up for game 1 of 8 meetings this year as the other I81 teams along the interstate besides Syracuse. This could be the biggest test for the B-Sens so far this season as the Pen’s 6 wins leads the league, however they have had a rather lighter schedule playing all but 1 team below or at .500 hockey. Meanwhile, Bingo escaped Bridgeport last Sunday afternoon with a 6-5 OT win after blowing both a 3 goal and 2 goal leads.
(4-2-0-0) 8 pts
Tie 2nd in East Division
VS.
(6-0-0-0) 12 pts
1st in East Division
Projected B-Sens Lineup
- Forward Lines
Hoffman-O’Brien-Robinson
Schneider-Da Costa-Prince
Dziurzynski-Hamilton-Cowick
Puempel-Culek-Kramer
- Defensemen
Borowiecki-Ceci
Claesson-Eckford
Sdao-Wideman
- Goaltenders
Lawson / Hammond
-Pre-Game Notes
– Veteran goaltender Jeff Deslauriers has 5 wins to lead the league for the Pens while sporting a 2.40 GAA and 0.908 SV%. Forward Brian Gibbons is tied for 3rd in the AHL in scoring with 11 points in 6 games.
– Pens potent offense has 27 goals and that can’t be overlooked as the Sens defense will need to tighten up any loose ends to help out Senators goalie Nathan Lawson in net.
– Sens have worked extra hard in practice on the powerplay and it has paid off. After being in the lower third for the most part in the AHL this season, the Senators went 4 for 4 in Bridgeport and are now leading the league at 30.4% as the Pens are in 11th place at 21.1%. Sens are 23rd on the PK at 77.1% while the Pens are 7th with 89.7%.
– On the flip side, Binghamton leads the league in minor penalties with 13 lead by Mark Borowiecki‘s 9. The Sens have got to stay out of the box against a team like Wilkes-Barre.
– Bingo has lost two main key cogs in the line up as forwards Derek Grant and Mika Zibanejad are up playing for Ottawa. The Pens have lost forward Jayson Megna on Thursday due to his recall by Pittsburgh and veteran forward Tom Kostopoulos is out with an injury.
-3 Key Players To Watch For
W-B/Scranton: Forwards Gibbons (4g 7a 6gms) and former B-Sens Andrew Ebbett (2g 5a 6gms), Defenseman Brendan Mikkelson (1g 6a 6gms).
Binghamton: Forwards Mike Hoffman (4g 2a 6 gms) and Stephane Da Costa (4a 3 gms), Defenseman Chris Wideman (5a 5 gms).
-Bingo Scratches
Injured: Mark Stone, shoulder. Andre Petersson, hasn’t skated at all this week and was scratched in last Sunday’s game in Bridgeport.
Healthy: D-Men Ben Blood and Troy Rutkowski.
-Head to Head Results
Sens go 6-4 against the Pens while outscoring them 26-21 in 10 games last season. The Pens would get revenge and sweep the B-Sens 3-0 in the first round of the playoffs.
-Media
Tune into iHeartRadio for audio and streaming online.
-B-Sens Tweet of the Day
Andrew Hammond @andrewhammond31
Almost looked like I knew what I was doing in Lowe’s buying a drill until I walked out the enter only doors and sounded the alarm. #toolman
—————-
-Last Game’s Highlights (5-02-13)