AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Penguins open 2006 with best record in North American pro hockey

Published on January 3, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release


The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins begin the year with a 27-3-2-1 record for 57 points, the best mark in North American professional hockey. A quick look at the top records across the continent (as of January 2):

Team League Record Points Win %
PENGUINS AHL 27-3-2-1 57 .864
Ottawa Senators NHL 27-7-3 57 .649
Las Vegas Wrangles ECHL 24-5-3 51 .797
Kalamazoo Wings UHL 23-7-2 48 .750
Colorado Eagles CHL 23-6-1 47 .783


PROMOTED PENS
Six players from the Penguins' opening night roster are currently playing with the parent Pittsburgh Penguins:

Player With Wilkes-Barre/Scranton With Pittsburgh Penguins
Colby Armstrong 31gp, 11+18=29, plus-14, 44pim 3gp, 0+0=0, minus-1, 2pim
Erik Christensen 9gp, 9+10=19, plus-7, 14pim 27gp, 6+6=12, plus-4, 32pim
Michel Ouellet 19gp, 10+20=30, plus-12, 12pim 10gp, 5+4=9, plus-1, 2pim
Tomas Surovy 25gp, 16+12=28, plus-11, 26pim 9gp, 6+2=8, plus-1, 10pim
Ryan Whitney 9gp, 5+9=14, plus-7, 6pim 27gp, 1+14=15, minus-7, 33pim
Marc-Andre Fleury 12gp, 10-2-0, 1.57gaa, .939sv% 15gp, 4-7-3, 3.09gaa, .907sv%

Head coach Michel Therrien and assistant Mike Yeo were also promoted to the NHL Penguins on December 15, and have guided Pittsburgh to a 2-3-2 record in that time.

WAY TO GO JOE
Since taking over coaching duties on December 16, Joe Mullen has guided the Penguins to a 6-2-0-0 record. But perhaps more impressive is the fact that the Pens have only allowed seven goals in those eight contests, while recording 25 of their own.

KILLING TIME
The Penguins continue to lead the American Hockey League with a 90.8% rate on the penalty kill, allowing just 21 goals in 228 opportunities this season.

The Pens have not surrendered a power play goal since the 10:05 mark of the third period during a December 17 game against the Norfolk Admirals. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has killed off 39 consecutive power plays since then, and 57 of 59 (96.6%) since December 10 against the Manitoba Moose.

HIGHS AND LOWS
The Penguins have recorded 127 goals through 33 games, for a goals per game average of 3.84, second only to the Grand Rapids Griffins average of 3.89 (144 goals/37 games).

On the other side of the puck, the Pens have allowed a league low 56 goals, for a team goals against average of 1.67. The next closest team in terms of goals against is the Providence Bruins, who have allowed 79 goals through 32 games.

A LOOK AHEAD:
Friday, January 6 - PENGUINS @ Philadelphia Phantoms
NOTES:
- The Penguins are 3-0-0-0 against the Phantoms this season, winning twice at home and once on the road.
- Jonathan Filewich leads all Penguins scorers with four points (0+4) against the Phantoms.
- Noah Welch, Daniel Carcillo and Matt Hussey each have two goals against Philadelphia.
- Dany Sabourin has two wins against the Phantoms, a 1.92 goals against average and a .918 save percentage in two games.
- Former Penguins defenseman John Slaney set the AHL record for points by a defenseman with an assist Friday against Bridgeport. He has 454 career points heading into this week's action.

Saturday, January 7 - Philadelphia Phantoms @ PENGUINS

Sunday, January 8 - PENGUINS @ Bridgport Sound Tigers
NOTES:
- The Penguins are 3-1-0-0 against Bridgeport this year, winning once at home and twice on the road.
- Bridgeport is the only team in the East Division with a regulation win against the Penguins, a 2-1 victory on December 21.

INDIVIDUAL LEAGUE LEADERS (all stats as of 1/3)
- Dany Sabourin is tied for fourth with 13 wins.
- Chris Kelleher is tied for 15th among defensemen with 19 points.
- Alain Nasreddine is tied for first overall with a plus-21 rating.
- Ryan Lannon is second overall with plus-19 rating.
- Noah Welch is fourth with a plus-15 rating.
- Dennis Bonvie is second overall with 192 penalty minutes.
- Daniel Carcillo is fourth overall with 165 penalty minutes.

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES (all stats as of 1/3)
- The Penguins have 14 road wins in their first 16 road games this season (14-1-0-1), and are just two road wins shy of tying the team's single season record.
- The Penguins are averaging 8,148 fans per game this season (138,526 in 17 games), 100% of capacity.

ON THE AIR
All Penguins games can be heard live on WQFM 92.1 and on the internet at www.wbspenguins.com, 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

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American Hockey League Stories from January 3, 2006


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