Sens vs. Bears 3/18/05 Articles: B-Sens' rally wasted as Hershey prevails in shootout
March 19, 2005

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

B-Sens' rally wasted as Hershey prevails in shootout

BY SCOTT LAUBER

Press & Sun-Bulletin

BINGHAMTON -- At least there won't be any shootouts in the playoffs.

That's one certainty from which the Binghamton Senators could take solace Friday night when, for the second straight game, they played three periods and five minutes of overtime before falling in the ninth round of penalty shots, 3-2, this time to the Hershey Bears.

But also for the second straight game, the Senators fell behind by two goals before rallying to salvage one point. And although they've dropped back-to-back games, they've collected a point in 14 of the last 16 and remain in first place in the AHL's East Division.

"You try and look for some positives and say we got ourselves a point, but at this point in the season, that's not good enough," defenseman Jesse Fibiger said.

Were it not for Fibiger, the Senators may not have had a chance at a second point.

As soon as referee Dan O'Rourke raised his right arm 3:50 into overtime, Fibiger knew the next 70 seconds weren't going to be pleasant. Having already sent Andy Hedlund to the penalty box, O'Rourke called Brian Pothier for slashing, and improbably, the Senators were down two skaters -- two penalty-killing defensemen, no less -- and needed Fibiger more than ever.

With defenseman Anton Volchenkov, center Antoine Vermette and later Chris Kelly, Fibiger knocked down passes, blocked shots and quashed the penalties to force the shootout.

"When it gets to that point, five-on-three in overtime, you've got to play smart positionally and hope you can stop them from getting good shots," a sweat-soaked Fibiger said. "By that time, you're pretty tired, so you've got to pick your spots and play as smart as you can."

The Bears only took two shots in overtime, leaving Senators goalie Billy Thompson to do his best work in the shootout. After allowing two goals, Thompson stopped six shots in a row before Brett Clark slid a puck between his pads in Round 9 and Bears goalie Peter Budaj made a pad save on Denis Hamel's bid for force a 10th.

"As a goalie, it leaves a bitter taste to lose like that in a shootout," Thompson said. "We needed two points, and we only got one."

If not for another slow start, the Senators may have had two.

They fell behind 2-0 Wednesday night against Bridgeport and did so again before the game was 13 minutes old. Bears center Ryan Steeves took advantage of a sloppy Senators' line change, got behind the defense and pushed a shot past poke-checking Thompson at 4:43, and defenseman Martin Wilde blasted a point shot through a screen at 12:06.

"It's like our alter-egos are out there for one period, then we switch and take over," Fibiger said. "It's a shame to start down 2-0 because we could easily be winning these games."

Pothier's power-play goal at 15:05 of the first got the Senators within 2-1, and Chris Neil tied it 6:39 into the second off a cross-ice feed from Charlie Stephens.

From there, Thompson (39 saves) and Budaj (43 saves) were impenetrable.

"We have to find a way to win games that go to overtime or a shootout," coach Dave Cameron said. "Somebody's got to take the team from the bootstraps and make it their team."

Dennis Bonvie played his usual role against his former team. Facing the Senators for the seventh time (the third at the Arena) since being dealt for Stephens midway through last season, Bonvie was his typically disruptive self.

Aside from his constant chirping and gyrating toward the Senators' bench, Bonvie assisted on the first goal, then flipped Pothier with a low hit in the Senators' zone. One shift later, Bonvie fought Brian McGrattan, his friend, protege and successor as the Senators' enforcer.

And that was just the first period.

"That's part of his game," Neil said of Bonvie, with whom he had an amiable conversation during warm-ups. "He's got a lot of respect around the league because of what he does out there. That's what he has to do to be successful."