The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are the American Hockey League affiliate of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre Township, just outside the city of Wilkes-Barre. They were the 2011 winners of the East Division and the Eastern Conference (in terms of regular season titles), winning their first Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy.
Video Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
History
The Pittsburgh Penguins' top minor league affiliate throughout the 1990s was the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the IHL. However, in the mid-1990s, the IHL began moving away from being a developmental league and more towards being an independent minor league. For this reason, the Penguins wanted their top minor league affiliate in the AHL. The Penguins purchased the dormant Cornwall Aces AHL franchise from the Colorado Avalanche in 1996, but left the team inactive until the 1999-2000 season due to construction delays at their intended home-a new arena in Wilkes-Barre. The team is affectionately referred to as "The Baby Penguins" by fans. Their mascot is Tux the penguin, who wears number #99 in reference to the team's first season in 1999.
The Penguins have gone to the Calder Cup Final three times but have never won the championship. The team went all the way to the finals in their second season, losing to the Saint John Flames in six games. The Baby Pens returned to the finals in their fifth season, but were swept by the Milwaukee Admirals. They most recently made it to the finals in 2008 by way of beating the Portland Pirates in a seven-game series in the Eastern Conference finals. They went on to play the Chicago Wolves in the final, but lost the series 4-2.
The WBS Penguins won the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy for best finish in the regular season in 2011 with 117 points. Goaltender Brad Thiessen was also named the recipient of the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award, an award given to the AHL's most outstanding goaltender for each season. He posted a record of 35-8-1 in 46 appearances, along with a 1.94 goals-against-average and a .922 save percentage. Head coach John Hynes won the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award, awarded to the most outstanding AHL coach of the season. Despite their best regular season finish in team history, the WBS Penguins would be eliminated in the second round of the 2011 playoffs by the Charlotte Checkers in six games.
The Penguins have made the playoffs in all but two seasons of their existence. As of the 2016-17 season, the WBS Penguins currently hold the longest playoff appearances streak in the AHL, having made the playoffs for 15 straight seasons.
Prior to the 2009-10 season, they held the inaugural Penguins Black and Gold Game, an intra-squad game which featured members of the Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and was the first ever head-to-head meeting between Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The game was a complete sellout and tickets never reached the general public. The Penguins organization held its second Black and Gold Game prior to the 2010-11 season on September 19, 2010.
In 2009, they also spawned an affiliated youth level organization, the Wilkes-Barre Junior Pens. The team is based out of the Ice Rink at Coal Street Park, which also serves as a practice facility for the Penguins.
The Penguins' biggest rivals had been the Philadelphia Phantoms, the AHL affiliate of Pennsylvania's other NHL team, the Philadelphia Flyers. After that team moved to Glens Falls, New York, (as the Adirondack Phantoms) the Hershey Bears, also located in Pennsylvania, became the major rivals of the Penguins (they are currently the AHL affiliate of another developing rival of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Washington Capitals). In 2013, the Adirondack Phantoms relocated back to eastern Pennsylvania as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Maps Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Season-by-season results
Won Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy for the best record in the regular season
Round not held
Players
Current roster
Updated August 12, 2018.
Team Captains
Notable Penguins
Team records
Single season
- Goals: Chris Minard, 34 (2008-09)
- Assists: Jeff Taffe and Janne Pesonen, 50 (2008-09)
- Points: Janne Pesonen, 82 (2008-09)
- Penalty minutes: Dennis Bonvie, 431 (2005-06)
- Goaltending wins: Brad Thiessen, 35 (2010-11)
- GAA: Jeff Zatkoff 1.93 (2012-13)
- SV%: Rich Parent (2000-01), Dany Sabourin (2005-06) and Brad Thiessen (2010-11), .922
Career
- Career goals: Tom Kostopoulos, 181
- Career assists: Tom Kostopoulos, 269
- Career points: Tom Kostopoulos, 450
- Career penalty minutes: Dennis Bonvie, 1081
- Career goaltending wins: John Curry, 103
- Career shutouts: Brad Thiessen, 17
- Career games: Tom Kostopoulos, 627
AHL records
As of the 2009-10 AHL Season. Data from the AHL Hall of Fame Website.
Team
- Most Road Wins, 80-Game Season: 28 (2010-2011) (tied)
- Longest Road Winning Streak (one season): 13 games (October 9 - December 3, 2005) (tied)
- Longest Road Winning Streak (overall): 15 games (April 10 - December 3, 2005)
Player
- Most points by a defenseman, career: John Slaney, 486 (Baltimore, Portland, Cornwall, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Philadelphia)
- Most goals by a defenseman, career: John Slaney, 157
- Most goals by a defenseman, season: John Slaney, 30 (1999-2000)
- Most PIM, career: Dennis Bonvie, 4,104 (Cape Breton, Hamilton, Portland, Philadelphia, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Providence, Binghamton, Hershey)
- Most PIM, game: Steve Parsons, 64 (March 17, 2002 vs. Syracuse)
AHL awards and trophies
Per the AHL Hall of Fame:
See also
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights
References
External links
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Official Website
- The Internet Hockey Database - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Source of article : Wikipedia
0 Comments