Senators Artcles: Senators' Hamel Forced Out of Game 2
April 24, 2005

Posted by: Bob Howard
Credit: Jonathan Bombulie of Citizens Voice.com

Senators' Hamel Forced Out of Game 2

BY JONATHAN BOMBULIE STAFF WRITER 04/24/2005

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- The Binghamton Senators played Game 2 of their playoff series with the Penguins without their leading goal scorer.

Winger Denis Hamel, who had 39 goals in the regular season, hurt his left knee when he got tangled up with Penguins forwards Ryan VandenBussche and Erik Christensen in the first period of Game 1.

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Hamel moved well during morning skate Saturday but still had to sit out. He was replaced in the lineup by winger Greg Watson. His spot on the second line was occupied by Chris Neil.

STILL CLIMBING

There was much fanfare earlier this month when Binghamton enforcer Brian McGrattan broke Dennis Bonvie's AHL record of 522 penalty minutes in a season.

After Bonvie set the record while playing for Hamilton in 1996-97, he went on to post 91 more penalty minutes in 22 playoff games as the Bulldogs advanced to the Calder Cup finals. That gives Bonvie a total of 613 PIM that year.

McGrattan could theoretically hit that number this season as well. He finished with 551 penalty minutes in the regular season. He picked up 16 more for an altercation with Penguins defenseman Drew Fata on Friday night.

That leaves McGrattan with 567 PIM coming into Saturday's game, 46 shy of Bonvie's total.

TOUGHNESS

With McGrattan, Neil and Penguins winger Ryan VandenBussche in the lineup, there are three legitimate heavyweights taking regular shifts in the series.

That's a lot of toughness for this time of year, when enforcer-types often give up their roster spots to more skilled players as fighting becomes rare.

Take VandenBussche's career for example.

VandenBussche has played 618 regular-season games during his 12-year pro career, but Saturday marked just his 15th playoff start. In his first 14 postseason games, VandenBussche had no points and 44 penalty minutes.

HOCKEY IN JUNE

Here's a quick look at how hockey's calendar has changed over the years.

On April 22, 1960, Springfield beat Rochester in five games to close out the Calder Cup finals.

On April 22, 2005, the Penguins and Senators began their first-round playoff series.