B-Sens do not panic after one bad period

The Binghamton Senators travel to the Scope in Norfolk, Virginia twice this season to play the division rivals 4 of the 8 meetings in an arena that historically has not been friendly to the B-Sens over the years. After this past weekend’s games, the B-Sens are 13-32 vs. the Norfolk Admirals at the Scope and maybe the players always change but the results have not.

B-Sens rookie goaltender, Andrew Hammod wasn't the only player to struggle in the B-Sens 1st period in Norfolk on Friday (Photo courtesy of Ottawa Senators)
B-Sens rookie goaltender, Andrew Hammod wasn’t the only player to struggle in the B-Sens 1st period in Norfolk on Friday (Photo courtesy of Ottawa Senators)

The first 5 games for the B-Sens this season are vs. the Crunch (games 1, 4 & 5) and the Admirals (games 2 & 3) which essentially meant for the B-Sens, either start this season off on a positive note or be fighting yourself out of a very difficult hole in the best division of the American Hockey League. Going into this weekend, with only two games vs. the Admirals, the safe guess would have been that the B-Sens would roll in and play veteran goal-tender Nathan Lawson in both games. But Head Coach, Luke Richardson had a different vision for this weekend with starting rookie goal-tender, Andrew Hammond on Friday in the Admirals home opener.

All reports out of Ottawa was that Hammond had a pretty decent rookie camp/training camp with the Ottawa Senators and though un-proven as a pro, would be a suitable back-up for Lawson, who will be the primary force in net for the B-Sens. And yet, something that we’ve see so many times in a pro debut of a goaltender, no matter how mature or seasoned from major juniors or the collegiate level, goal after goal flew by the 25 year old, Bowling Green University graduate.

But to blame the 1st period 5 goal deficit solely on Hammond would be idiotic by anyone who did watch the game and saw how un-disciplined the B-Sens played in the 1st period and beyond. Yes, Hammond has to make the big stops and in many cases he did not, but to say Luke Richardson’s team played well in front of him is a stretch, a far stretch.

First let’s look at the B-Sens first period penalties: 4:22; Hamilton Bng (slashing), 9:56; Dziurzynski Bng (fighting), 13:03; Petersson Bng (tripping), 13:11; Zibanejad Bng (interference), 14:00; Borowiecki Bng (double minor – high-sticking), 14:41; Sdao Bng (closing hand on puck), 17:44; Dziurzynski Bng (slashing), 19:30. And it didn’t stop in the first, when it was all said and done the B-Sens were tagged with 19 infractions for 61 minutes and gave the Admirals 12 power play chances.

These are mistakes by players who have seriously played as one of the most disciplined teams last season in the American Hockey League and had one of the top 5 penalty kills last season as well. To give up 4 power play goals in one game is rare, but to do it in one period is almost un heard of and yet this young team (3rd youngest team in the AHL at 22.76 years of age) found a way to do it. At least 3 of the power play goals were bad defensive breakdowns in front of Hammond, and yes the 1st goal of the game, a shorthanded goal by the Admirals Davante Smith-Pelly at the 5:44 mark was just early indication of how this period was going to go.

The B-Sens Darren Kramer opened the scoring on Saturday night in his first game of the season. (Photo courtesy of the Binghamton Senators)
The B-Sens Darren Kramer opened the scoring on Saturday night in his first game of the season. (Photo courtesy of the Binghamton Senators)

After the Smith-Pelly shorthanded goal to start everything off, the Admirals then fired off the four power play markers in a span of 4:58 seconds from the 14:41 of the 1st period to the 19:39 mark of the 1st period, spiraling the B-Sens down a road that they couldn’t even attempt to come back from. But this was a poor team effort on every level from offense, defense to goal-tending.

Enter Nathan Lawson in the 2nd period on Friday night and a stretch of 5 periods of hockey where the Admirals were only able to score one goal off of Lawson and the B-Sens only allowed 34 shots (10 in the last 2 periods on Friday and 24 total on Saturday) on goal in those five periods of play.

And remember Lawson’s debut last season, as the B-Sens held a 5-0 lead over the Syracuse Crunch on October 20th, he gave up 6 goals in the loss to the Crunch where it seemed that Lawson could not stop a beach ball. Yet Lawson brought his 15 + goals against average down through out the season, so if anything, Lawson know how it feels and can help the young pro through this type of start to his career.

On Saturday’s 4-1 victory, the B-Sens only allowed 2 power play opportunities to the Admirals vs. the 12 opportunities that they allowed on Friday night. Also the scoring came a tad easier as well with Admirals back-up goaltender John Gibson in between the pipes for only his 3rd game professionally, but providing resident tough guy Darren Kramer and Andre Petersson to get their first goals of the season, along with Derek Grant picking up a tally to add to his team lead of 2 on the young season. Jim O’Brien also scored his first for the B-Sens late in the third period with an empty net.

Realistically the B-Sens, though the score and the only 2 points won’t essentially show it, played a good 5 periods of hockey and walked away with what they deserved; splitting the possible 4 points in what is always a tough 4 points for the B-Sens in the 12 years of traveling to the Scope.

And blaming a rookie goaltender or the referees for the play of 1 period when looking at the big picture is just not smart. The team is responsible for their play at every position, they corrected a lot and by the time Saturday’s 3rd period came to an end, the B-Sens look like the team that had rallied back a week before on home ice for an impressive win vs. arguably the best team in the division. It just took 5 periods to look like that team in Norfolk.

Other..

Mark Stone did not travel with the team to Norfolk still nursing what is thought to be a shoulder injury… Shaking up the line-up a bit Coach Richardson sat on Saturday D-Men Mike Sdao & Troy Rutkowski for Ben Blood and veteran Tyler Eckford, both getting their first action of the season in 3 games as well as sitting Shane Prince for Darren Kramer… Ben Blood wore number 26 instead of last season’s 44… In Fridays 1st period, former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton defenseman, Alex Grant recorded a hat-trick for Norfolk in which all 3 goals were scored on the power play… The B-Sens head back to the Southern Tier for a week of practice before finishing off this three game road trip in Syracuse on Friday and then host the same Crunch back at the BCVMA on Saturday night.

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