AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Penguins to play three in three

December 14, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release


The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins will be back in action this weekend, playing host to the Syracuse Crunch and the Norfolk Admirals on Friday and Saturday, respectively, before traveling to Hershey to face the second-place Bears. Game time for both home contests is 7:05pm, while the game in Hershey sees the puck drop at 5:00pm.

A LOOK AHEAD:
Friday, December 16 - Syracuse Crunch @ PENGUINS
NOTES:
- The Penguins are 2-0-0-0 against the Crunch this season, winning 4-1 in Syracuse on Oct. 21 and 5-1 in Wilkes-Barre on Oct. 29. This is the third of eight meetings with the Crunch this season.
- Colby Armstrong leads all players currently on the Pens roster with four points (3+1) against the Crunch this year.
- Marc-Andre Fleury appeared in both games for the Penguins, stopping 51 of 53 shots. Fleury is currently with the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins.
- Ben Simon leads all Syracuse scorers with two points (0+2) in the series.
- Pascal Leclaire and Andrew Penner have split netminding duties for the Crunch.
- The Crunch dropped a 5-2 decision in Manitoba on Tuesday night, and will face the Moose again Wednesday in Winnipeg. Syracuse had not posted a win since Dec. 4 prior to Wednesday, going 0-2-0-1 in their previous three contests.

Saturday, December 17 - Norfolk Admirals @ PENGUINS
NOTES:
- The Penguins are 5-0-0-0 against the Admirals this season, and have won two of those games in overtime. This is the sixth of 10 games with Norfolk this season.
- Chris Kelleher leads all Wilkes-Barre/Scranton scorers in the season series with eight points (1+7) in five games. Jonathan Filewich is the team's leading goal scorer against Norfolk with three tallies.
- Dany Sabourin has made three starts against the Admirals this season, going 3-0-0 with a 1.96 goals against average (six goals against/183 minutes played), and a .939 save percentage (six goals against/92 saves).
- Mark Cullen leads all Norfolk scorers with four points (1+3) while appearing in just three games.
- Adam Munro leads the Admirals with a 2.95 goals against average and a .905 save percentage in two games.
- Norfolk carries a two-game winning streak to Binghamton, where they will take on the Senators Friday night before playing the Penguins.

Sunday, December 18 - PENGUINS @ Hershey Bears
NOTES:
- The Penguins are 3-0-0-1 against the Bears this season. This is the fifth of 10 contests with the East Division rivals this year.
- Hershey posted a 3-2 shootout win against the Penguins on December 4, snapping the team's AHL-record 15 game road winning streak.
- Michel Ouellet leads all players with five points (1+4) in the series.
- Chris Bourque is Hershey's leading scorer with four points (0+4) in four games against the Penguins.
- Frederic Cassivi has played all four games in goal for the Bears, going 1-3-0 with a 2.65 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.

TEDDY BEAR TOSS/TOYS FOR TOTS
The Penguins and the Tobyhanna Army Depot will be holding their annual Teddy Bear Toss during Friday and Saturday night's home games. All fans are encouraged to bring an unwrapped plush toy to the game, which can be thrown onto the ice during the first intermission.

Additionally, the Penguins and the United States Marine Corps will be conducting a toy drive for the Marines Toys For Tots program on both nights. Unwrapped toys can be dropped off at select locations around the Wachovia Arena prior to each game.

PENS RAISE $20,000 DURING AT YOUR SERVICE DINNER
The Penguins held their fifth At Your Service Dinner on Monday night at the Westmoreland Club in Wilkes-Barre. Penguins players dressed in tuxedos and served as waiters for their tables, collecting tips for their services. All tips collected are donated to the Penguins/United Way Charity Fund. More than $20,000 was raised on Monday evening, bringing the total collected by the dinner over five years to more than $140,000.

INDIVIDUAL LEAGUE LEADERS (all stats as of 12/14)
- Michel Ouellet is tied for sixth in the league with 30 points, tied for fifth with 20 assists and tied for fifth with a plus-12 rating.
- Dany Sabourin is tied for ninth with nine wins, is second with a .927 save percentage (26 goals/355 shots) and fifth with a 2.30 goals against average (26 goals/678 minutes).
- Noah Welch and Ryan Lannon are tied for first overall with plus-16 ratings.
- Alain Nasreddine is fourth with a plus-13 rating.
- Dennis Bonvie is second overall with 160 penalty minutes
- Chris Kelleher is tied for seventh among defensemen with 17 points and tied for fifth with 16 assists.

TEAM LEAGUE LEADERS (all stats as of 12/14)
- Power-Play - the Penguins rank tied for fourth overall with a 20.6 success rate (36 goals/175 chances).
- Penalty Killing - the Penguins are first overall at 89.2% (19 goals against/176 times shorthanded).

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES (all stats as of 12/14)
- The Penguins have allowed just 709 shots on goal through 25 games, the second-lowest total in the league (Peoria - 706). The Pens have averaged 28.32 shots against per game, fifth in the league.
- The Penguins' 4.08 goals scored per game are the most in the league, while the team's 1.96 goals against average is also the best in the league.
- The Penguins are 8-0-0-0 when leading after one period, 16-0-0-0 when leading after two.
- The Penguins are 9-0-1-0 when tied after one period, 3-0-0-0 when tied after two.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
12/11/05 - Tomas Surovy - Recalled by Pittsburgh (NHL)
12/13/05 - Paul Bissonnette - Reassigned by Pittsburgh (NHL) to Wheeling (ECHL)
12/13/05 - Daniel Carcillo - Reassigned by Pittsburgh (NHL) to Wheeling (ECHL)
12/13/05 - Daniel Fernholm - Reassigned by Pittsburgh (NHL) to Wheeling (ECHL)
12/14/05 - Paul Bissonnette - Reassigned by Pittsburgh (NHL) from Wheeling (ECHL) to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
12/14/05 - Daniel Fernholm - Reassigned by Pittsburgh (NHL) from Wheeling (ECHL) to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

ON THE AIR
All Penguins games can be heard live on 92.1 FM 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



American Hockey League Stories from December 14, 2005


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