Ben Bishop started in net for Binghamton and had 36 regulation saves, but it was a less than stellar beginning for him, as Rochester scored twice in a 28-second span during the first period.
The first goal came on the power play, with Binghamton’s Corey Cowick off for hooking. Cody Hodgson hit crossbar with a shot and the puck went to the corner. Rochester kept possession and Hodgson got it back, passing To Evan Rankin in front. He went high on Bishop and gave the Amerks a 1-0 with 9:18 gone in the first period.
That goal snapped a streak of 23 consecutive penalties killed for the league’s second ranked penalty- kill unit.
The second goal was credited to Luke Adam as he shot a puck in on Bishop that was inadvertently tipped by Binghamton’s Mike Hoffman. Bishop looked to have it under his glove, but it somehow trickled over the goal line and just like that, it was 2-0.
The B-Sens answered with 19.3 left in the period on a Hugh Jessiman goal. He was able to beat Amerks’ goalie David Leggio, to cut the Rochester lead to 2-1. Cowick and Patrick Wiercioch got the assists.
Binghamton had 15 shots in the period, while Rochester managed 12 in the first 20 minutes.
Tyler Eckford kept the momentum going for Binghamton, as he scored 4:43 into the second period on a shot from the right circle that may have been tipped by a Rochester skater. David Dziurzynski and Derek Grant earned the helpers on the tying goal.
It took less than five minutes for the Amerks to answer, as they got a goal from their captain Kevin Porter, who sent a rocket by Bishop and just under the crossbar, making it a 3-2 with 10:50 left in the period.
The answer came 4:19 later when Jakob Silfverberg stole the puck at center and came streaking in on Leggio. He let a cannon shot go and it found the back of the net, tying things up 3-3. For Silfverberg, it was his team leading 10th tally of the season.
The B-Sens earned their first lead of the night at the 16:42 mark when captain Andre Benoit and Jean-Gabriel Pageau teamed up on a nice give-and-go. Pageau got the centering feed to Benoit banged it home to make it 4-3. Hugh Jessiman got the second assist.
The second period would end with that one goal differential and Rochester holding a 25-24 lead in shots.
Stephane Da Costa looked to give Binghamton a two-goal lead when he caught Leggio out of position and had a wide open net to shoot at. He was a fraction of a second late and that was just enough time for Leggio to come diving across the crease and make the save, with 13:01 left in regulation.
Rochester’s Phil Varone picked up a hooking call with 11:10 left, giving Binghamton their third power play of the night. It took just eight seconds for Patrick Wiercioch to skate in and beat Leggio from the side of the net. It was a tough shot that caromed off of Leggio’s leg and in.
That gave Binghamton a 5-3 lead with 11:02 left and they looked to be in pretty good shape.
Unfortunately, that cushion wouldn’t last long. The Amerks would score twice in a 49 second span, with goals from T.J. Brennan and Kevin Sundher to knot things at five. For Sundher, not only was it the game-tying tally, but it was his first professional goal.
The Binghamton penalty killers went back to work late in the period, killing off two Rochester power plays. They were successful on four of five Friday night.
Regulation ended with the Amerks holding a 39-37 shots advantage. Each team managed two shots in a fairly uneventful overtime period, setting up the shootout.
Goals by Silfverberg and Hoffman had Binghamton out to a 2-0 lead in the shootout, but Rochester would answer with Brennan and Marcus Foligno beating Bishop to keep the Amerks in it.
Jessiman, Eckford and Shane Prince would come up empty for Binghamton; while Hodgson scored in the bottom of the sixth round to give his team a 3-2 win in the shootout and a 6-5 edge on the scoreboard.
The loss snapped a modest two-game win streak for Binghamton, but they did earn a point in the standings.
Binghamton (15-6-1-2) will host Rochester tomorrow night at the Broome County Arena. The “I survived Doomsday” celebration will feature live music, an appearance from Santa and more. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.
I'm surprised this guy never got drafted, sure he was small, but so is Ryan Murphy and Ryan Ellis today. It's also too bad that he never got many NHL games either, he is and has been too good for the AHL.
zibby spezza perry (sing as free agent)
mm9 turris silfverberg
greening hoffman stone
dziurzynski smith neil
o brian
methot karlson
cowen wiericoch
philips gryba
borocop
anderson
lehner
I personally think the penguins will wait till free agency to pick up gonchar but that depends if there is a season.
And how about silfverberg? Got off to a slow start but now he is really adjusting well! It seems like he scores every game now.
GW is easily the best radio play-by-play man that I've heard
in ANY level of hockey in a VERY long time.
(and I've seen the Rocket play at the Forum)
I think that the Penguins want to bring him back this year if there is a shortened season. I said months ago that Gino would push to get him back as its going to be difficult for them to hang on to Malkin when his contract comes up. They have a glut of good defence prospects and if Murray can swing a deal for one of them I"ll bet he pulls the trigger. The Penguins are in win now mode, and Gonchar would probably take a hefty pay cut to play one more year with them, as I remember hearing that he is hoping to play in the next Olympics on home soil, and what better way to pad your stats for consideration from the Russian federation than playing with Crosby and Malkin. Scott Harrington would be a nice pick up, I don't think they would give up Poulliot or Maata but you never know.
Well, you must be close to 70 years old, and I like you, have also seen Rocket Richard play at the Montreal Forum .
Also saw the Habs win 5 straight Stanley Cups 1956-1960.
Hope all readers and posters on SensChirp have
A MERRY CHRISTMAS and A HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !
Challenge is with Cowen out for the season were awfully thin on defense. There is a very real possibility that teams will have to dump some salary if there is a season this year and Ottawa is one of the best positioned clubs to pick up the right player should they become available.
Ultimately, I think the Sens need to pick up a defenseman as it is but if they move Gonchar, they'll need two especially in a shortened season. With that said, if there's a decent deal on the table for Gonchar, you gotta take it.
Finishing low in the standing this year wouldn't be the worst thing in the world with the depth of the draft and players we have on the rise. the rebuild could be completed this year.