Sens Roster Update: B-Sens' lineup bolstered with defensive addition
April 21, 2005

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

B-Sens' lineup bolstered with defensive addition

BY SCOTT LAUBER

Press & Sun-Bulletin

BINGHAMTON -- On their journey toward the Calder Cup, the Binghamton Senators could play as many as 28 games in as few as 47 days. To prepare for such a busy schedule, the Senators have hired a reinforcement.

Trevor Johnson, a defenseman who attended the Senators' preseason training camp, is expected to join the team today and sign a tryout contract after spending most of the season with the South Carolina Stingrays in the East Coast Hockey League.

Johnson, 23, will become the Senators' only healthy spare defenseman. Seldom-used rookie Neil Komadoski hasn't practiced since suffering a concussion March 26 in Norfolk, and short-term fix Regan Darby was returned to Charlotte of the ECHL last week.

"You can never have enough defensemen, especially at this time of year," coach Dave Cameron said Tuesday after the Senators continued to prepare for their first-round series with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. "We didn't expect Komo to be out this long. (Johnson) is going to give us some insurance."

In 59 games with South Carolina, Johnson had eight goals, 26 assists, 65 penalty minutes and led the team with a plus-18. The Stingrays were eliminated from the Kelly Cup playoffs by the Florida Everblades.

Johnson, 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, impressed the Senators' coaching staff in training camp, but there were no job openings in a defense corps anchored by locked-out NHLers Anton Volchenkov and Brian Pothier. Johnson played three games for the Hershey Bears in December, posting four penalty minutes and a minus-2 rating.

TICKETS AVAILABLE IN W-B

Tom Mitchell, the Senators' executive vice president, said the club has been flooded this week by calls from Penguins fans looking to purchase tickets to Games 1 and 2 in the Arena.

Senators fans, on the other hand, will have ample opportunity to attend next week's games in Wilkes-Barre.

Penguins ticket manager Rob Belza said that 2,431 seats were available for Game 3 on Monday night and 2,441 remained unsold for Wednesday night's Game 4. He said the Penguins have been selling an average of 100-150 tickets per day since playoff tickets went on sale April 8.