Phantoms Fall to Binghamton in Overtime, 4-3

Denis Hamel scored on a two-on-one rush in overtime, as the Binghamton Senators erased an early two-goal deficit to defeat the Philadelphia Phantoms at Broome County Arena, 4-3.

Hamel raced in with Antonie Vermette and roofed a wrist shot past goaltender Antero Niittymaki with 1:04 left in the extra session to give the Senators the victory.

Binghamton tied the game 2-2 early in the third period, when Brandon Bochenski's slap shot beat Niittymaki through a screen just 57 seconds in.

Then, with the game tied, Vermette was stationed at the side of the Philadelphia goal crease. A weak shot by Hamel was gloved by Vermette, who then dropped the puck to the ice and lifted it past Niittymaki at 13:12.

Jon Sim tied the game 3-3 with his second goal of the night with 3:37 left in regulation. He was able to jam a loose puck past Ray Emery just before the net came off of its moorings.

Sim now has 14 goals in his last 12 games.

The Phantoms jumped ahead with a pair of goals in the first period. Sim whacked in a bouncing puck in front of the goal crease following a shot by rookie R.J. Umberger at 7:58.

Tony Voce made it a 2-0 game when he deflected in a low wrist shot from the point by Joni Pitkanen after an offensive zone faceoff win by Patrick Sharp. Voce's 18th of the year came with 1:07 remaining in the frame.

Pitkanen and Umberger both finished the night with a pair of assists.

Binghamton responded in the second period, cutting Philadelphia's lead in half while outshooting the Phantoms by a 12-6 margin. Josh Langfeld picked up the goal at 5:38 when Niittymaki was unable to control a shot by Vermette and Langfeld knocked in the rebound with the Senators on a power play.

Binghamton finished 1-for-5 on the power play while the Phantoms were 0-for-2 with a man advantage.

The East Division rivals will face off for the final time on Wednesday, March 30 in Binghamton.

Philadelphia returns home to host the Portland Pirates tomorrow at 6:05 p.m. The game will be televised on tape delay at 7:00 p.m. by Comcast SportsNet. Next weekend, the Phantoms entertain Springfield on Friday and play in Hershey on Saturday.

Phantoms Notes: David Printz, Mark Murphy, Joey Hope and B.J. Abel were scratched for the Phantoms. ... Philadelphia is 2-2 all-time on March 19. ... Sim registered his eighth multi-goal game of the season, which leads the team.