Senators Article: B-Sens look past Norfolk troubles
April 2, 2004

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

B-Sens look past Norfolk troubles

BY SCOTT LAUBER

Press & Sun-Bulletin

The hockey arena in Norfolk, Va., is called Scope, which is fitting since the Binghamton Senators required an industrial-sized bottle of Scope to wash the sour taste from their mouths after their most recent trip there.

Outshot 63-24, outscored 9-2 and largely outplayed by the Admirals in back-to-back losses Feb. 27-28, the Senators are hoping for -- nay, they desperately need -- a better result south of the Mason-Dixon Line tonight and Saturday night in order to keep pace in the East Division playoff race.

"We have to forget about it," goalie Billy Thompson said of the lost weekend in late February. "It's in the past. What happened happened, and we can't control that."

But the Senators do control their own destiny.

With six regular-season games remaining -- three against Norfolk -- they're one point behind the fourth-place Admirals and have a two-point edge on Hershey for the fifth and final playoff spot.

Holding on to it is simply a matter of winning.

"If you're not ready to play this weekend, you'll never be ready," winger David Hymovitz said. "Just look at the standings. That's all the motivation you should need."

Added winger Denis Hamel, "It's almost do-or-die. We know they're a tough team to play against at their place, but we know we can beat them if we do things right."

Confident talk from a team that has dropped three straight games and three of four at Scope in the past two seasons.

But the Senators think they're a better club this time around. Their last visit to Norfolk was near the end of a stretch of seven games in nine nights with their most depleted lineup of the season. Right wing Brad Tapper and captain Chris Kelly, injured then, are healthy now, and the additions of winger Cory Pecker and defenseman John Jakopin have made the Senators deeper.

"To some extent, I disregard those games in February," coach John Paddock said. "But we've got to go in with a different mindset, a playoff mindset, that we're going to do whatever it takes and whatever happens happens. We don't want to have to rely on somebody else to help us (reach the playoffs). We just have to win."

Translation: This weekend's games at Scope should be easier to swallow.

For the Senators' sake, they better be.