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AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

WBS Penguins Announce 2002-03 Schedule

August 1, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins News Release


WILKES-BARRE, PA - The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins announced today its regular season schedule for the 2002-2003 American Hockey League season.

The Penguins will open their fourth AHL season on Thursday, October 10, against the St. John's Maple Leafs at the First Union Arena at Casey Plaza. After opening the season with three home games, the Penguins will play their first road game of the season on Friday, October 18 against the Philadelphia Phantoms. The Penguins' 80-game regular season schedule will conclude on Sunday, April 6 against the Phantoms at the First Union Spectrum.

"From both a fan and competitive perspective, this is a fantastic schedule for us," said Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins President Jeff Barrett. "Over half of our home schedule, will be on weekend days, and this was done specifically with our fans in mind.

"The schedule also allows fans to see teams like San Antonio, new to the league, and established franchises like Houston and Lowell that have been in the league awhile, but have not had the chance to play the Penguins," added Barrett.

"Our fans will still see our main rivals - the Hershey Bears, Philadelphia Phantoms and Norfolk Admirals, a lot over the course the season and I expect us to develop a new rivalry with the Binghamton Senators, who we will see quite frequently during the 2002-03 season. Overall, I would say this is by far the best schedule for us in four years."

The home schedule features 21 weekend games. A breakdown of the Penguins' home games by days of the week is as follows: Sunday, 4; Monday, 3; Tuesday; 2; Wednesday, 12; Thursday, 2; Friday, 5; and Saturday, 12.

The Penguins, who remain in the Western Conference's South Division for the second consecutive season, will play their division rivals - the Hershey Bears, Norfolk Admirals and Philadelphia Phantoms, a total of 10 times each (five home, five road) throughout the season.

The Penguins will play the expansion Binghamton Senators and longtime rival the Syracuse Crunch eight times each (four home, four road), the most games for the Penguins during the regular season against a non-divisional opponent.

The Penguins will also play four games each (two home, two road) against Cincinnati, Saint John, St. John's, Utah and the expansion San Antonio Stampede. For the first time, the Penguins will play two games each (one home, one away) against the Lowell Lock Monsters and the Houston Aeros during the season. The Penguins will also play home and home contests against the Albany River Rats, Cleveland Barons, Hamilton Bulldogs, Portland Pirates and the Rochester Americans in the upcoming season.

During the course of the regular season, the Penguins will play games against 17 of the league's 28 teams. Bridgeport, Chicago, Grand Rapids, Hartford, Manitoba, Manchester, Milwaukee, Providence, Springfield and Worcester are not on the Penguins' 2002-03 regular season schedule.

The Penguins' longest homestand of the season lasts six games, from January 29 through February 8. During the homestand, the Penguins will play host to Syracuse, Utah, Houston, Philadelphia and San Antonio (twice). The longest Penguins' road trip of the season lasts five games, from November 29 through December 7. During the trip, the Penguins will play games against Saint John (twice), Portland, Houston and San Antonio.

This season, all weekday evening games at the First Union Arena at Casey Plaza will start at 7:05 PM, except on Tuesday, December 31 (New Year's Eve) and Monday, February 17 (Presidents' Day). For the second consecutive season, the Penguins will play a home game on New Year's Eve. This season, the Penguins will host Hershey at 6:05 PM on New Year's Eve. And for the third consecutive season, the Penguins will play a game at home on Presidents' Day. This season, the Penguins will entertain Philadelphia at 5:05 PM on Feb. 17. All Saturday night games will begin at 7:05 PM and all Sunday games will start at 5:05 PM.

A preseason schedule will be released next week and the Penguins' promotional and television schedules for the season will be announced at a later date. Adelphia 63, WNEP-TV's 24-hour News Channel, will televise 25 home games during the season.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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