Potulny's hat trick not enough as Binghamton loses 6-3 to Manchester

The Binghamton Senators started slowly again in game four, but they managed to keep pace with the Manchester Monarchs for most of the game. Once the third period rolled around, though, it was all Monarchs. Manchester scored four goals in the final frame, including three straight towards the end, to win by a 6-3 final score. They now have a stranglehold on the Atlantic Division Semi-Final, with a 3-1 series lead.

Manchester defensemen Viatcheslav Voynov scored the only goal in the first period, and within a couple minutes of the second, that lead was extended to two goals. B-Sens leading scorer Ryan Potulny led the way in getting Binghamton back into the game, with two goals just 1:01 apart in the early second period to even the score. Brayden Schenn gave Manchester the lead once again in the third, but Potulny--who else?--tied things up with his third goal of the game and fifth of the playoffs.

From their on out, though, it was all Manchester. The Monarchs scored three unanswered goals, one short-handed and one on the powerplay, to take the 6-3 lead they'd eventually finish the game with. Some B-Sens players are obviously ready for playoff hockey--Potulny (5G, 2A), Roman Wick (1G, 4A), and Ryan Keller (1G, 4A) being three--but the team is obviously missing the offence of Corey Locke and the veteran leadership of David Hale and Derek Smith.

Someone is going to have to step up big time to get Bingo back into the series.

B-Sens Zero: Barry Brust
Brust allowed six goals on only 26 shots, which is a terrible .769 save percentage. He's had his moments in the series, but hasn't played anywhere near the level he'd played in the regular season. In four games so far, Brust has allowed 16 goals against, stopping 100 of 116 shots for an overall playoff SP of .826 and a GAA of 3.92. Terrible numbers at any time, but compared to his regular season heroics, they're a huge disappointment.

B-Sens Hero: Ryan Potulny
Pretty easy decision here. Potulny has been very strong all series, but his hat trick in game four was particularly impressive.

B-Sens Killer: Martin Jones
Binghamton didn't take it easy on Jones tonight, peppering the Monarchs' goaltender with 38 shots in the game. Only Potulny could get the puck past him, though, and Jones finished with a 35 saves.

B-Sens Zero: Special teams
It was a step backward for Bingo's special teams on Tuesday night. They allowed two powerplay goals, and surrendered a short-handed one, too--all without getting any offence to speak of for themselves.

Game highlights:
Forthcoming.