Binghamton drops game five 6-2 to Portland
The Binghamton Senators got themselves into penalty trouble early and the Portland Pirates, with their backs against the wall, took full advantage of it to win game five by a 6-2 score, extending the series to at least a sixth game and back to Portland for a Friday night game.
Early in the game, Binghamton took two delay of game penalties, and Portland scored on both of them, with Colin Stuart scoring the game-opener and Luke Adam getting one just over a minute later. The Sens got a couple powerplay opportunities later in the period, but instead of taking advantage and cutting the lead, they allowed Mark Mancari to score a short-handed goal and went down 3-0. Mark Parrish made it 4-0 a few minutes later, and the B-Sens pulled goalie Robin Lehner before the first period was through, and the crowd that had been so electric through much of the first two games in Bingo was completely stunned.
Binghamton's offense showed signs of life in the middle period, but Portland's offense wasn't finished adding to the lead. Mark Voakes made it 5-0 two minutes into the second. Jim O'Brien answered back and scored his first pro playoff goal, making the score 5-1 and hoping to start a spark for Binghamton. It didn't quite work. Mancari scored his second goal of the game to make it a five-goal game again. With five minutes left in the period, Bobby Butler scored his seventh of the playoffs to cut the lead to four, but that's as close as Bingo would get.
B-Sens Killer: Penalties
The B-Sens didn't do themselves any favors with two lazy delay-of-game penalties early in the game, and the Pirates made them pay big time. Before Tuesday's game, Binghamton, was the least penalized team in the Calder Cup playoffs, but they took six penalties in game five. That's the same amount of penalties Binghamton in the first three games of the series.
B-Sens Killer: Mark Mancari
Mancari ripped Binghamton's defense apart, scoring four points (2G, 2A). He was a big part of the Pirates' early surge, assisting on the first two goals and scoring the third to set the Senators well back on their heels.
Game highlights:
