The streaking Hershey Bears, winners of their last five games, play the Binghamton Senators twice this weekend in a home and home series with Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins mixed in the middle as the Senators have a big three in three weekend with two division rivals. Senators are coming off their huge win on Sunday against the Pens to salvage their two losses last weekend as now it’s crunch time for the East teams with the season winding down and a title on the line along with the playoffs on the horizon.
(41-23-1-5) 88 pts
/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#sthash.eiDTkNPD.dpuf(8-4-0-0) 16 pts
First in East Division
VS.
(37-25-4-4) 82 pts
Third in East Division
Notes
The Senators can wrap up a playoff berth with a win over the Bears in regulation and a regulation loss by Norfolk Admirals, who play in Providence tonight as Sens would win on the tiebreaker over the Ads. It won’t be easy as we are now missing defenseman Mark Borowiecki adding to the growing list of players injured or up in Ottawa as he hasn’t practiced all week. If we can survive this weekend and maybe clinch a spot, then we should be okay as Ottawa’s season will come to an end and some much-needed help will be on the way for Binghamton’s final three home games of the regular season next week.
Hershey has been on a roll and is one point over Norfolk for the final spot in the Eastern Conference. Both clubs have a rough schedule coming up with the majority of their games on the road as I outlined here from an earlier article. It’s going to be an amazing finish in these last two weeks of play and deciding how each club will stand once the season is completed.
For those fans hoping for a Luke Richardson revival in Ottawa next season, sorry as it’s not going to happen as my summarization proves that Richardson is happy behind the bench in Binghamton and is staying put for now. In the article, Luke points out family first as he is comfortable in his current role leading his club by example heading into the AHL playoffs.
Keep in mind the old saying though, ‘good things come to people who wait’, right?
Players To Watch For
Hershey: Forwards Kris Newbury (17g 29a 57gms) and Jeff Taffe (19g 26a 69gms), Defenseman David Kolomatis (7g 19a 56gms).
Binghamton: Forward Shane Prince (20g 22a 63gms) and Cole Schneider (20g 32a 64gms), Defenseman Alex Grant (9g 27a 66gms).
Season Series
Bears are 4-3-0-1 against the Senators with one game remaining after tonight’s tilt.
Current Playoff Picture
- Percentage of reaching the playoffs: 99.9%
- Overall position (out of 100%) : 11th in the league
- Won or loss after last game +/-: +0.1 (W over W/B-Scranton).
Sens Tweet of the Day
Media
Tune into iHeartRadio for audio and on TWCS Channel 325 in the Southern Tier.
Article Pic
Cover photo courtesy of Alicia Strauch.