Sens vs. Penguins 4/25/05 Articles: Armstrong ends longest game in team history
April 27, 2005

Posted by: Bob Howard
Credit: wbspenguins.com

ARMSTRONG ENDS LONGEST GAME IN TEAM HISTORY

Colby Armstrong’s goal at 12:26 of the third overtime was the deciding factor, as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins posted a 3-2 victory against the Binghamton Senators in Game Three of the East Division Semifinals. The game was the longest in Penguins’ history, and the ninth longest in the history of the American Hockey League.

“It was a pretty good feeling, [especially] when you play that long, almost two full games,” said Armstrong, whose OT tally was his first goal of the postseason. “We battled all night and tried to play them as tight as we could.”

They battled all night – literally. The final buzzer sounded just before the stroke of midnight, when

Armstrong shoveled home a Kris Beech pass during a three-on-two, sending the several thousand fans still on hand into a roaring mass.

“They’re unbelievable,” said netminder Andy Chiodo, who stopped 32 Senators’ shots on the night. “The fans here, after six periods, for them to stand up and make the kind of noise they made…I said it last year and I’ll say it again, they’re the best.”

The game featured several new faces for the Penguins in Kenny Corupe, Ben Eaves and Alexandre Rouleau, while regular forward Matt Murley was pressed into defensive duty. The changes were necessitated due to injuries to Drew Fata, Kyle Rossiter and Ramzi Abid, as well as the absence of Ross Lupaschuk, who was not available due to a family matter.

Different players or not, the Penguins played like a team of old – as in the 2004 playoffs. Wilkes-Barre came out banging bodies with Binghamton and taking the puck to the Sens net, as a sea of white-clad Penguins fans cheered on their squad.

Despite the backing of the Wilkes-Barre faithful, Binghamton once again jumped out to an early lead, as Christoph Schubert beat Chiodo for a power play goal nine minutes into the opening frame.

That lead held until Shane Endicott wrested home a power play tally of his own early in the second period, and that was followed seven minutes later by a Beech score on the man advantage, giving the Penguins their first lead of the series.

That one-goal cushion was short-lived, though, as Schubert took an outlet pass from netminder Ray Emery, broke in between two Pens defenders and poked the puck through Chiodo’s five-hole at 15:11 of the second period.

The next goal would not come for another 76:37, when Beech fed Armstrong on the odd man break.

“I didn’t have much left in my own legs,” said Beech. “It was a three-on-two and I think [Erik] Christensen was coming late. I looked him off and their guy stopped and Armstrong went to the net, and he had a wide open net.”

“[Beech] didn’t lead our team in assists for nothing,” Armstrong stated. “I was just able to go to the net, get free going to the net for once. He put it right on my tape.”

Head coach Michel Therrien was quick to spread the credit around, noting the new additions to the lineup really gave the team a kick start in the extra frames. He was also impressed with the play of Chiodo, who rebounded from a not-so-stellar performance in Game Two to capture the win.

“Andy played really well at some points for us,” Therrien said. “Our goalie’s got to give us a chance to win, and that’s exactly what Andy did tonight. We know we play against a great competitor in Ray Emery. He’s tough to beat.”

The Senators’ netminder was solid himself, stopping 46 Wilkes-Barre attempts. But in the end, it was shear determination and sticking to the basics that led the Penguins to victory.

“I can’t remember being in a game so long. You don’t have much strategy at that time,” said Therrien. “You ask your players to make percentage plays, no high risk plays, and you hope there’s going to be a big turnover or big mistake from the other side and try to capitalize on it. And that’s exactly what happened.”

The win pulls the Pens to within one game of the Senators in the series, with Game Four scheduled to take place Wednesday at Wachovia Arena. And Chiodo and his teammates aren’t looking any further down the road than the next contest.

“One game at a time,” he said. “We got ourselves back into it today. It was a huge swing.”

NOTES: The previous longest game in team history came on May 7, 2001 against the Hershey Bears. Alexandre Mathieu scored at 15:43 of the second overtime period to give the Pens a 2-1 victory in Game Two of that playoff series…The win lifted the Penguins’ all-time postseason overtime record to 11-8, and evened it at 4-4 on home ice…The Penguins did not win an overtime contest during the 2004-05 regular season.