Sens’ Hamel named Player of the Week

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that Binghamton Senators left wing Denis Hamel has been named the CCM Vector/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending November 13, 2005. In four games, Hamel scored five goals and added three assists for eight points, and played the role of hero in a pair of Senators victories.

After being held scoreless on Wednesday against Hamilton, Hamel tallied four points on Friday against Hartford, his second goal of the night coming with 38.1 seconds left and giving the Senators a 6-5 victory. He continued the drama on Saturday, tying the game with 32 seconds remaining on his second goal (and third point) of the evening, then converting his shootout attempt to help Binghamton to a 5-4 win over Philadelphia. On Sunday, Hamel tallied another goal in the Senators’ 5-2 loss to the Phantoms at the Wachovia Spectrum.

In recognition of his achievement, Hamel will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Senators home game.

A native of Lachute, Que., Hamel leads the Senators with eight goals and 17 points in 13 games this season. The Binghamton captain has recorded 163 goals and 162 assists for 325 points in 443 career AHL games in his nine professional seasons, and was a First Team AHL All-Star in 2003-04. Hamel has appeared in 135 career NHL contests with Ottawa and Buffalo, tallying 13 goals and nine assists.

Other nominees for CCM Vector/AHL Player of the Week include Albany left wing Tuomas Pihlman, Bridgeport center Evgeny Tunik, Chicago center Jared Ross, Cleveland center Grant Stevenson, Grand Rapids center Eric Manlow, Hamilton goaltender Yann Danis, Hartford center Jarkko Immonen, Hershey right wing Eric Fehr, Houston goaltender Josh Harding, Iowa center Jamie Johnson, Lowell left wing Andrew Ladd, Manchester left wing Jeff Tambellini, Manitoba right wing Jesse Schultz, Milwaukee left wing Libor Pivko, Norfolk goaltender Adam Munro, Peoria left wing Peter Sejna, Philadelphia right wing Pat Kavanagh, Portland left wing Dustin Penner, Providence center Ben Guite, Rochester right wing Jason Pominville, Syracuse goaltender Mike Ayers, Toronto forward John Pohl and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton right wing Michel Ouellet.