For new Binghamton Senators coach Curtis Hunt, his first few days with the team did not go as planned.
Since taking over the head coaching position two weeks ago, Hunt has managed the club to a 3-2-2 record, but lost three out of his first four games.
His first game behind the bench was on Feb. 6 in Hamilton, where Binghamton fell 3-2 in overtime.
The B-Sens played a conservative game during the opening two periods by allowing Hamilton only nine shots against goaltender Martin Gerber. However, Hamilton capitalized on one of those shots and added a power-play goal late in the game.
The B-Sens then eased off the brakes by scoring two goals in the final four minutes of regulation, but couldn’t hold off Hamilton’s Yannick Weber in the extra minutes.
The following night the team traveled to Rochester to face the Americans, once again went down 2-0 and ended up losing 3-2 in overtime.
Hunt’s first win with the club came on Feb. 8 as the B-Sens beat the Springfield Falcons, 2-1, on the third and final leg of their road trip. After falling behind 1-0, the AHL’s best power play produced two goals by Peter Regin and Josh Hennessy, which ensured the victory.
On Wednesday, Feb. 11, the scoreboard read 3-0 after three Albany shots in the first eight minutes of the opening period. Gerber was unable to stop an early scoring surge by the River Rats, but was assisted later on in the game when the B-Sens scored a pair of goals from Marc Cavosie and Denis Hamel.
But the rally wasn’t enough, and Albany scored a late goal to win 4-2.
Friday the 13th brought a familiar foe to the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena — the Hershey Bears.
Hershey had Binghamton’s number this season, winning three out of their first four contests that included a 9-0 victory on Nov. 16.
However, the night didn’t bring bad luck to the B-Sens, as they were able to overcome Hersey, 5-1.
Goaltender Jeff Glass stopped 30 of 31 shots, including a penalty shot to Alexandre Giroux — one of Hershey’s top scorers.
“Throughout my career I’ve had chances to win big games, so it’s nice being able to be thrown into a big game and be expected to win, and that’s what happened tonight,” Glass said. “By no means were we going to settle with less than two points.”
Hennessey contributed two goals in the winning effort, with one of them on a shorthanded breakaway.
“Coach Hunt has given me some more responsibility on the penalty kill than what I was used to, and once in a while you get a bounce like that,” Hennessey said.
Hunt was cautious but pleased with his team’s effort.
“Maybe they took us a little lightly from some past successes they had, but take nothing away from our guys because we played a complete game,” Hunt said.
The scoring stopped the following night, as the B-Sens lost 4-1 to the Philadelphia Phantoms in a game where they failed to convert on numerous power-play opportunities.
The B-Sens then defeated the Norfolk Admirals, 6-3, on Wednesday night in Binghamton, but without one of their leading scorers, Hennessy, who was called up to Ottawa.
The team again found itself down early as Norfolk scored two goals in the first eight minutes of the game, but Zack Smith began the comeback when he scored twice in the final 17 seconds of the period. One of the goals was a buzzer-beater which passed the goal line with less than a second remaining on the clock.
“It didn’t cross my mind that there would be enough time to score a goal. But it worked out nicely and I managed to get one in just in time” said Smith.
Danny Bois, who along with Hamel scored two goals on the night, thought the last-second goal by Smith was the turning point in the game.
“Going down two like that early and then coming into the intermission, getting a chance to start over fresh again is a huge boost,” Bois said.
This matchup was the first of an odd scheduling arrangement that has Binghamton facing Norwalk seven times in 28 days. Following this game, the B-Sens travel to Norwalk to play a pair of road games over the weekend.
Up in Ottawa, Cory Clouston lost his first game behind the Ottawa Senators bench, but he hasn’t looked back since, as the team posted a 5-0-2 record in the past seven games. Brian Elliott collected three of those five wins.