Sens vs. Sound Tigers 2/17/05 Articles: Kochan blanks Binghamton 4-0
February 18, 2005

Posted by: Bob Howard
Credit: Sound Tigers.com

KOCHAN BLANKS BINGHAMTON 4-0

Sound Tigers ride hot goalie & great special teams to road win

BINGHAMTON, NY - The American Hockey League's Bridgeport Sound Tigers, top affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, beat the Binghamton Senators 4-0 on the road Thursday getting impressive performances from goaltender Dieter Kochan and their special teams.

Binghamton outshot the Sound Tigers in an up-and-down but scoreless first period. ÝIn fact, had referee Harry Dumas not whistled Kevin Colley of the Sound Tigers for holding with 17.9 seconds left in the opening frame, the shots on goal would have been the only stats of the period, which was penalty-free up until that point. ÝHowever, the second period was a totally different story.

The Sound Tigers grabbed a 2-0 lead with a pair of goals 2:41 apart just past the mid-point of the game. ÝFirst, Jim Campbell opened the scoring with his eighth goal of the season off assists from Cole Jarrett and Bruno Gervais to make it 1-0 at the 10:22 mark. ÝThen, Gervais doubled the lead to 2-0 with his fourth goal of the season off assists from Rob Collins and Chris Campoli at 13:03.

Jarrett's assist came in his first game back after missing six straight with a shoulder injury while the helper extended a scoring streak for Collins to five games.

Justin Mapletoft flattened the Senators' Jesse Fibiger with a big hit late in the middle frame with the Sound Tigers on the power play, and a few moments later Binghamton's Antoine Vermette elbowed Mapletoft in retaliation giving the Sound Tigers a 13-second, two-man advantage, and they converted both ends.

Rob Collins notched his team-leading 15th goal and 37th point with two seconds left on the five-on-three at the 17:01 mark off assists from Campoli and Justin Papineau to make it 3-0. ÝRyan Caldwell then one-timed a face-off win through traffic and past Senators netminder Ray Emery just 20 seconds later off assists from Barrett Heisten and Brendan Yarema to make it 4-0. ÝHeisten's assist came in his first game back after missing seven straight with a groin injury.

Kochan came up with his save of the game robbing the AHL's leading scorer Jason Spezza inside the final half-minute of the middle frame just seconds after the Sound Tigers killed a full two-minute, two-man advantage against Binghamton's League-leading power play.

Kochan finished the game with a team, season-high 45 saves for his first shutout of the year and the number one star of the game. ÝGervais was the second star while Collins was the third. ÝEmery stopped 16 of 20 shots before being pulled prior at the start of the third period and replaced with Billy Thompson who made five saves in 20 minutes of relief work.

The Sound Tigers were 2 for 3 on the power play, 7 for 7 on the penalty kill and won despite being outshot 45-25.

The Sound Tigers will host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at the home of the Islanders, the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. ÝTheir next home game at Bridgeport's Arena at Harbor Yard will be this Sunday at 4:05 p.m. against the Worcester IceCats. ÝBoth games are scheduled to be broadcast live on 600 WICC-AM and at www.soundtigers.com.

Net proceeds from Friday's game will benefit the New York Islanders Children's Foundation, which plans to distribute the funds to charities that support children in need. ÝSound Tigers season subscribers will receive a complimentary Gift Bag, including team merchandise and tickets to an upcoming New York Dragons game, for making the trip to Long Island. Sound Tigers season-ticket holders should call 203-334-GOAL to reserve their tickets. ÝAll fans can purchase tickets to Friday's game at the Nassau Coliseum by logging on to ticketmaster.com.

The Sound Tigers, Shaw's Supermarkets and WEBE 108 FM will present the second-annual "Connecticut's Largest Baby Shower"this Sunday. ÝFans are asked to donate non-perishable baby supplies, which will benefit St. Vincent's Charities. ÝAll fans who donate will receive a voucher for a ticket to an upcoming Sound Tigers game.

Information regarding Sound Tigers ticket packages and marketing opportunities is available by calling 203-334-GOAL or logging on to www.soundtigers.com. ÝGroups, organizations, companies, etc. that are interested in having a member of the Sound Tigers appear at an event are invited to call 203-334-GOAL.