Usually road warriors in these playoffs, the Binghamton Senators were absolutely dominant on home ice and scored a third straight win over the Charlotte Checkers, this time by a final of 7-1.
The BSens now hold a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals and sit just a single win away from a spot in the Calder Cup Finals.
Binghamton scored the first three goals of this game, got the fans behind them and really never gave the Checkers much of a chance. Robin Lehner was extremely strong in the BSens net and Zach Smith scored three times in the winning effort.
Eric Condra, Ryan Keller, Bobby Butler and Roman Wick also registered goals for the home side.
They now have a chance to close out the Checkers on home ice tomorrow night. Binghamton is the better team right now, plain and simple. Aside from a sloppy start in Game 1, the defensive group has done a great job keeping the Checkers at bay and when they do get chances, Lehner has been there.
Really can’t say enough good things about the impact a run like this can have on some of the Sens prospects. It has been an extraordinarily long season for some of the guys that spent time in Ottawa but they are gaining some valuable playoff experience. Perhaps most impressive is the way Cowen has slid seamlessly into the Bingo line up. He has looked extremely comfortable defensively and has helped stabilize the team’s back end.
Should the Checkers manage to extend the series, SensChirp and the RSU will be there on Saturday night when the BSens try to lock up their spot in the finals. If Bingo can finish off Charlotte tomorrow then refunds will be issued and we can start planning a trip to the finals!
Sounds like a win-win to me!
