Sens vs. Penguins 2/25/04 Articles: Cook Helps Pens Whip Up 4-3 Win in 'Bingo'
February 26, 2004

Posted by: Bob Howard
Credit: WBSPenguins.com

Cook Helps Pens Whip Up 4-3 Win in 'Bingo'

Jesse Cook, one of the most unlikely of heroes, tallied what proved to be the game-winning goal with 9:53 left in regulation Wednesday to give the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins a 4-3 win over the Binghamton Senators at the Broome County Veteran's Memorial Arena.

Cook's tally came just 35 seconds after Binghamton tied the game on Alexandre Giroux's second goal of the game and helped the Pens pull within two points of the Senators for the fifth and final playoff spot in the AHL East.

But the win did more than get the Pens closer to a playoff spot, it also gave them reason to believe that luck is on their side.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton went 60 hard minutes Wednesdaywith a depleted line-up and an even thinner back end, playing without injured blue-liners Patrick Boileau and Ross Lupaschuk and recalled defenseman Rob Scuderi. They then went 0-for-5 on the power play, despite playing with five forwards on each advantage.

Toby Petersen tallied his ninth goal of the season in Wednesday's win over the Senators. And, in the end, they skated off with a big, one-goal victory.

Binghamton took a 1-0 lead on its first shot of the game, a power play wrister off the stick of leading scorer Denis Hamel at the 11:00 mark of the first period.

But goalie Sebastien Caron managed to settle back in between the pipes, and his teammates went right back to work. By the time the first period came to a close, the Pens had a 3-1 lead, thanks to goals from each of their top three lines.

Toby Petersen tied the game at 14:05 with his ninth goal of the season, and Marquis Mathieu then gave his team a 2-1 advantage with his fourth of the season at 17:43.

The Senators, who managed only three shots over the first 10 minutes of play, eventually fell behind by two goals, when Colby Armstrong lit the lamp with 1:05 remaining in the first frame.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton did a good job of moving the puck down low Wednesday, and that effort paid off when Armstrong managed to stuff home a loose rebound for the 3-1 lead heading into the first intermission.

The under-staffed Pens seemed to lose a step or two after the break and went scoreless in the second period, despite racking up 20 shots on goal. But Binghamton did find the scoreboard, as Giroux tallied his frst of two on assists from Andy Hedlund and Julien Vauclair.

All of a sudden, the stage was set for an exciting third period, and neither team disappointed.

Giroux and the Sens drew first blood in the final frame to pull even, but the celebration was short-lived.

Pens' rookie defenseman Alexandre Rouleau - who was recalled from Wheeling earlier in the day - came out of the penalty box midway through the third and chipped one up along the boards to get a quick line change.

The puck skirted behind the net and around the dashers, where Cook played it and wristed it. The puck appeared to be deflected by one of the Senators in front of the net, but, either way, it snuck past goalie Ray Emery for the 4-3 lead.

Binghamton was granted a late-game power play but eventually squandered the chance, when Giroux and Charlie Stephens took ill-advised roughing calls with just 27 seconds remaining in the contest.

The Penguins have now gone unbeaten in five straight and are 3-0-1-0 on their current seven game road swing. They will return to the ice this Friday, as they travel to Syracuse to take on the Crunch.