Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
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City:	Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
League:	American Hockey League
Conference:	Eastern Conference
Division:	East Division
Founded:	1999
Home Arena:	Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza
Colors:	Black, gold, red, white
Owner(s):	Ron Burkle Mario Lemieux
General Manager:	Ray Shero
Head Coach:	Todd Reirden
Captain:	Connor James
Media:	Wilkes-Barre Times Leader Scranton Times-Tribune 102.3 The Mountain WDMT-FM
Affiliates:	Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL) Wheeling Nailers (ECHL)
Franchise history
1981 to 1988:	Fredericton Express
1988 to 1993:	Halifax Citadels
1993 to 1996:	Cornwall Aces
1999 to present:	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Championships
Division Championships:	2 (2005–06, 2007–08)
Conference Championships:	3 (2000–01, 2003–04, 2007–08)

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are the American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA at the Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza.

History

The Pittsburgh Penguins' top minor league affiliate throughout the 1990s was the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the IHL. However, in the mid 1990s, the IHL began moving away from being a developmental league and more towards being a top independent minor league. For this reason, the Penguins wanted their top minor league affiliate in the AHL. The Penguins purchased the dormant Cornwall Aces AHL franchise from the Colorado Avalanche in 1996, but left the team inactive until the 1999–2000 season when it was placed in Wilkes-Barre. The team is affectionately referred to as "The Baby Penguins" by fans. The WBS Pens have gone to the Calder Cup Final three times in their ten year existence, most recently in 2008 by way of beating the Portland Pirates in a thrilling seven game series in the Eastern Conference finals; the Penguins took game seven by a score of 3-2 after being down in the series three games to two. They went on to play the Chicago Wolves in the final, but lost the series 4-2. Their mascot is Tux the penguin, who wears number #99 in reference to the team's first season in 1999. The team is currently celebrating their 10th Anniversary Season in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with the catch phrase of "Making Memories".

Season-by-season results

Regular Season

Season	Games	Won	Lost	Tied	OTL	SOL	Points	Goals for	Goals against	Standing
1999–00	80	23	43	9	5	—	60	236	306	5th, Empire State
2000–01	80	36	33	9	2	—	83	252	248	2nd, Mid-Atlantic
2001–02	80	20	44	13	3	—	56	201	274	4th, South
2002–03	80	36	32	7	5	—	84	245	248	3rd, South
2003–04	80	34	28	10	8	—	86	197	197	3rd, East
2004–05	80	39	27	—	7	7	92	227	219	4th, East
2005–06	80	51	18	—	5	6	113	249	178	1st, East
2006–07	80	51	23	—	2	4	108	276	221	2nd, East
2007–08	80	47	26	—	3	4	101	223	187	1st, East
2008-09

Playoffs

Season	Prelim	1st round	2nd round	3rd round	Finals
1999–00	Out of Playoffs
2000–01	—	W, 3–2, SYR	W, 4–2, PHIL	W, 4–0, HER	L, 2–4,SJNB
2001–02	Out of Playoffs
2002–03	W, 2–0, UT	L, 1–3, GR	—	—	—
2003–04	—	W, 4–3, BRI	W, 4–2, PHIL	W, 4–3, HART	L, 0–4,MIL
2004–05	—	W, 4–2, BING	L, 1–4, PHIL	—	—
2005–06	—	W, 4–3, BRI	L, 0–4, HER	—	—
2006–07	—	W, 4–2, NOR	L, 1–4, HER	—	—
2007–08	—	W, 4–1, HER	W, 4–1, PHIL	W, 4-3 PORT	L, 2-4, CHI

Current roster

As of December 27, 2008

Goaltenders
#		Player	Catches	Place of Birth
35		Adam Berkhoel	L	Woodbury, Minnesota
36		John Curry	L	Shorewood, Minnesota

Defensemen
#		Player	Shoots	Place of Birth
2		Jean-Philippe Cote	L	Charlesbourg, Quebec
3		Joey Mormina	L	Montreal, Quebec
4		Jon D'Aversa	L	Richmond Hill, Ontario
5		Deryk Engelland	R	Chetwynd, British Columbia
6		Ben Lovejoy	R	Canaan, New Hampshire
11		Reid Cashman	L	Red Wing, Minnesota
44		Danny Richmond	L	Chicago, Illinois

