Senators Artcles: Tender knee keeps Hamel out of Game 2
April 24, 2005

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

Tender knee keeps Hamel out of Game 2

BY SCOTT LAUBER

Press & Sun-Bulletin

BINGHAMTON -- During a game in Philadelphia last April, a puck struck Denis Hamel in the face, causing massive swelling and a laceration of his upper lip that required 27 stitches. He practiced two days later.

So nobody blinked Saturday morning when Hamel stepped on the ice for the game-day skate.

But the left knee that he injured the night before in Game 1 of the East Division semifinals against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins didn't respond as well as he had hoped, and the Binghamton Senators' top goal scorer missed Game 2 Saturday night.

"It just happened, but it's nothing bad," Hamel said after the skate. "I'm sure I'll be fine."

Hamel got tangled up with Penguins center Eric Christensen along the side boards with 4:28 left in the first period and was helped from the ice. He returned for the second period, cut short his first shift and left the game for good.

The Senators are calling Hamel "day to day," a familiar vague diagnosis in the playoffs when injuries are concealed like state secrets. But Hamel, who led the Senators with 39 goals, said he has played through injuries before, especially during the postseason.

"It's tough. It's a whole new season," Hamel said. "You have a lot of guys playing with bumps and bruises. It's about character, and we've got a lot of character guys on this team."

Greg Watson took Hamel's place in the lineup.

DIFFERENCE OF OPINION

Senators co-coach John Paddock wasn't pleased with the Game 1 work of referee Harry Dumas, especially when it came to what he perceived as liberties the Penguins took with AHL Most Valuable Player Jason Spezza.

"Every time (Spezza) came down on the boards, he got slashed across the wrists," Paddock said. "The referees have to do a better job at calling the stickwork."

Meanwhile, Penguins coach Michel Therrien felt the Senators received star treatment. He didn't cite any specific penalties but made a reference to the elbowing penalty called on Shane Endicott 13 seconds into the game after he muscled up to Spezza on a faceoff.

"We asked before the series that we hoped the referee would be fair," Therrien said. "That referee tried to do everything to give the Senators all the breaks that they need. It put us behind the eight-ball right away."

SLAP SHOTS

Penguins defenseman Drew Fata was sidelined with an undisclosed injury. Fata covered up in a third-period scrap with Senators enforcer Brian McGrattan in Game 1. ... A contingent of Penguins fans seated in Section 20 roared when 2004 playoff hero Andy Chiodo led the team onto the ice for warm-ups Saturday night. Imagine the response had Therrien waited until Game 3 in Wilkes-Barre to replace goalie Marc-Andre Fleury with the popular Chiodo.