Sens vs. Bears 10/22/04 Articles: Stephens' goal gives B-Sens a boost
October 23, 2004

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

Stephens' goal gives B-Sens a boost

BY SCOTT LAUBER

Press & Sun-Bulletin

BINGHAMTON -- By now, after nine months and three games against the Hershey Bears, Charlie Stephens doesn't think he has anything more to prove to the organization that traded him away in January.

So it's a mystery, even to Stephens, that he keeps playing his best games against Hershey.

Stephens went hard to the net and tapped in the rebound of Christoph Schubert's wrister early in the third period Friday night to give the Binghamton Senators the tying goal and a needed jolt of momentum in a 3-2 victory over the Bears before an announced 4,049 at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena.

"I don't know why I keep scoring goals against them," Stephens said after Denis Hamel put in a rebound for the game-winner with 10:09 left in regulation. "(Being traded) is always going to be in my mind, but it wears off as guys cycle through teams. There are only a handful of guys left on that team who I played with."

Stephens tallied a goal and two assists in his first game against the Bears two weeks after the trade and added one goal Feb. 29 in his first trip back to Hershey.

And his charge toward goalie Peter Budaj's cage Friday night gave the Senators, in the words of coach Dave Cameron, "some more emotion."

The Senators were outplayed in the second period and trailed 2-1 to the winless Bears, playing a smart road game for assistant coach Paul Jerrard, who was filling in while head coach Paul Fixter addressed personal matters at home in Kitchener, Ontario.

They overcame Pat Kavanagh's first Senators goal off a 3-on-2 at 6:43 of the first period, and by the end of the second, had a 2-1 lead thanks to goals from rookies Ryan Steeves and Johnny Boychuk.

"Charlie's goal put us back on an even keel," said goalie Ray Emery, whose pad stack on Andre Savage's shot late in the third period preserved the lead. "That goal was just effort. He took an extra stride and went for the rebound and put it past the goalie."

After that, the Senators carried the play, peppering Budaj with 17 third-period shots. Hamel gave a similar effort on the winner, going to the net and taking two whacks at the rebound of Langfeld's shot.

"The game is so hard now, if you want to score, you've got to go to the net," Hamel said. "It was a tough game. Hershey played really well, but it was a good win for us."