AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Penguins enter weekend with top record in AHL

December 7, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release


The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins return home after playing five consecutive road contests, and will do so with the best record in the American Hockey League in tow.

The Pens have yet to lose in regulation this year, posting a 20-0-2-1 record for 43 points through the first 23 games of the season. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has picked up at least one point in every game this season, and became the first team to 20 wins this year with a 3-2 victory against the Norfolk Admirals on Saturday night.

The next best record in the AHL as of December 7 belonged to the Grand Rapids Griffins, who took a 17-5-0-2 mark (36 points) into a Wednesday night contest against the Hamilton Bulldogs.

The team's 20th win came in its 22nd game, making the Penguins the fastest to 20 wins in league history. It also beat the NHL mark, set by the 1929-30 Boston Bruins, who reached 20 wins in their 23rd game (20-0-3).

PENS SET REGULAR SEASON ROAD WINNING STREAK RECORD

The Pens' 3-2 overtime win in Norfolk on Dec. 2nd was the club's 14th in a row dating back to last season, breaking the former AHL record for consecutive regular season road wins, which was held by the 1995-96 Albany River Rats and the 2002-03 Hamilton Bulldogs.

The Penguins followed that with a 3-2 regulation win in Norfolk on Dec. 3, which gave the Pens 13 straight road victories this year, equaling the AHL for consecutive road wins in one season. Both the 15-game and 13-game streaks came to an end Sunday afternoon, when the Penguins dropped a 3-2 shootout decision to the Hershey Bears at the Giant Center.

DATE OPPONENT SCORE GOALIE

April 10 @ Hershey Bears 3-2 Fleury

April 15 @ Norfolk Admirals 2-0 Fleury

October 9 @ Hershey Bears 4-3 (SO) Sabourin

October 14 @ Norfolk Admirals 3-2 Sabourin

October 21 @ Syracuse Crunch 4-1 Fleury

October 23 @ Bridgeport Sound Tigers 8-3 Sabourin

November 6 @ Philadelphia Phantoms 5-4 (SO) Sabourin

November 12 @ Portland Pirates 6-0 Sabourin

November 13 @ Hartford Wolf Pack 5-4 Sabourin

November 18 @ Norfolk Admirals 3-1 Fleury

November 20 @ Bridgeport Sound Tigers 5-2 Fleury

November 25 @ Rochester Americans 3-2 Fleury

November 26 @ Binghamton Senators 4-1 Sabourin

December 2 @ Norfolk Admirals 3-2 (OT) Sabourin

December 3 @ Norfolk Admirals 3-2 Chiodo

The Penguins' record for consecutive regular season road wins is the longest among all current North American professional leagues, as well as the defunct International Hockey League.

LEAGUE RECORD YEAR(S) TEAM(S)

AHL 15 2005-06 WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON PENGUINS

IHL 12 1994-95 Peoria Rivermen

UHL 12 2004-05 Kalamazoo Wings

NHL 10 1983-84 Buffalo Sabres

1999-00 St. Louis Blues

2000-01 New Jersey Devils

ECHL 10 2000-01 South Carolina Stingrays

CHL 10 Four Teams

MARCH OF THE PENGUINS

The Penguins' streak of consecutive games from the start of the season with at least one point now stands at 23, the longest in league history.

The league record for consecutive games with at least one point overall is 31 games (25-0-6), set by the Cleveland Barons during the 1947-48 and 1948-49 seasons. The single-season mark of 27 games with at least one point is also held by the Barons, who went 21-0-6 during the 1947-48 season.

PENS ABOVE .500 ALL-TIME FOR FIRST TIME

The Penguins' win last Friday at Norfolk allowed the team to reach the .500 for the first time in team history, evening the club's record at 207-207-48-32-7 for 501 points in 501 games. At the completion of last weekend's action, the Pens' all-time record stands at 208-207-48-32-8 for 504 points in 503 games.

