The Hershey Bears finally succumbed to the numbers, dropping a 4-1 decision to the Binghamton Senators, their first setback on Giant Center ice since a defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Phantoms on November 1st.
Hershey’s loss, the first in 17 games against the Senators at Giant Center, was their first since Binghamton’s victory in Hershey’s barn on January 23, 2005, when the Bears were still affiliated with the Colorado Avalanche.
Without a number one goaltender, with Simeon Varlamov being called up to the Washington Capitals and Daren Machesney representing Team Canada in the Spengler Cup, the Bears turned to rookie net minder, Michal Neuvirth. Neuvirth, who had a shaky outing, stopped 20 shots, but allowed three questionable goals along the way in his first AHL start.
Neuvirth’s night got off to a rocky start when Danny Bois’ deflection of a point shot gave the bad boys from Binghamton a 1-0 lead at 4:43, on the B-Sens first shot of the game which occurred during the first power play of the game.
Hershey’s Keith Aucoin quickly countered the Bois goal when he tallied to tie the score at 5:37. Aucoin, after corralling his own rebound, beat Binghamton netminder Brian Elliott from close range.
Aaron Clarke, recently recalled from the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL, gave Binghamton another one goal cushion at 7:11. Clarke, pouncing upon a loose puck in the faceoff circle after Jim McKenzie beat Andrew Joudrey on the draw, backhanded a soft shot that deflected off Hershey defenseman Greg Amadio before trickling past Neuvirth.
After the divisional rivals combined for three goals in just over seven minutes of play, it took almost 40 minutes for anyone else to score. Derek Smith softly redirected Shawn Weller’s pass from the corner under the arm of Neuvirth at 6:09, making the score 3-1 in favor of the Senators.
Drew Fata’s long range backhand volley found Neuvirth’s five hole, marking the last goal of the evening, giving Binghamton a comfortable 4-1 cushion. Fata’s goal, which occurred seconds after a non-call in the neutral zone by referee David Banfield, sparked a spirited response from Bears’ head coach, Bob Woods, which included multiple water bottle tosses in the general direction of the referee.