The Binghamton Black Bears (46-6-2) dominated the Watertown Wolves (14-34-6) in another game, wining the final game in the 17 regular season series, 9-1. The Black Bears and Wolves wasted no time setting the tone in their 17th and final meeting of the season, with early chaos and special teams playing a major role. Despite being shorthanded, the Wolves struck first just 2:23 into the period as former Black Bear Darion Benchich capitalized on a break the other way, beating Connor McAnanama to give Watertown a 1-0 lead. Binghamton responded quickly. At the 5:24 mark, Dan Wieber fired a shot from the high slot that was redirected in front by Ivan Bondarenko, tying the game at 1-1 and shifting momentum back toward the Black Bears. The Black Bears continued to press, and at 8:38, Mac Jansen buried his 32nd goal of the season off a feed from Bondarenko and Austin D’Orazio, giving Binghamton their first lead of the night at 2-1. Late in the period, the Black Bears extended their advantage. With just 2:22 remaining, Zac Sirota finished off a setup from Wieber and Scott Ramaekers to make it 3-1 heading into the intermission. The period featured heavy physical play and frequent trips to the penalty box for both sides, but Binghamton’s ability to respond after the early shorthanded goal proved to be the difference.

The Black Bears continued to build on their first-period momentum, adding to their lead in a strong middle frame performance. Binghamton struck at 7:33 of the period under unique circumstances. With a delayed penalty coming against Watertown and Connor McAnanama pulled for the extra attacker, the Black Bears capitalized before the power play even officially began. Gehrett Sargis found the back of the net for his 16th goal of the season, finishing a setup from Kyle Stephan to extend the lead to 4-1. The Black Bears weren’t done there. With 6:13 remaining in the period, Emerson Emery added to the advantage, scoring his 4th goal of the season off a feed from Jacob Shankar to make it a 5-1 game. Watertown pushed back with a slight edge in shots during the period, but Binghamton remained opportunistic, converting on their chances while maintaining control of the scoreboard.

The Black Bears left no doubt in the final frame, erupting offensively and pulling away in dominant fashion to close out the regular season series. Binghamton wasted little time adding to their lead, as Zac Sirota struck just 5:04 into the period, finishing a play from Gehrett Sargis and Kyle Stephan to make it 6-1. Special teams took over from there. After a stretch of penalties and escalating physical play between the two teams, the Black Bears capitalized repeatedly on the man advantage. At 13:38, Nick Swain buried a power play goal off feeds from CJ Stubbs and Mac Jansen. Just over two minutes later, Kyle Stephan added another power play tally at 15:44, finishing a setup from Swain and Ivan Bondarenko. Binghamton wasn’t finished yet. With 2:17 remaining, Scott Ramaekers capped off the scoring with yet another power play goal, assisted by Swain and Stephan, extending the lead to 9-1. The period featured multiple penalties and a heated sequence midway through, including matching roughing minors and a fighting major, but the Black Bears maintained control throughout. Binghamton outshot Watertown 17-5 in the third, completely shutting the door on any chance of a comeback.

Click here to see the BinghamtonHockey.net Boxscore.

The Binghamton Black Bears (45-6-2) defeated the Port Huron Prowlers (35-17-1) on Hall of Fame night in Binghamton and the celebration of the Black Bears fifth anniversary. The opening period featured a little bit of everything—special teams, physicality, and a scary moment that set the tone early. Just 4:02 into the game, play was halted following a heavy collision involving Port Huron’s Blake Anderson. After being pushed by Kyle Stephan, Anderson was driven into an oncoming Jesse Anderson, resulting in a high hit that sent the Prowlers forward hard to the ice. Anderson remained down for an extended stretch in a frightening scene before eventually being attended to. After an on-ice review, what was initially assessed as a major penalty was reduced to a two-minute minor for illegal check to the head. Port Huron capitalized on the ensuing power play, as Bobby Price buried his opportunity at the 5:02 mark to give the Prowlers an early 1-0 lead. Austin Fetterly and Ryan Alexander picked up the assists. The Black Bears answered quickly. With Nicholas Favaro in the box for holding, Tyson Kirkby netted his 21st goal of the season on the power play at 7:21, finishing off a setup from Ivan Bondarenko and CJ Stubbs to even the game at one. Tempers flared shortly after, with Jesse Anderson and Jamie Bucell dropping the gloves at 6:11, each receiving five-minute fighting majors as the physical tone continued to build. Both teams traded chances through the remainder of the period, with Binghamton holding a slight edge in shots on goal, 11-10. Dominik Tmej and Bailey Huber were sharp in net after the early goals, keeping things locked at 1-1 heading into the intermission.

