The Bears return an undefeated team playing in Binghamton this season and will be searching for their third straight at the Arena. This game will mark the seventh meeting already between the two I-81 rival’s this season as the Sens look to make it three wins in a row overall of their own. Netminder’s Nathan Lawson (9-4-0, 2.42) should get the start, while the Bears will most likely counter with David Leggio (7-8-2, 2.84).
(16-9-0-3) 35 pts
/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#sthash.eiDTkNPD.dpuf(8-4-0-0) 16 pts
2nd in East Division
VS.
(12-10-2-3) 29 pts
4th in East Division
B-Sens Projected Lineup*
Forward Lines
Hoffman-DaCosta-Stone
Prince-O’Brien-Petersson
Puempel-Grant-Schneider
Cowick-Hamilton-Dziurzynski
Defensemen
Borowiecki-New
Eckford-Claesson
Blood-Wideman
Goaltenders
Lawson / Hammond
Scratches
Injured Reserve: Good to go.
Healthy: Forwards Darren Kramer and Buddy Robinson, Defenseman Michael Sdao.
*Don’t hold me to it, subject to change.
Notes & Observations
- Hershey has finally climbed out of the basement in the East for the first time this season as they have been replaced with the free-falling Syracuse Crunch. The Bears, meanwhile have won four out of six games this season against Bingo.
- Bears forward Nicolas Deschamps was named AHL’s Player of the Week after scoring a goal in each of his team’s past three games. Ex-Senator Ryan Potulny, who scored 52 goals for Hershey the past two seasons, has re-signed with the Bears last Sunday. Not sure if he gets into tonight’s contest for his first game of the season since his KHL contract was voided in the wake of a shoulder injury in an early pre-season match.
- Sens are ranked second in the league in scoring at 3.54 while Hershey is sitting in seventh position at 3.22 per game. B-Sens power play is fifth at 20.7% as the Bears are 25th at 14.3%. The penalty kill favors Hershey as they are one step ahead of the Senators at 16th, 82.1% vs. 17th, 81.7%.
Three Cogs in the Machine
Hershey: Forwards Brandon Segal (4g 12a 22gms) and Deschamps (8g 7a 20gms), Defenseman David Kolomatis (4g 11a 23gms).
Binghamton: Forwards Matt Puempel (7g 5a 28gms) and Shane Prince (5g 7a 23gms), Defenseman Mark Borowiecki (Captain).
Head-to-Head Results
The Bears lead with a 4-1-0-1 record heading into the season with their latest a 7-4 win at Giant Center.
B-Sens Tweet of the Day
Christmas spirit is here. Love you guys @DGrant57 and Mr André pic.twitter.com/OuR4qctHgu
— Erik Karlsson (@ErikKarlsson65) December 23, 2013
Media Coverage
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