Wednesday, June 8, 2011

HOFFMAN, SENS WIN CALDER CUP

Mike Hoffman is a Calder Cup Champion.

The former Saint John Sea Dogs sniper helped the Binghamton Senators capture the American Hockey League Championship on Tuesday night with a 3-2 Game Six victory over the Houston Aeros. The Senators won the series 4-2.

Binghamton scored first but Houston came storming back and scored two straight to take the lead. In the third, the Sens scored two power play goals to clinch the Cup.

This Championship is the first in the history of Binghamton Senators franchise.

Hoffman had one of the Senators’ 27 shots on the night. He finished the game with no points and a zero rating.

In 19 playoff games the winger recorded a goal and eight assists. He also had seven goals and 18 assists in 74 regular season games in his first year of professional hockey.

The 2010 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League MVP had 46 goals and 39 assists in 56 regular season games in Saint John last year. He added 11 markers and 13 assists in 21 post-season games.

It was the third straight year that Hoffman helped his team reach the league final. The Kitchener, Ont. native won the President’s Cup with the Drummondville Voltigeurs in 2009 and lost 4-2 in the QMJHL final with the Sea Dogs last year.

As a reader pointed out in the comments section, it truly has been the year of the Sea Dog. Along with winning the Memorial Cup, several alumni have won championships in their respective leagues. Scott Howes won the East Coast Hockey League title with Alaska, Hoffman won the Calder Cup, Travis Fullerton and the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds captured the University Cup, and Yann Sauve spent some time with Vancouver Canucks who are two wins away from the Stanley Cup.

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