A LOOK AHEAD:

Friday, December 9 - Manitoba Moose @ PENGUINS

Saturday, December 10 - Manitoba Moose @ PENGUINS

NOTES:

The Penguins have an all-time record of 2-1-1-0 against Manitoba, with all four games taking place last season. Former Penguins defenseman Sven Butenschon has 18 points (8+10) in 24 games with the Moose this season, tied for fourth among AHL defensemen as of December 7. Manitoba head coach Alain Vigneault coached the Montreal Canadiens from 1997-2001, and was replaced behind the Montreal bench by current Wilkes-Barre/Scranton head coach Michel Therrien. Manitoba goaltender Wade Flaherty had a league-best three shutouts as of December 7. Manitoba has the second-longest road winning streak in the league this season, a six-game streak from Oct. 12 through Nov. 6. The first 5,000 fans in attendance Friday will receive a free Penguins ski cap.

RECORD SETTING STREAKS BY SABOURIN

Goaltender Dany Sabourin has set new Penguins records for consecutive wins (nine), consecutive games unbeaten (nine) and consecutive wins on the road (eight) this season. The former marks were held by Sebastien Caron, who won five straight games from Oct. 22-Nov. 17, 2000, and Rich Parent, who went undefeated from Oct. 21-Nov. 18, 2001 and won five consecutive on the road from Nov. 3, 2000 through Jan. 11, 2001. Sabourin's streaks ended with a 3-2 shootout loss to the Hershey Bears on Dec. 4.

INDIVIDUAL LEAGUE LEADERS (all stats as of 12/7)

Michel Ouellet is tied for fourth in the league with 29 points, tied for third with 19 assists, is first with three shorthanded assists and first with four shorthanded points. Tomas Surovy is tied for eighth with 26 points, is tied for third with 15 goals and is first with 101 shots. Dany Sabourin is tied for sixth with nine wins, is third with a .931 save percentage (23 goals/334 shots) and sixth with a 2.23 goals against average (23 goals/618 minutes). Daniel Carcillo is second with 28 minor penalties. Noah Welch is first overall with a plus-15 rating. Alain Nasreddine is tied for second with a plus-14 rating. Ryan Lannon is tied for fifth with a plus-12 rating. Dennis Bonvie is first overall with 139 penalty minutes Chris Kelleher is tied for eighth among defensemen with 16 points and fifth with 15 assists.

TEAM LEAGUE LEADERS (all stats as of 12/7)

- Power-Play - the Penguins rank tied for third overall with a 21.4 success rate (34 goals/159 chances).

- Penalty Killing - the Penguins are first overall at 89.6% (17 goals against/163 times shorthanded).

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES (all stats as of 12/7)

The Penguins' 4.09 goals per game (94 goals/23 games) are the most in the league this season. The Penguins' 1.96 goals against per game (45 goals against/23 games) is the lowest in the league this season. The Penguins have allowed a league-low eight goals in the second period this season. The next lowest number was 14, allowed by the Chicago Wolves. The Penguins' 37 goals scored in the second period are also the most in the league this season. The Penguins are 7-0-0-0 when leading after one period and 15-0-0-0 when leading after two periods.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

11/29/05 - Andy Chiodo - Reassigned by Pittsburgh (NHL) from Wheeling (ECHL) 11/30/05 - Ryan Stone - Reassigned by Pittsburgh (NHL) from Wheeling (ECHL) 12/03/05 - Sebastien Caron - Loaned from Pittsburgh (NHL) 12/05/05 - Andy Chiodo - Reassigned by Pittsburgh (NHL) to Wheeling (ECHL) 12/06/05 - Michel Ouellet - Returned on loan from Pittsburgh (NHL) 12/06/05 - Daniel Fernholm - Reassigned by Pittsburgh (NHL) from Wheeling (ECHL)

ON THE AIR

All Penguins games can be heard live on Oldies 92 & 100, with Tom Grace calling the action.

ON THE WEB

All Penguins games can be seen live on the internet thanks to the B2 Network. Log on to www.wbspenguins.com to watch all Penguins home and road games live.

TICKETS

Good seats remain for both games this weekend. Full season, partial season, group and individual tickets for Penguins home games are now on sale. For more information, contact the Penguins at 570-208-7367 or log on to www.wbspenguins.com.

Check out the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from December 7, 2005


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