A buddy of mine and I used to do an annual trip to Binghamton to see the Baby Sens play. We haven't done the trip the last few years because we've each got ourselves a baby daughter in the last year or so, and the year before, the spouses were in a family way, so no Bingo trip.
The Broome County Arena is a neat place to watch a game. It's small - only about 5,000 seats, but it gets loud. The beer is ridiculously cheap compared to Scotiabank Place, and the arena and several good bars are within walking distance of the Holiday Inn. It makes for a fun weekend. We actually want to try to time one of these weekends to coincide with a Syracuse home football game, so that we hit Binghamton on a Friday night and Saturday afternoon on the return trip stop in Syracuse for a ball game. Now that's a reasonably priced sports-lover's weekend for sure!
Price of admission to Binghamton Senators games is only about $20 too, so it's easy on the wallet. Folks at the game when they find out you're from Ottawa are generally very friendly and love to talk hockey. Binghamton used to be the farm club for the Rangers, Whalers, and Bruins at various points in time, so the AHL tradition is very strong, and numerous banners hang from the rafters to commemorate past divisional crowns.
When I heard Friday that due to scheduling conflicts the Baby Sens might have to play a home game or two at Scotiabank Place, I was excited. AHL Hockey is not the NHL. It's in many ways a much grittier, tougher game. But being the 2nd best hockey league in the world, the calibre of play is very high, even if the salaries are not. If you have never been to an AHL game, I highly recommend it, and come on - it's the Sens! And it's playoff Sens hockey in a year where all indications are the NHL club won't make it. And it's a great opportunity to see some of our future prospects play, although many of them have had call-ups this year.
Get out and support the farm team if you can - you won't regret it.
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