Senators Artcles: B-Sens adept at flipping switch 'on'
March 18, 2005

Posted by: Bob Howard
Credit: Scott Lauber of Press Connects.com

B-Sens adept at flipping switch 'on'

Lack of consistency team's biggest flaw

It's all in their head, says center Antoine Vermette, which only makes us scratch ours when thinking of the Binghamton Senators.

SCOTT LAUBER

One night, they give the last-place Albany River Rats 42 shots, nearly fumble a four-goal lead and win in spite of themselves. The next, they control the neutral zone, dominate with and without the puck and thump the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, a probable playoff team.

One period, they float in with a mild forecheck, glide out with a placid backcheck and fall behind 2-0 against the patchwork Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The next, they flex their mighty offense, stiffen their defense and swipe a point in a shootout.

As Forrest Gump's mom once said, presumably after watching these Senators for a season: "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you'll get." Sometimes it's an empty wrapper, but usually the Senators are pretty sweet.

After all, they've won nine of their last 13 games, copped a point in 13 of 15, and they'll bring a 36-20-5-5 record and enviable first-place status in the AHL's East Division into tonight's home game against the Hershey Bears.

If the Senators are inconsistent, every team should be so flawed.

"I like this hockey club," coach Dave Cameron said Thursday after the Senators practiced in vibrant green, yellow and white sweaters and in front of a small gallery of school children. "I think we're a real good hockey club, and once we master playing our system for a 60-minute game, it's going to take a good club to beat us."

Faith in the Senators' ability to do so led management to stand pat on St. Patrick's Day, known this year around the AHL as Clear Day. With a 3 p.m. deadline for teams to set their playoff rosters, the Senators resisted any urge to acquire one final player before taking aim at the first Calder Cup championship in this city's 32-year pro hockey history.

And really, can you blame them? The Senators have six 20-goal scorers, two all-star defensemen (Anton Volchenkov, Brian Pothier), three tough guys (Chris Neil, Brian McGrattan, Danny Bois), a goalie who took them to within three victories of the Finals two seasons ago (Ray Emery) and the AHL's best player (Jason Spezza).

This season, there's no need to take a loan on Radim Bicanek and Cory Pecker or trade for Bob Wren. These Senators have everything they need.

Except a consistent winning mentality.

With 14 games left in the regular season, the Senators lead the Philadelphia Phantoms and Norfolk Admirals by two points for the division crown, a potential reward that should offer enough motivation to get through the next four weeks.

But after Wednesday's uneven performance in the shootout loss to Bridgeport, several Senators noted a correlation between how they play and their opponent's record. Some of their best games have come against AHL powers Rochester and Manchester or division rivals Philadelphia and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, but they've struggled against Bridgeport and sometimes even Albany.

In part, co-coach John Paddock attributed that to "human nature." But he admitted the Senators need to be "mature enough to go out and get the job done against every team we play."

The biggest positive, and one of the reasons Cameron likes this team's makeup, is the Senators often have been able to salvage one point by waking up in time to force overtime. Cameron likened it to a golfer who has a poor first two rounds but goes to the driving range and rediscovers his stroke before the tournament is lost.

"It's like we have a different mind-set or we play better when we're facing a challenge," Vermette said. "That's not a bad thing because there are big challenges in the playoffs, but you have to stay consistent in your game even when you play a lower team in the standings."

Only the best will be around for the playoffs, but there are no guarantees the Senators will be able to flip the proverbial light switch unless they start now when the stakes aren't as high.

Then maybe we'll know what we're getting when the Calder Cup playoffs, the AHL's box of chocolates, open next month.

Lauber covers pro hockey for the Press & Sun-Bulletin.