Binghamton Senators look to re-group after their embarrassing 5-0 loss on Friday down in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and another tough rival slides into place being the Syracuse Crunch in tonight’s tilt. This leans towards newly signed Peter Mannino getting the nod making his Senators debut as B-Sens fans filled with anticipation with a taste of what’s to come from the veteran goaltender.
(15-14-2-1, 33 pts) 4th in East Division
VS
(21-9-4-0, 46 pts) Tied For 1st in Northeast Division
7:05 PM
Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena
RADIO: 96.9 FM, 680 AM. AHL Live
MATCH-UP HISTORY
The Crunch have won two out of three so far with the Senators last winning in Syracuse 6-3 on Nov 28th.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Jonathan Marchessault, SYR – Leads the team with 8 goals and 21 assists in 33 games as the 24 year old native from Quebec City, PQ is in his fourth year at the pro level.
Marc Methot, BNG – The Ottawa Senators defenseman is on a conditioning stint as he will be in uniform for Binghamton tonight. Methot is coming off some nagging injuries suffered all season long as he wants to get his timing back before dressing up for a game for Ottawa.
THREE KEYS TO THE GAME
1. Better Consistency Between the Pipes – Mannino. At least he better be. Andrew Hammond would usually get the nod in back to back games that otherwise proved broken, as Binghamton signed the veteran earlier this week.
2. Need to Bounce Back Defensively – Team played well on the offensive side even though they couldn’t solve Pens goaltending. The bones are set in place, they just need some consistent goaltending and steady defensive playing in making smarter plays. Just can’t click with Andrew Hammond in net.
3. Stopping the Crunch As They Are Rolling – Coming into tonight’s game Syracuse is 7-2-1-0 over their last ten games while excelling to a 11-5-2-0 road record. Going to be tough but with a new goaltender it might end up in a favorable decision for the Sens. Well hopefully.
B-SENS TWEET OF THE GAME
#BSens send goalie who has won 3 straight (including a shutout) to ECHL, and tonight Hammond has allowed three goals on seven shots so far
— Matt Weinstein (@SteinTime44) January 3, 2015
*Cover Pic Courtesy of SenShot’s Photographer Alicia Strauch