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Day After Game Report: Back To Back, They Ran It Back! May 10, 2025 | ||||||
Posted by: Bob Howard Credit: Binghamton Hockey.net | ||||||
May 10, 2025 - by Bob Howard - BinghamtonHockey.net The Binghamton Black Bears did what they said they were going to do. They said at the beginning of the season that they were going to ‘Run It Back’ and now they officially have. Wow. The Black Bears in their last 15 playoff games, are 14-1 with two Commissioner's Cup Trophies to go with that. But in 112 regular season games, the Black Bears are 88-16-8, which is an imaginable record. We can thank Andreas, Brant, Tyson, last years alternate captains, this years alternate captains Gavin Yates, Jesse Anderson and Dakota Bohn. We can thank all the players past and present. And they all deserve all the thanks they receive. These past two seasons have been amazing. But I have to say, one special thanks has to go to the Binghamton Black Bears FANS. You have been amazing, to the team, to the Power Play Post Show and have shown up in full force. When I say this is the best Minor-Pro Hockey fan base, I mean it. Lost AHL hockey 4 years ago and now people barely remember that the city went from triple A to single A. This team under Brant Sherwood has brought so much joy to the fans and success to Binghamton Hockey. Last night, the Carolina Thunderbirds needed to play desperate hockey and for the most part they did. It paid off in the first period as they took a 1st period lead, 1-0 from Gus Ford at the 10:37 mark. I felt like the Thunderbirds played well in the first period and they had that 1-0 lead after 20 minutes. Then the Black Bears simply took control of the game and out scored the Thunderbirds in the final 40 minutes of the game, 5 to 1. Did you see the look on CJ Stubbs face when he scored his 3rd goal of the playoffs and first goal since the first round? He had been a little snake-bit but that was over and he started the scoring off for the Black Bears just 38 seconds into the middle period. Tyson Kirkby had the primary assist on Stubbs goal and his night was not over, as he assisted on the Black Bears 2nd goal of the period as he was the primary on Austin Thompson’s 4:32 goal, just under 4 minutes after he assisted on Stubbs goal. The two shifts from top line provided the results in a big game like this, that everyone expects. Now Austins goal was on the power play and it started because of something we don’t talk about enough and that’s Connor McAnanama’s puck handling skills. He sent the puck up the ice to Tyson, who took it in and got it to Austin for the goal, the Black Bears only man-up advantage goal of the finals and it was an important one. Why was the Thompson power play goal so important? Because another 3 minutes later after a Gavin Yates received a match penalty for kneeing, Roman Kraemer’s goal wasn’t a go ahead goal but just a game tying goal and it would end up being the last for the Thunderbirds last night. Connor McAnanama and the Black Bears defense would then shut them down. Blocked shots, pushing the Thunderbirds to the perimeter and not allowing many grade-A chances and an excellent fore-check put this game out of reach and allowed the Black Bears offense to go back to work. Oh Zac, you have now won the hearts of not just your fellow teammates but the fans and this city as well. When you sweep a team in a best of five, you have three potential game winning goals. And Zac Sirota now has two of those. The best part was the assists came from defenseman, Scott Ramaekers and the guy who would score next, Blake Tosto. And let me be frank, Tosto and Sirota were a big part of the last 2 months of the Black Bears end to the regular season and these playoffs. Go back and watch the games and you will see Sirota’s energy and skill coming through and you will see Tosto’s center-man skills shinning through as well. All the guys on the team have played a big part in the championship and the team’s regular season, but these two should get the same recognition as anyone else. Blake’s goal at the 8:55 mark of the 3rd period was the 3rd nail in coffin of the Thunderbirds season, but with 3 minutes and 51 seconds left to go, it was only fitting that Tyson Kirkby scored the Black Bears final goal of the season. It was he, the one who is beloved in Binghamton and equally hated everywhere else who put an end to the FPHL’s 2024-25 season. Tyson has been with the team since the 1st season of the Black Bears. He rose to become the leading scorer on the team, to the franchise leader in almost every offensive category, became the captain last season and now as he scores the last goal of this season, leads the team on the ice to their second Commissioner’s Cup Championship. Tyson and Brant took what was good bones and turned it into the model in the FPHL. You can hate that if you want because your not here, but it is simply the truth. It doesn’t matter that the commissioner of the FPHL just said “Captain, come get your cup”, the Black Bears are the model franchise, they the leaders in this league regardless of anything that the league tries to put them through. You cannot argue with the culture, the design of the locker-room, the leadership of this team and most importantly the success that all of those things provide. Black Bears fans, Power Play Post Show fans, they did it. They repeated, which they said they would and they ran it back. Now we wait. We enjoy the win, the celebration with the team on Monday and we wait for news about Brant Sherwood coming back which I can tell you the odds are 90% good that he is coming back and we wait for the signings. We wait for the schedule for next season and we wait for that beautiful night when we raise another championship banner in the arena for you the fans. You see the Cup, the Ring, the celebration on the ice is for the players but those two banners up there now from 2011 and 2024 are ours forever and in about 152-ish days, there will be a third banner for us, the Binghamton Hockey fans.
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