On Tuesday night the Binghamton Senators proved that once you’re in the playoffs no matter what seed you are that anything is possible.  The Senators defeated the Houston Aeros 3-2 in Game 6 to win the 2010/2011 Calder Cup and also first Calder Cup in the cities history. The Senators were the 5th place team in the East Division and earned a spot in the playoffs thanks to the crossover rule (5th place team in the East having more points than the 4th place team in the Atlantic).

The Sens had missed the playoffs the past five seasons before the unbelievable 2010/2011 season that brought the Calder Cup to the City of Binghamton in 29 years of hosting an AHL team.  The Sens had a great regular season in the toughest division in the AHL. Assuming the Amerks move back to the Eastern Conference the games should be more exciting than what we’ve been used to (better opponents and assuming better Amerks roster).

One interesting thing to note is that both the Aeros and Senators benefited from neither NHL parent team making the playoffs so they weren’t challenged with depleted rosters.  As a fan of the AHL you almost don’t want the NHL team to make a long run and hurt your chances.  NHL fans will likely say too bad, you’re there to develop for us. Interesting discussion for another day.

Great job Bingo, hopefully Rochester will be collecting the cup in 2012 and driving it down the thruway.

Here’s a video of the group pic with the Calder Cup and also a sign for Assistant Coach Steve Stirling who underwent quadruple bypass heart surgery and couldn’t travel with the team. Does that remind anyone else of the manager Lou of the Indians in Major League 2? Maybe I shouldn’t make the comparison, can picture the guy wanting to be there and jumping up and down in the hospital room with nurses yelling at him.

That’s enough Bingo talk, time to start focusing on the Amerks roster for the 2011/2012 season!