Sens vs. Penguins 4/23/05 Articles: Senators strike again, take 2-0 lead
April 23, 2005

Posted by: Bob Howard
Credit: The AHL.com

Senators strike again, take 2-0 lead

Charlie Stephens scored twice to lead Binghamton to a 4-2 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at a sold-out Broome County Arena on Saturday, upping the Senators' lead in their East Division semifinal series to two games to none.

Game 3 is Monday night in Wilkes-Barre.

Stephens opened the scoring only 1:44 into the game, beating Penguins goaltender Andy Chiodo over the left shoulder. Chiodo got the start in net for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after backing up Marc-Andre Fleury in Game 1.

The Penguins controlled play for much of the second period, tying the score on a Kris Beech power-play goal at the 10:50 mark.

But the Senators came out strong in the third, with Chris Neil putting them ahead for good just 49 seconds in. Stephens made it 3-1 at the 5:06 mark, and AHL rookie scoring champion Brandon Bochenski added his first career playoff goal at 12:46.

Brian McGrattan recorded two assists for Binghamton, and Ray Emery made 29 saves to improve to 12-0-2 in his last 14 decisions, dating to the regular season. Jason Spezza had an assist, giving him at least one point in 22 straight games since Mar. 5.

Erik Christensen finished with a goal and an assist for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Binghamton, which led the lead in offense with 276 goals in the regular season, has scored nine in the first two games against the Penguins.