Font ResizeThe veteran Binghamton goalie got lit up by the Hershey Bears the first time he faced them, then took a tough overtime loss in his next appearance against the Bears.
Saturday night, however, he made up for both those setbacks, replacing injured starter Mike Brodeur at the start of the second period and turning away all 25 shots he faced to backstop the Senators to a 5-2 victory against the Bears at Giant Center.
"It was a difficult situation," said Chiodo, who learned he would be taking over in net between the first and second periods. "Luckily, I was prepared. But the bottom line was that the team was playing well, and I wanted to give them a chance to win. They did a hell of a job tonight. That was a full 60-minute game for us."
The goalie change, said Binghamton coach Don Nachbaur, was necessitated when Brodeur was shaken up after getting hit by Trevor Bruess six and a half minutes into the first period.
"He got shaken up when he was run into," Nachbaur said about Brodeur. "I didn't think he was hurt, but after the period, he said he wasn't feeling well, so I made the decision to put Andy in.
"It was a tough situation for Andy, but he came off the bench and played well."
The injury to Brodeur came when the Bears were playing with an extra skater on a delayed penalty against the Senators. Geoff Kinrade was about to be assessed a hooking penalty when Bruess hit Brodeur, which in turn led to Bruess and Paul Baier
Tomas Kudelka opened the scoring when he cruised down the slot unimpeded to tap in a feed from Jesse Winchester at 7:11. Kaspars Daugavins made it 2-0 when he picked up the rebound of a shot off the glove of goalie Michal Neuvirth and snapped it in.
Hershey answered with a goal by Darren Reid with five and a half minutes left, then tied the game at 16:24 on a goal by Oskar Osala, his first of the season. But that was as close as the Bears would come.
Just under seven minutes into the second period, Ryan Keller unloaded a shot from the top of the left circle that beat Neuvirth on the glove side. That was all Chiodo needed, although the Senators picked up two more goals in the third period.
Chiodo's performance, however, wasn't the difference in the game, at least as far as Hershey coach Mark French was concerned.
"Where do you want to start?" he asked rhetorically. "Early in the year, we were very, very proud of our defensive efforts. But you can't accept what happened tonight. The work ethic tonight is chief in my mind. That's my main concern. The guys need to wake up, start to play at the drop of the puck."
dansernoffsky@ldnews.com; 272-5611, ext. 160
