AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Divisional Games Take Center Stage This Week

Published on March 31, 2008 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release


Back-to-back wins over the Hamilton Bulldogs and Bridgeport Sound Tigers last weekend allowed the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (44-26-0-3, 91 points) to vault into first place in the AHL's East Division. The Pens hold the top spot entering this week's action, one point ahead of the Philadelphia Phantoms (42-25-3-3).

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2 vs. ALBANY - The River Rats are right there in the race for first place in the East Division, entering this week with a 40-27-3-4 record for 89 points. The Pens and Rats have split the season series so far, with each club picking up three victories. All of Albany's wins have come via shutouts, including a 2-0 win at Wachovia Arena on March 21.

The River Rats have used an incredible 57 players in their lineup this season, but the best of that bunch has undoubtedly been Michael Leighton, who leads the enitre league with a 2.02 goals against average and .933 save percentage.

FRIDAY, APRIL 4 vs. SPRINGFIELD- Some familiar faces will be visiting Northeast Pennsylvania this weekend, as the Springfield Falcons 32-31-5-5, 74 points, fifth in Atlantic Division) come to town. Springfield now houses the top prospects for the Edmonton Oilers, who sent the majority of their AHL players to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season. Entering this week's action, five former Penguins (Rob Schremp, J. F. Jacques, Bryan Young, Devan Dubnyk and Tim Sestito) were on the Springfield roster. Schremp leads the team with 48 assists and 67 points through 73 games.

The Falcons are in a tough battle for the final playoff spot in the Atlantic, trailing the Manchester Monarchs by five points with one game in hand. Springfield took the only other meeting between the clubs this season, 4-2, on November 10.

The first 6,000 fans in the gates will receive a free Penguins Umbrella, compliments of the Times-Tribune and Citizens Voice.

SATURDAY, APRIL 5 vs. PHILADELPHIA- The house will be rockin' when the Phantoms make the trek north this Saturday. Philadelphia has won six of nine games between the teams this season, but the Pens did take the last meeting, 3-2, on March 4 in Philly.

The Phantoms are coming off a 5-3 loss to the Hamilton Bulldogs on Saturday, which saw the Flyers' farm team tumble from first place in the East Division for the first time since October 10.

Saturday's home game will also be broadcast live on MyNetwork TV.

SUNDAY, APRIL 6 @ HERSHEY- The Pens and Bears face off for the final time this regular season, and the Bears will be paying tribute to former Hershey tough guy and Penguins favorite Dennis Bonvie during the game. Hershey currently sits in fourth place in the East Division with a 38-30-1-5 record, three points ahead of Binghamton and four ahead of Bridgeport for the final playoff spot.

Hershey holds a slight edge in the season series so far, as the Penguins have won four of nine games (one in OT, one in SO).

INDIVIDUAL PENGUINS PLAYOFF TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

Individual tickets for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins first three playoff contests will go on sale this Friday, March 28th, at 10:00am.Tickets for games A, B and C (dates and opponents to be determined) start at just $16.50 per ticket, and feature no price increase over regular season individual ticket prices. Tickets can be purchased at the Wachovia Arena Box Office, through www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at 570-693-4100 and at all TicketMaster locations.

PENGUINS POINTS OF INTEREST

QUESTIONS FOR CURRY

Penguins netminder John Curry will stop by the AHL Chat Room this Thursday afternoon. Drop your questions to john now at www.theahl.com.

MAGNIFICENT MARCH

The Penguins recorded a 12-3-0-0 record in the month of March, a new team record for the month. The previous best record in March was 10-5-0-0, set last season.

SHORT STUFF

The Penguins have been shorthanded just 316 times during the first 73 games of the season, the second fewest times shorthanded by any team in the league (Lowell - 309). The team record for fewest times shorthanded in a season is 343, set during the club's inaugural 1999-2000 campaign.

STONE STEPPING UP

Ryan Stone picked up an assist during the team's March 22nd game against the Providence Bruins, giving him 100 points for his Penguins career. He is just the 16th player in team history to reach the century mark in points. That assist was also his 69th with the club, tying him with Chris Kelleher for 13th place on the team's all-time list.

CURRY KEEPS COOKING

John Curry won his 22nd game of the season on Saturday in Bridgeport. That tied him with Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers for the third-highest single season win total in franchise history. Only Marc-Andre Fleury (26 in 2004-05) and Dany Sabourin (30 in 2005-06) have won more games in a single season. Curry's 22nd victory also tied him with Drouin-Deslauriers for fifth place on the team's all-time career wins list, trailing only Andy Chiodo (31), Sabourin (38), Fleury (39) and Sebastien Caron (48).

ROAD WARRIORS

The Pens win in Bridgeport last Saturday was the 23rd road victory for the club, tying the team record originally set in 2005-06 and tied in 2006-07. The Penguins play two more road contests this season - Sunday, April 6 in Hershey and Friday, April 11 in Albany.

LOW GOAL RECORD WITHIN REACH

The Penguins have allowed a league-low 167 goals against this season with seven games to go. The team record for fewest goals against in a season is 178 set in 2005-06. The team has allowed 85 goals against through 38 road contests - the team record for fewest road goals against is 93 set in 2005-06.

COACH CLIMBING

Todd Richards picked up his 95th victory as Penguins head coach on March 29 against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, bypassing Michel Therrien for second place on the team's all-time wins list. Richards' 95th victory came in his 153rd game, and gave him a .650 winning percentage with the club. Only Glenn Patrick (115 wins in 320 games) has more victories behind the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton bench.

BRENT SHOOTOUT SUCCESS

Tim Brent has recorded seven goals in shootout situations this season, tied for the most in the AHL this year. Brent's .538 success rate is the ninth best in Pens history, and his 13 attempts are the fourth most in team history behind Erik Christensen (24), Michel Ouellet (21) and Kurtis McLean (18).

BONVIE DVD GIVEAWAY ADDED TO PROMO SCHEDULE

Don't miss Dennis Bonvie's last stand on April 12th, as the Penguins battle the Norfolk Admirals at the Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza. The Pens have added a special limited edition Bonvie DVD giveaway for the first 6,000 fans through the gates that night.

The 55 minute DVD looks back on Bonvie's career with the Penguins, and features interviews with some of the players who know him best. Additionally, the special giveaway features archive footage of some of Dennis' biggest moments in the AHL and NHL, as well as plenty of his best scraps while wearing a Penguins uniform - and one memorable tussle as a member of the Hershey Bears as well!

Call 208-7367 to purchase tickets today.

Check out the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from March 31, 2008


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