A large New Year’s Eve crowd was on hand in cheering on the Binghamton Senators 6-2 spanking over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in celebration of welcoming in 2015. The win is the team’s third straight and net-minder Scott Greenham stopped 33 shots and has been in goal for all three decisions as he’s making a strong case in not being sent down to Evansville to make room for newly signed goaltender Peter Mannino.
GAME RECAP
Just 34 seconds into the game Alex Grant hits Blair Jones from behind the net and the two exchange in a brief scrap as they skate up ice. Senators’ David Dziurzynski fires a hard wrister in front getting the puck stuck in the twine in the process as he puts his team on the board first with his third of the season. Then Jason Akeson ties it up on a rather scrambley play with Brett Hextall drawing Greenham out of position circling around the net before feeding to Akeson in front for the empty netter.
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Jones then puts his team ahead with a nice give and go out front with Akeson as he one times it by Greenham short side. Senators were able to tie it right back up on a sweet play following Cole Schneider’s shot ringing off the crossbar just beforehand, as Carter Camper swung around the net passing to Schneider set on the corner of the circle and fed it to Shane Prince and his one timer beats goaltender Anthony Stolarz down low with Stolarz playing with a defenseman’s stick as he lost his at some point in a previous melee in front.
Binghamton comes storming out of the chute in the second and scores one of their four goals in the period as they get the first one off of Schneider’s re-direct following Patrick Mullen’s quick snapper from inside the blue line for a 3-2 Senator lead. At 9:13 with Phantom’s down two men for a five on three Sens advantage, Alex Grant scores his fifth of the season on a snap shot that was once again dished by Camper’s play from the corner beating Stolarz with traffic in front.
Alex Grant then intercepts Austin Fyten’s outward possession as the puck travels up in the air and lands near Derek Grant and he buries it home from about 4o feet out which ends Stolarz’s night as in pops Rob Zepp with the Senators up 5-2. With 2:51 left in the middle frame, Matt Puempel finds an opening short side off the faceoff in the offensive zone beating Zepp to cap the scoring as Binghamton cruises the rest of the way to a 6-2 victory that had shots 35-29 favoring the Phantoms.
NOTES & OBSERVATIONS
- Darren Kramer had an active night being involved in a minor skirmish with really tall Oliver Lauridsen near the player’s benches, and late with big bad Zack Stortini in a fight that Stortini pretty much controlled as expected with several punches landing to Kramer’s noggin.
- Puempel also got into the fisticuffs with Brandon Manning and was clocked pretty good in the face as that was a mismatch.
- Alex Grant with the Gordie Howe hatty tonight and was honored as the game’s second star. Camper with three assists was not part of the three stars for who knows what, but is featured here as the Player’s Spotlight.
- Defenseman Chris Wideman has only one goal to show for over his last 13 games while settling for an assist tonight.
- Binghamton is now percentage points ahead of Lehigh Valley in third place in the East, and eight behind leader Penguins but with three games on hand, as this Friday’s game against the Pens will indeed be a crucial one.
- Senators going with a three-man rotation in-goal as for now with Luke riding his hot hand in Greenham. The last three wins have come along Scotty’s good play and will continue to do so carrying over into this weekend with two games on tap. Andrew Hammond served as back-up tonight.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT CARD
B-SENS LINES
Forwards – Puempel-D Grant-Dziurzynski, Prince-Camper-Schneider, Thompson-Dzingel-Guptill, Kramer-McCormick-Robinson
Defense – Claesson-Grant, Johnson-Mullen, Sdao-Wideman
Out – Brad Mills and Daniel New, both healthy.
UP NEXT
Senators bus it down I81 south to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the fifth game of the season between the two rivals on Friday.
*Cover Pic & Insert Courtesy of SenShot’s Photographer Alicia Strauch