Four minutes worth of action against the Rochester Americans on Saturday not only cost the Binghamton Senators a hockey game, but also two of their on-ice leaders.

In the first period of Saturday’s 5-4 loss, the B-Sens lost team captain Denis Hamel when he collided with a Rochester player. Less than a minute later, enforcer Jeremy Yablonski left the ice after he struggled to gain his balance following a fight against Rochester’s Steve MacIntyre.

According to B-Sens head coach Don Nachbaur, Hamel is scheduled to undergo an MRI, and Nachbaur speculated that Yablonski could be out for an undetermined amount of time.

Rochester opened the scoring at the 10:21 mark in the first period when forward Graham Mink was fed a backhand pass from behind the net and tapped it past Binghamton goaltender Mike Brodeur.

B-Sens forward Josh Hennessy evened the score a few minutes later, but Rochester answered in the second period by scoring three goals in three minutes to make the game 4-1.

“We lost Yabo, we lost Hammer. That’s the captain and an assistant captain. We disintegrated in the second, no doubt about that,” Nachbaur said. “We lost our composure and that usually comes from your leaders.”

A series of penalties also didn’t help Binghamton, with one coming during a timeout as Brodeur tripped Rochester goaltender Alexander Salak while he was making his way to the team’s bench. His penalty, combined with a hooking call on Erik Condra, gave Rochester a five-on-three advantage during which it scored its fourth goal. Brodeur was later pulled from the game and replaced by Chris Holt, who let in only one goal on 21 shots.

After Binghamton forward Zack Smith and Rochester’s Michael Duco exchanged goals in the closing minutes of the second period, the B-Sens rallied back in the third with goals by Kaspars Daugavins and Hennessy, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Rochester’s five tallies.

The B-Sens set a new team record for the most shots on goal during a game with 57 against Salak, who stopped 53.

“We peppered that guy. The shot total at one point there was three to one. And we had 16 scoring chances point-blank through two periods and had two goals to show for it,” Nachbaur said. “I personally think in today’s game you[‘ve] got to roof pucks, and we weren’t able to do that.”

Since Binghamton University dismissed for winter break, the B-Sens have posted a 6-12 record and are currently ranked last in the AHL’s East Division with 44 points — 6 behind the Adirondack Phantoms, who hold the fourth and final Calder Cup playoff seed.

Although the B-Sens have lost four out of their last five games, Hennessy believes the team can get back into contention by stringing together a few wins.

“The division is so tight,” he added.

One win came on Friday at the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena as the B-Sens overcame an early deficit to beat the visiting Albany River Rats 4-3.

It only took 22 seconds in the first period for Albany to find a way onto the scoreboard, as forward Jiri Tlusty put a puck past Brodeur on a two-on-one breakaway.

“Our defense didn’t read the play. We had three forwards caught up ice and our defense went to the wall — that’s a cardinal sin,” Nachbaur said, explaining the opening that created the odd-man rush.

However, Binghamton would go on to score a pair of goals from Hamel and Craig Schira to close out the period.

After a scoreless second frame, Binghamton’s Ryan Keller tapped in a rebound from a Neil Petruic slapshot 27 seconds into the third period to give the B-Sens a 3-1 lead.

“Our tough guys played tough, our scorers scored, we had contributions from a lot of different people and that’s what you need: a team effort,” Nachbaur said.

Albany would go on to score two goals of their own in the period, but Hamel’s game-winner — a one-timer after forward Martin St. Pierre decided not to shoot on a breakaway — proved the difference.

“Tonight was great; I got two goals, but it’s more important that we got the two points,” Hamel said.