Sens vs. Phantoms 3/19/05 Articles: Senators Defeat Phantoms in Overtime, 4-3
March 20, 2005

Posted by: Bob Howard
Credit: Phantoms Hockey.com

Senators Defeat Phantoms in Overtime, 4-3

Hamel wins it for Binghamton with 64 seconds left

(BINGHAMTON, NY, March 19, 2005) – Denis Hamel scored on a two-on-one rush with 64 seconds left in overtime as the Binghamton Senators erased an early two-goal deficit to defeat the Philadelphia Phantoms at Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena, 4-3.

Hamel raced in with Antoine Vermette and roofed a wrist shot past goaltender Antero Niittymaki at 3:56 of the extra session to give the Senators the victory.

Binghamton tied the game 2-2 early in the third period, when Brandon Bochenski’s slap shot beat Niittymaki through a screen just 57 seconds in.

Then, with the game tied, Vermette was stationed at the side of the Philadelphia goal crease. A weak shot by Hamel was gloved by Vermette, who then dropped the puck to the ice and lifted it past Niittymaki at 13:12.

Jon Sim tied the game with his second goal of the night with 3:37 left in regulation. He was able to jam a loose puck past Ray Emery just before the net came off of its moorings.

Sim now has 30 goals on the season, including 14 in his last 12 games.

The Phantoms jumped ahead with a pair of goals in the first period. Sim whacked in a bouncing puck in front of the goal crease following a shot by rookie R.J. Umberger at 7:58.

Tony Voce made it a 2-0 game when he deflected in a low wrist shot from the point by Joni Pitkanen after an offensive zone face-off win by Patrick Sharp. Voce’s 18th of the year came with 1:07 remaining in the frame.

Pitkanen and Umberger both finished the night with a pair of assists.

Binghamton responded in the second period, cutting Philadelphia’s lead in half while outshooting the Phantoms by a 12-6 margin. Josh Langfeld picked up the goal at 5:38 when Niittymaki was unable to control a shot by Vermette and Langfeld knocked in the rebound with the Senators on a power play.

Binghamton finished 1-for-5 on the power play while the Phantoms were 0-for-2 with a man advantage. Niittymaki made 39 saves and Emery had 27.

The East Division rivals will face off for the final time on Wednesday, March 30 in Binghamton.

Philadelphia returns home to host the Portland Pirates on Sunday at 6:05 p.m. The game will be televised on tape delay at 7:00 p.m. by Comcast SportsNet. Next weekend, the Phantoms entertain Springfield on Friday and play in Hershey on Saturday.

Phantoms Notes: David Printz, Mark Murphy, Joey Hope and B.J. Abel were scratched for the Phantoms … Philadelphia is 2-2 all-time on March 19 … Sim registered his eighth multi-goal game of the season, which leads the team.