Sens vs. Falcons 2/22/04 Articles: Shaky defense costly for B-Sens; Springfield gains momentum from disputed goal
February 23, 2004

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

Shaky defense costly for B-Sens

Springfield gains momentum from disputed goal

BY SCOTT LAUBER

Press & Sun-Bulletin

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- They talk about holding games in hand on the two teams directly ahead of them in the AHL's East Division, but when it comes time to cash in and catch up to the Hershey Bears and Norfolk Admirals, the Binghamton Senators do what they did here Sunday.

Lay an egg.

Fewer than 24 hours after their grittiest performance of the season and with a full lineup of 17 skaters after playing with 13 one night earlier, the Senators were flat and defensively irresponsible in a 5-3 loss to the bottom-feeding Springfield Falcons before 3,981 paying customers.

"We do have five games in hand, but games in hand mean nothing if you don't win them," center Charlie Stephens said after the Senators failed to gain ground on third-place Hershey and fourth-place Norfolk, both idle Sunday. "It was an important game because we need to close the gap on the teams ahead of us."

But here they were, allowing four second-period goals and two power-play markers to a team that entered with the second-fewest wins in the 28-team AHL. The Senators got within one goal twice, but seldom-used backup goalie Billy Thompson and defensive breakdowns in front of him gave the game away.

Excuses for this performance were everywhere. The Senators got rugged winger Brian McGrattan and rookie defenseman Jan Platil back from AHL suspensions and signed center Bryson Busniuk to a tryout contract, but the 13 players who gutted out Saturday night's 2-1 victory over Providence had little energy remaining.

Not a good sign with five more games in the next seven days.

And then there was the game's first goal, at 3:16 of the second period, that the Senators contest never went over the goal line after Thompson was hit in the crease. A conference between referee Dave Hansen, linesmen Rich Patry and Brent Colby and the goal judge resulted in the goal being credited to Falcons winger Nick Lent.

Senators coach John Paddock said Hansen never saw the puck cross the line and relied solely on the goal judge's opinion. Paddock also spotted several Falcons laughing at their good fortune after the goal was awarded to them.

"One of their players came up to one of our players and said, 'Watch this, we're going to steal one here,' " defenseman Steve Bancroft said. "It was a joke."

Said Stephens:"It's an embarrassing call for the officials. It wasn't even close. You can't blow it off because it's like giving them a free goal, and there aren't many goals being scored these days."

But the Falcons' next two goals couldn't be disputed, as they built a 3-0 lead. And when Stephens and Rob Ray scored in a 3:12 span of the second period, Thompson helped Springfield restore a two-goal cushion by allowing a power-play goal off Bryan Helmer's point shot with 4:13 remaining in the period.

The Senators got within 4-3 when Mike Brown one-timed a feed from Denis Hamel at 11:08 of the third, but winger Goran Bezina flipped a shot over Thompson's glove three minutes later to put the game out of reach and snap the Senators' four-game unbeaten streak.

"I wasn't very good," said Thompson, standing up to take the blame better than he stood up to 31 shots in his first start in seven days. "There are times in a game when a goalie's got to make a big save, and I didn't do that. That's my fault. I've got to step up in those situations."

Said Paddock:"You don't win many games by giving up five goals. We need saves at key times. But I don't blame (Thompson) entirely. We need a better defensive effort from everybody."

When the Senators don't get it, games in hand slip through their hands.

Slap shots: Paddock said winger Brad Tapper (concussion) won't be ready to play tonight in Manchester. ... After scoring his second goal in as many games, Ray joked, "I'm changing my role." Ray, one of the NHL's top enforcers for the past 14 seasons, has just 40 career NHL goals. ... Former Binghamton Rangers winger Peter Ferraro, now with Springfield, played in his 499th AHL game Sunday but wasn't on the bench in the third period. ... Springfield Civic Center, built in 1972, is undergoing a major face-lift. During construction, capacity has been reduced from 7,400 to 5,200. ... The AHL's offices and the Basketball Hall of Fame are located a few blocks away in downtown Springfield.