AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Calder Cup Visits Northeastern Pennsylvania Tomorrow

March 26, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release


WILKES-BARRE, PA - With the 2003 Calder Cup Playoffs just around the corner, hockey fans throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania will have a chance to see the American Hockey League's championship trophy in person beginning tomorrow, as the Calder Cup makes a two-day visit to the area. The Calder Cup will be in Northeastern Pennsylvania from Thursday, March 27 through Friday, March 28.

The visit to Northeastern Pennsylvania is part of the coveted trophy's 19-city, 39-day tour that leads up to the start of the 2003 Calder Cup playoffs. The Calder Cup's tour began February 27 in Houston and will conclude April 6 in Philadelphia.

The tentative schedule for the cup's stay in Northeastern Pennsylvania is as follows:

Thursday, March 27 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Team Store (415 Arena Hub Plaza, Wilkes-Barre) (Fans all welcome to visit the Calder Cup and have their picture taken with it).

12 noon -12:30 p.m. WBRE-TV 28 (NBC) and WYOU-TV 22 (CBS) - Noon Newscast

2:00 - 3:30 p.m. AT &T Wireless Store (Wyoming Valley Mall, Wilkes-Barre) (Fans all welcome to visit the Calder Cup and have their picture taken with it).

6:00 - 6:30 p.m. WNEP-TV 16 (ABC) - 6 o'clock Newscast

7:00 - 8:00 p.m. Lowe's Restaurant (35 West Market, Wilkes-Barre). The Calder Cup trophy will be on display during the "The Penguins Report," the team's weekly radio show. Goaltender Jean-Sebastien Aubin is Tom Grace's scheduled guest.

Friday, March 28 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Team Store (415 Arena Hub Plaza, Wilkes-Barre) (Fans all welcome to visit the Calder Cup and have their picture taken with it).

12 noon - 1:00 p.m. Wilkes-Barre General Hospital (575 River Street, Wilkes-Barre). (Fans all welcome to visit the Calder Cup and have their picture taken with it. The Calder Cup will be on display in the cafeteria).

1:30 - 3:30 p.m. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Team Store (415 Arena Hub Plaza, Wilkes-Barre) (Fans all welcome to visit the Calder Cup and have their picture taken with it).

4:00 - 5:30 p.m. TGI Friday's (880 Kidder Street, Wilkes-Barre) (Fans all welcome to visit the Calder Cup and have their picture taken with it).

6:00-9:30 p.m. Penguins' game vs. Binghamton Senators (The Calder Cup will be on display on the First Union Arena at Casey Plaza concourse area)

The Calder Cup 2003 Tour offers fans the opportunity to view up close one of the oldest trophies in North American sports. The Calder Cup, which has been competed for since the 1936-37 season, features the names of players, coaches and support staff from the last 20 American Hockey League champions, and is accompanied by a special display highlighting the intensity and excitement of the Calder Cup Playoffs.

In conjunction with the tour, all AHL arenas will display specially-designed Calder Cup 2003 posters displaying the rich tradition and history surrounding the quest for the Calder Cup.

The AHL's championship trophy is named after Hockey Hall of Famer Frank Calder, who served as the first president of the National Hockey League from 1917-43. During the 1920s, Calder was instrumental in guiding professional hockey into the mainstream of the United States' major cities, including New York, Boston, Chicago and Detroit, while also helping in the formation of the American Hockey League.

The Penguins head into the final two weeks of the regular season with a 32-31-5-5 record (74 points). The Penguins, who are ranked third in the division and tied for eighth in the conference, trail the second-place Hershey Bears by seven points and the South Division leading Norfolk Admirals by eight points.

The Penguins have seven games (5 home /2 away) left in the regular season, including three against South Division opponents. They have a record of 18-14-1-2 at home this season.

The Penguins return to the ice on Friday to begin a stretch of three games in three nights as they entertain the Senators at 7:05 p.m. at the First Union Arena at Casey Plaza. On Saturday, the Penguins host the Syracuse Crunch (7:05 p.m.) and then conclude the home-and-home series on Sunday with a 5 p.m. face off against the Crunch at the War Memorial at Oncenter in Syracuse. The Penguins then return home to host the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks on Wednesday, April 2 at 7:05 p.m. at the First Union Arena at Casey Plaza.

The Penguins close out their home portion of the schedule with two home games against the Admirals on April 4-5 and conclude their fourth season in the AHL on Sunday, April 6 against the Philadelphia Phantoms at 5:05 p.m. at the First Union Spectrum. The fourth-place Phantoms (30-30-6-6, 72 points) are just two points behind the Penguins and have one game in hand on their intrastate rivals.

The top 10 teams in each conference will qualify for the Calder Cup 2003 Playoffs. The three division winners in each conference will be seeded 1-3 based on record, and the postseason will begin with a best-of-three qualifying round, pitting the seventh seed against the 10th seed and the eighth seed against the ninth seed in each conference, with the higher seed hosting all games in this round.

Check out the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Statistics



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