The Binghamton Senators won their third straight game tonight as they defeated the Toronto Marlies, 4-2. The victory, combined with the Syracuse Crunch's 4-1 loss to the Rochester Americans put the B-Sens in first place in the East Division and first place overall in the American Hockey League (25-8-1-3, 54 points). The B-Sens struck first as Stephane Da Costa, assisted by Shane Prince, netted his ninth goal of the season with just 1:53 remaining in the opening period. The Marlies would tie the game at 5:43 of the second frame as Spencer Abbott tipped Mike Mottau's shot past B-Sens netminder Nathan Lawson. Joe Colborne also drew an assist on the play. Binghamton reclaimed the lead at the 15:26 mark as Mika Zibanejad scored his second goal of the season, with help from Mark Stone and Da Costa. The B-Sens added some insurance at 4:25 of the third period as Mike Hoffman, assisted by Frederik Claesson, netted his eleventh of the season. The Marlies pulled within one with 42.3 seconds left on the clock as defenseman Dylan Yeo netted his first of the season. Assists were credited to Nicolas Deschamps and Binghamton native Jerry D'Amigo. Derek Grant however would hit an empty Marlies net with 19.1 seconds left in regulation to secure the 4-2 victory. Lawson picked up his third consecutive win in net for the B-Sens with 36 saves on 38 shots. Jussi Rynnas started in goal for the Marlies, coming away with the loss after stopping 21 of 24 shots. The B-Sens see action again tomorrow night as they travel to Bridgeport to face the Sound Tigers. Game time is 7 p.m. Fans can listen live on "Binghamton's Classic Hits" BIG 107.5 (WBBI-FM) beginning 15 minutes before game time as Grady Whittenburg, the voice of the B-Sens, hosts the Countdown to Faceoff. Fans are also encouraged to follow @BSens_Hockey on Twitter for live game updates.