Forwards
#		Player	Position	Shoots	Place of Birth
7		Bill Thomas	RW	R	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
9		Connor James - Captain	C	R	Calgary, Alberta
10		Mark Letestu	C	R	Elk Point, Alberta
14		Chris Minard	C	L	Owen Sound, Ontario
15		David Gove	C	L	Centerville, Massachusetts
19		Luca Caputi	LW	R	Toronto, Ontario
20		Paul Bissonnette	LW/D	L	Welland, Ontario
21		Dustin Jeffrey	C	L	Sarnia, Ontario
22		Jeff Taffe	C	L	Hastings, Minnesota
23		Ryan Stone	C	L	Calgary, Alberta
24		Tim Wallace	LW	R	Anchorage, Alaska
25		Janne Pesonen	LW	L	Suomussalmi, Finland
26		Jean-Michel Daoust	RW	R	Valleyfield, Quebec
28		Nick Johnson	RW	L	Calgary, Alberta
34		Aaron Boogaard	RW	R	Regina, Saskatchewan
38		Adam Henrich	LW	L	Thornhill, Ontario

Team records

Single season

Goals: 34 Chris Minard (2008–09)

Assists: 49 Jeff Taffe (2008–09)

Points: 76 Janne Pesonen (2008–09)

Penalty minutes: 431 Dennis Bonvie (2005–06)

Goaltending wins: 32 John Curry (2008–09)

GAA: 2.26 Dany Sabourin (2005–06)

SV%: .922 Rich Parent (2000–01) and Dany Sabourin (2005–06)

Career

Career goals: 97 Tom Kostopoulos

Career assists: 149 Tom Kostopoulos

Career points: 246 Tom Kostopoulos

Career penalty minutes: 1081 Dennis Bonvie

Career goaltending wins: 56 John Curry

Career shutouts: 10 Sebastien Caron

Career games: 318 Tom Kostopoulos

AHL records

As of the 2007–08 AHL Season. Data from the AHL Hall of Fame Website. [1]

Team

Longest Road Winning Streak (one season): 13 games (October 9 – December 3, 2005) (tied)

Player

Most points by a defenceman, career: 486 John Slaney (Baltimore, Portland, Cornwall, W.B./Scr., Phila.)

Most goals by a defenceman, career: John Slaney, 157 (Baltimore, Portland, Cornwall, W.B./Scr., Phila.)

Most goals by a Defenceman, season: John Slaney, 30 (1999–2000)

Most PIM, career: 4,104 Dennis Bonvie (Cape Breton, Hamilton, Portland, Phila., W.B./Scr., Providence, Binghamton, Hershey)

Most PIM, game: Steve Parsons, 64 (March 17, 2002 vs. Syracuse)

AHL awards and trophies

As of the 2007–08 AHL Season. Data from the AHL Hall of Fame Website. [2]

Richard F. Canning Trophy 2007–08 F. G. "Teddy" Oke Trophy 2007–08 F. G. "Teddy" Oke Trophy 2005–06 Richard F. Canning Trophy 2003–04 Robert W. Clarke Trophy 2000–01

Eddie Shore Award John Slaney: 2000–01 Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award Dany Sabourin: 2005–06 Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award Dany Sabourin: 2005–06 Yanick Dupre Memorial Award Matt Carkner: 2006–07

Notable Penguins

• Colby Armstrong
• Kris Beech
• Dennis Bonvie
• Sebastien Caron
• Erik Christensen
• Ty Conklin
• Greg Crozier
• Marc-Andre Fleury
• Tyler Kennedy
• Tom Kostopoulos
• Kris Letang
• Ryan Malone
• Michel Ouellet
• Toby Petersen
• Dany Sabourin
• Maxime Talbot
• Ryan Whitney

External links

• Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Official Website
• The Internet Hockey Database - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

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