The Black Bears seized full control of the game in the middle frame, erupting for four goals and turning a 1-1 tie into a commanding 5-1 lead. Binghamton grabbed its first lead of the night at 8:17, as Zac Sirota buried his 17th goal of the season off a setup from Dan Wieber and Kyle Stephan, making it 2-1. Moments later, controversy struck. At 11:33, what appeared to be another Black Bears goal from Mac Jansen was waved off following a review, as officials determined no goal despite Ivan Bondarenko being taken down on the play. However, the sequence still resulted in a Port Huron penalty, and Binghamton made them pay. With Brett Lockhart and Austin Fetterly both in the box, the Black Bears capitalized on the two-man advantage. Austin D’Orazio wired home a 5-on-3 power play goal at 12:38, extending the lead to 3-1 with assists from CJ Stubbs and Mac Jansen. The physicality—and chaos—only ramped up from there. Midway through the period, a dangerous collision occurred when Gavin Yates drove hard toward the net as Bailey Huber came out for a poke check. Yates collided with both Huber and the post in a heavy impact, remaining down on the ice before eventually leaving the game. Huber, despite the contact, was able to stay in and finish the period. While killing a penalty late in the frame, the Black Bears delivered another backbreaking moment. With Scott Ramaekers in the box, Mac Jansen struck for a shorthanded goal at 15:50, finishing off a feed from Tyson Kirkby to push the lead to 4-1. Binghamton wasn’t done yet. With just 41 seconds remaining in the period, Ramaekers exited the penalty box earlier in the sequence and capped off the scoring with his 16th goal of the season at 19:19, off assists from Sirota and Gehrett Sargis. The period ended with multiple scrums and fights, including bouts involving Tyson Kirkby, Camron Cervone, and Jacob Shankar, as tensions boiled over heading into the second intermission. Binghamton outshot Port Huron 14-7 in the period and carried a dominant 5-1 lead into the third.

The third period saw no scoring, but plenty of continued physical play as both teams combined for several penalties and misconducts. Binghamton and Port Huron traded chances throughout the period, but neither side could solve the goaltending, with the Black Bears edging the Prowlers 6-5 in shots. Port Huron turned to Jameson Bourque in net for the final frame, providing relief for Bailey Huber, but the damage had already been done. As frustrations lingered, the penalties continued to pile up, including matching misconducts to Kyle Stephan and Dylan Marty for inciting, along with a four-minute spearing minor assessed to Reggie Millette late in the game. When the final horn sounded, the Black Bears secured a convincing 5-1 victory and officially claimed the season series, winning seven of the eight meetings between the two teams.

Click here to see the BinghamtonHockey.net Boxscore.

The Binghamton Black Bears (44-6-2) lost to the Danbury Hat Tricks (23-24-5) on Saturday night in Danbury by the score of 6-4. The Hat Tricks wasted no time getting on the board, as Chance Adrian struck just 1:11 into the opening period, marking the first Hat Tricks goal against the Black Bears on home ice in three games. Binghamton answered back midway through the frame after a costly turnover in front of Danbury rookie net-minder Ayden Pierce. Ivan Bondarenko capitalized on the mistake, burying his 18th goal of the season at 6:15 to even the game at one. Both Mac Jansen and CJ Stubbs pick up assists on the tally. Late in the period, the Hat Tricks regained the lead on the power play. With Kyle Stephan in the box for hooking, Konstantin Chernyuk converted with 4:00 remaining in the period, giving Danbury a 2-1 advantage heading into the first intermission.

The Black Bears came out flying in the second period and quickly erased the deficit. Zac Sirota buried his 15th goal of the season just 1:48 into the frame, finishing a setup from Scott Ramaekers and Kyle Stephan to tie the game at two. Binghamton continued to push and grabbed their first lead of the night midway through the period. CJ Stubbs netted his 39th of the season at 11:11, off a strong offensive sequence created by Ivan Bondarenko and Mac Jansen, giving the Black Bears a 3-2 advantage. Danbury responded late in the period, beginning with Eli Rivers, who tied the game at three with 2:33 remaining, finishing a play set up by Chance Adrian and Grady Friedman. Momentum stayed with the Hat Tricks in the final minute after a failed clearing attempt by Binghamton led to an odd-man rush. Chance Adrian capitalized for his second goal of the night with 52 seconds left, assisted by Eli Rivers and Kadyn Fennell, sending Danbury into the second intermission with a 4-3 lead.

The Black Bears battled back to even the game midway through the third period. Just after Kadyn Fennell exited the penalty box, Austin D’Orazio scored his 23rd goal of the season at 8:56, finishing the play assisted by Stubbs and Stephan to tie the game at four. The tie game didn’t last long. Just 39 seconds later, the Hat Tricks responded as Grady Friedman restored the lead at 9:35, capitalizing on a rush opportunity with assists from Kadyn Fennell and Austin Pickford to make it 5-4. Binghamton pushed late in the period, eventually pulling net-minder Dysen Skinner for the extra attacker, but Danbury sealed the game in the final minute. Kaiden Kandereka found the empty net at 19:03, assisted by Joe Santoro and Gregory Susinski, securing the 6-4 win for the Hat Tricks.

Click here to see the BinghamtonHockey.net Boxscore.

The Binghamton Black Bears (44-5-2) shutout the Danbury Hat Tricks (22-24-5) by the score of 1-0 at the Visions Veterans Memorial Arena on Friday night in front of a sell-out crowd in Binghamton. The Black Bears controlled the opening 20 minutes, dictating pace and owning the puck for long stretches, but couldn’t solve Danbury netminder Kyle Penton. Binghamton applied consistent offensive zone pressure and held a commanding edge in shots, outshooting the Hat Tricks 12-4 in the frame. Despite multiple quality looks, including power play opportunities, the Black Bears were unable to break through, as Penton turned aside everything he faced to keep the game scoreless. A concerning moment came midway through the period when CJ Stubbs took a hard spill, getting up slowly before making his way to the bench. He would return for his next shift, but it was a sequence worth monitoring.

The middle frame saw the game tighten up, with both teams settling in and trading chances, but once again, neither side could find the back of the net. After a one-sided first period, Danbury pushed back in the second, generating more sustained pressure and forcing Dominik Tmej to come up with a handful of key saves. At the other end, Kyle Penton continued his strong night, turning aside Binghamton’s chances to keep the shutout intact through 40 minutes. There was some confusion midway through the period when it initially appeared Anton Rubtsov had drawn a double-minor for high-sticking on Dan Stone during a power play sequence. However, after review, officials determined it was contact with the glove on the follow-through, no penalty was assessed, wiping out what could have been a key opportunity. Tensions boiled over late in the period. After Kaiden Kandereka clipped Tmej with his stick after the whistle, Jesse Anderson stepped in, and the two dropped the gloves at 19:35. Anderson made his message clear, getting in a few extra shots even after Kandereka was down.

With the tension building in a scoreless game, the Black Bears finally broke through in the final frame—and it came in a moment that perfectly summed up their persistence all night. At 12:23, Nick Swain fired a shot that appeared to be handled by Penton, but the puck slipped through and trickled across the goal line, giving Binghamton a 1-0 lead with just over seven minutes remaining. Binghamton continued to control the pace in the third, outshooting Danbury 17-8, finishing the night with a commanding 38-18 edge in shots on goal. And at the center of it all was Dominik Tmej, who was flawless once again. The Black Bears goaltender turned aside all 18 shots he faced to record his 7th shutout of the season, setting a new franchise single-season mark. Even more impressive, Tmej has now held opponents scoreless for 215:50, another franchise best.

Click here to see the BinghamtonHockey.net Boxscore.

The Binghamton Black Bears netminder Connor McAnanama has played in 15 playoffs game in his pro-career, which is 6th all-time in Binghamton hockey history. Even though C-Mac has only played in 15 playoff games it still ranks him, 6th just Ken Holland (36), Peter Sidorkiewicz (28), the late Ray Emery (22), Robin Lehner (19) and Mark "Trees" LaForest (19). With his 909 minutes played, that also put him 6th behind the same fore-mentioned net-minders. When it comes to wins, Ken Holland is 1st all time with 16 wins, then C-Mac and Robin Lehner both have 14 wins tied for second. You can give the nod to C-Mac for having done it in only 15 games vs. Robin's 19 games.

Connor's ranks #1 in Save % with .947, only Jamie Ram matched his but it was only 1 game in a relief effort. Only 3 players have a sub 2 Goals Against Average, again Jamie Ram with 1.76, Taylor Joseph a 1.83 with the Black Bears in their 2nd season and then 1.65 for Connor McAnanama who has played more games and has the best overall GAA of the 38 net-minders who have laced up the skates to defend the pipes for a Binghamton team in the last 52 years. Lastly Connor and Robin are #1 and #2 in shutouts in the playoffs with 4 for C-Mac and 3 for Lehner, cementing that if you have great goal-tending and team defense, winning championships are a destiny.

In only 15 games played, C-Mac's performance has changed the landscape of Binghamton Hockey history, and if a three-peat were to happen, his #'s will likely only get better.

The Power Play Post Show, hosted by Bob Howard & Taylor Welch is back and is in it's 15th season. The 15th season has already great guests like Donald Olivieri, Scott Ramaekers, Emerson Emery, Brooks Hill. More guests from the Binghamton Black Bears and FPHL are coming soon.

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