Binghamton Senators facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Binghamton Senators
City	Binghamton, New York
League	American Hockey League
Founded	1972
Operated	2002–2017
Home arena	Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena
Colors	Red, black, antique gold, white
Affiliate(s)	Ottawa Senators (NHL)
Franchise history
1972–1992	New Haven Nighthawks
1992–1993	New Haven Senators
1993–1996	Prince Edward Island Senators
2002–2017	Binghamton Senators
2017–present	Belleville Senators
Championships
Division Championships	3 (2002–03, 2004–05, 2013–14)
Conference Championships	1 (2010–11)
Calder Cups	1 (2010–11)

The Binghamton Senators were a professional ice hockey team. They played in the American Hockey League (AHL) from 2002 to 2017. People often called them the B-Sens. Their home arena was the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton, New York.

The B-Sens were a "minor league" team. This means they were connected to a bigger team, the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Players often moved between the B-Sens and the Ottawa Senators. In 2017, the Ottawa Senators moved the B-Sens team to a new city. It became the Belleville Senators. Binghamton then got a new AHL team, the Binghamton Devils.

The Binghamton Senators won the Calder Cup in the 2010–11 season. This is the championship trophy for the AHL. Their main rivals were other nearby teams. These included the Syracuse Crunch and the Hershey Bears.

History of the Binghamton Senators

How the Team Started (2002–2005)

The B-Sens brought AHL hockey back to Binghamton. The city had not had an AHL team for five years. Before the B-Sens, other teams played there. These included the Binghamton Dusters and the Binghamton Rangers.

The Binghamton Senators had a great first season in 2002–03. They won 43 games and earned 97 points. They did well in the playoffs, winning their first two rounds. But they lost to the Hamilton Bulldogs in the next round. The 2003–04 season was not as strong. Key players like Antoine Vermette and Jason Spezza moved to the NHL. The team lost in the first round of the playoffs.

In 2004–05, the NHL had a lockout. This meant many NHL players came to play in the AHL. The B-Sens got back stars like Jason Spezza and Antoine Vermette. Other NHL players like Chris Neil also joined. This made the Senators a very strong team. Jason Spezza was amazing, leading the league with 117 points. He even won the AHL MVP award. The Senators won their division. They scored the most goals in the league. They entered the playoffs playing very well. They won the first two games of their series easily. But then their scoring stopped. They lost the next four games and were knocked out.

Winning the Calder Cup (2009–2011)

On July 17, 2009, Don Nachbaur became the head coach. In the 2009–10 AHL season, the Senators finished fifth in their division. Nachbaur left after one season. Kurt Kleinendorst then became the new head coach. He had just led a U.S. national team to a gold medal.

In his first season, Kleinendorst led the Senators to the 2011 playoffs. They faced the Manchester Monarchs first. The Senators fell behind 3–1 in the series. But they won games five and six in overtime. This forced a game seven. In game seven, Erik Condra tied the game late. Then Ryan Potulny scored in overtime to win the series!

Next, the Senators played the Portland Pirates. They won the first two games away from home. The Pirates fought back, winning two games. But the Senators shut them out in game six to win the series. In the Eastern Conference final, they played the Charlotte Checkers. The Senators were dominant. They outscored the Checkers 21–8 in the series. Ryan Keller scored the winning goal in overtime in game four. This sent the Senators to the Calder Cup finals!

In the finals, the Senators played the Houston Aeros. The series was close, with the Senators falling behind 2–1. But they won two home games to take a 3–2 lead. The Senators won game six in Houston on June 7, 2011. They captured their first ever Calder Cup! Ryan Keller scored the winning goal in the third period.

Later Seasons and Moving On (2011–2017)

After winning the Cup, many players left the team. Some joined other NHL teams. Others became full-time Ottawa Senators. The team struggled in the 2011–12 season. They did not make the playoffs. Coach Kleinendorst resigned. Luke Richardson became the new head coach.

In 2012–13, the Senators brought back former player Andre Benoit as captain. The NHL lockout also meant top prospects like Jakob Silfverberg and Mika Zibanejad started in Binghamton. The team had a great start. But then many players moved to the Ottawa Senators when the NHL season began. The B-Sens finished second in their division. However, they lost in the first round of the playoffs.

The team kept most of its players for the 2013–14 season. They competed for the division lead all year. Even with many players moving to Ottawa, the Senators won their third division title. But for the second year in a row, they lost in the first round of the playoffs.

After the 2015–16 season, coach Luke Richardson left. Kurt Kleinendorst returned as head coach in 2016.

In July 2016, news came out that the Ottawa Senators wanted to move their AHL team. They wanted it closer to Ottawa, in Canada. On September 26, Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk confirmed the move. The team would become the Belleville Senators for the 2017–18 season. Binghamton worked to keep AHL hockey in the city. On January 31, 2017, Binghamton announced a new team. They signed a deal to host the New Jersey Devils' AHL team. This team became the Binghamton Devils.

Team Captains

• Steve Martins, 2002–2003
• Brian Pothier, 2002–2003
• Chris Kelly, 2003–2005
• Denis Hamel, 2005–2006, 2007–2010
• Jamie Allison, 2006–2007
• Ryan Keller, 2010–2011
• Mark Parrish, 2011–2012
• Andre Benoit, 2012–2013
• Mike Hoffman, 2013–2014
• Mark Borowiecki, 2013–2014
• Aaron Johnson. 2014–2015
• Zack Stortini, 2015–2016
• Mike Blunden, 2016–2017

Famous Players

Many talented players played for the Binghamton Senators. Some went on to play in the NHL. Here are a few:

Team Records

Best Single Season Records

• Most Goals: Denis Hamel, 56 goals (2005–06 season)
• Most Assists: Jason Spezza, 85 assists (2004–05 season)
• Most Points: Jason Spezza, 117 points (2004–05 season)
• Most Penalty Minutes: Brian McGrattan, 551 minutes (2004–05 season)
• Best Goalie Average (GAA): Robin Lehner, 2.12 (2012–13 season)
• Best Goalie Save Percentage (SV%): Robin Lehner, .938 (2012–13 season)

Career Records (for games played with Binghamton)

• Most Career Goals: Denis Hamel, 203 goals
• Most Career Assists: Denis Hamel, 189 assists
• Most Career Points: Denis Hamel, 392 points
• Most Career Penalty Minutes: Brian McGrattan, 1051 minutes
• Most Career Goalie Wins: Ray Emery, 67 wins
• Most Career Shutouts: Ray Emery, 11 shutouts
• Most Career Games Played: Denis Hamel, 528 games

Top Scorers in Team History

Here are the players with the most points for the Binghamton Senators:

Images for kids

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  Senators celebrating their 2011 Calder Cup win.