The Binghamton Senators have reached the 10-game mark and it is time to take stock and see how the team and the players are doing. Binghamton is 4-4-2, good for 7th in their conference and 4th in their division. Their 22 goals for put them ahead of only Providence and Albany in their conference and both of those teams have only played 8 games. Binghamton has allowed 28 goals which is 9th in the conference, but removing 30 minutes of Nathan Lawson brings the team down to 22 goals which would place them 3rd (behind Springfield and Albany, each having played 9 and 8 games).
Player’s stats (INJ=games missed due to injury, SCR= scratched, SUS=suspended, NHL=games in the NHL, ECHL=games in the ECHL):
Mike Hoffman 10-2-3-5 +1 (leads the team in shots with 36)
Andre Benoit 10-2-3-5 Even
Tyler Eckford 10-2-3-5 -6
Mark Stone 4-0-4-4 +2 INJ 6
Andre Petersson 10-1-3-4 -4
Jakob Silfverberg 10-2-2-4 -5
Jared Cowen 3-0-3-3 Even INJ 7
Patrick Wiercioch 9-3-0-3 +5 INJ 1
Hugh Jessiman 10-3-0-3 -1
David Dziurzynski 9-2-1-3 +1 INJ 1
Mark Borowiecki 10-1-2-3 +1 (leads the team in pims with 51)
Mika Zibanejad 10-0-3-3 -3
Corey Cowick 10-1-1-2 Even
Derek Grant 10-1-1-2 -2
Jean-Gabriel Pageau 9-0-2-2 +2 SCR 1
Shane Prince 3-0-1-1 Even INJ 7
Cole Schneider 5-0-1-1 Even SCR 5
Stephane Da Costa 5-0-1-1 -2 INJ 5
Fredrik Claesson 8-0-1-1 -6 SCR 2
Pat Cannone 10-1-0-1 -2
Eric Gryba 4-0-0-0 Even INJ 6
Ben Blood 3-0-0-0 Even SCR 3 [ECHL 4-0-0-0 +3]
Louie Caporusso 3-0-0-0 Even [ECHL 2-1-1-2 Even]
Chris Wideman 3-0-0-0 -2 SCR 3 [ECHL 4-0-4-4 +4]
Darren Kramer 1-0-0-0 Even INJ 2 SCR 6 [ECHL 1-1-0-1 +1]
Jack Downing 1-0-0-0 Even SCR 1 [ECHL 7-1-1-2 -1]
Dustin Gazley [ECHL 9-5-8-13 -3]
Danny New [ECHL 8-1-6-7 +1]
Brad Peltz [ECHL 8-2-1-3 +2]
Wacey Hamilton DNP (injured)
Robin Lehner 4-2-1 1.70 .943
Ben Bishop 0-2-0 4.04 .902
Nathan Lawson 0-1-0 10.52 .769 [ECHL 1-0-0 2.00 .941]
Marc Cheverie [ECHL 4-1-0 2.13 .933]
Without a doubt Lehner is the MVP of this block of games; with the team struggling to score the importance of good goaltending is magnified and he’s the main reason Binghamton has won as many games as they have. What stands out most is the lack of scoring on the team, which I think has been exasperated due to injury. Da Costa hasn’t been healthy all season due to a knee problem, Stone has only played a handful of games, and Cowen was injured early. The rookies have not been able to carry the freight on their own and while veteran Jessiman has been a little below average offensively, Cannone has completely fallen off the map. Eckford and Claesson are both a team worst -6, and while that’s somewhat understandable from the teenage Swede, it’s not from the veteran. On the opposite end Wiercioch is a team high +5 and seems to be back on track after a rough sophomore campaign.
The team will improve as the season moves forward–perhaps not substantially in the win column, but they will start to score more, particularly when they get healthy. Losing both Cowen and Gryba on the blueline has really hurt, forcing Claesson and/or Blood/Wideman to play more than what’s ideal. I also expect Bishop/Lawson to round into form at some point, giving Lehner a break and the team a boost.
6 Comments
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eyeonthesens 
Which player has been the biggest surprise for you so far in Bingo? Biggest disappointment?
For me, Weircioch for biggest surprise and a tie between Petersson and Grant for biggest disappointment,
It’s a really tough call to make, but for surprise I’d have to say Pageau as I didn’t expect him to stay in the AHL, while disapppointment has to be Cannone–he’s an older player who had success last year and he’s been unable to help a team desperate for any center to step up. It’s worth keeping in mind that things could change rapidly.
Petersson has actually played decently, the complete lack of a dominant center is what I find most glaring. The Calder run was built around a top 3 of Locke, Potulny, Smith, and no one has played to their levels so far remotely.
I agree wholeheartedly; the best hope for the team is that a healthy Da Costa can carry some of the load and that Cannone finds his game. I think it’s a bit too much to hope that any of the rookie centers can handle a #1 role.
[…] time to take stock and see how the team and the players are doing (for the previous ten games go here). Binghamton was 9-1-0, placing them 4th in their conference and 2nd in their division. Their […]
[…] looking at how Binghamton performed, so here’s a brief recap of the season that was: The first ten games Binghamton went 4-4-2 with Mike Hoffman, Andre Benoit, and Tyler Eckford leading the way […]