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Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

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Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
CityWilkes-Barre Township, Pennsylvania, U.S.
LeagueAmerican Hockey League
ConferenceEastern
DivisionAtlantic
Founded1981
Home arenaMohegan Arena at Casey Plaza
ColorsBlack, gold, white, red
       
MascotTux
Owner(s)Ronald Burkle
Mario Lemieux
General managerJason Spezza
Head coach Kirk MacDonald
CaptainVacant
MediaWilkes-Barre Times Leader
Scranton Times-Tribune
AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh
WILK Newsradio
AHL.TV (Internet)
AffiliatesPittsburgh Penguins (NHL)
Wheeling Nailers (ECHL)
Franchise history
1981–1988Fredericton Express
1988–1993Halifax Citadels
1993–1996Cornwall Aces
1999–presentWilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Championships
Regular season titles2: (2010–11, 2016–17)
Division titles4: (2005–06, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2016–17)
Conference titles3: (2001, 2004, 2008)
Calder Cups0
Current season

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (sometimes known as the WBS Penguins) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and are the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre Township, Pennsylvania, just outside the city of Wilkes-Barre. They have won the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy twice for having the best record in the regular season.

History

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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 an 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,[1][2] but left the team inactive until the 1999–2000 season due to construction delays at their intended home–a new arena in Wilkes-Barre Township. The team is affectionately referred to as the "Baby Penguins" by fans. Their mascot is Tux the penguin, who wears number No. 99 in reference to the team's first season, in 1999.

The Penguins have gone to the Calder Cup final three times but have never won the championship. The team went all the way to the finals in their second season, losing to the Saint John Flames in six games. The Penguins returned to the finals in their fifth season, but were swept by the Milwaukee Admirals. They most recently made it to the finals in 2008 by way of beating the Portland Pirates in a seven-game series in the Eastern Conference finals. They went on to play the Chicago Wolves in the final, but lost the series in six games.

The WBS Penguins won the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy for the best finish in the regular season, in 2011, with 117 points. Goaltender Brad Thiessen was named the recipient of the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award, an award given to the AHL's most outstanding goaltender for each season. He posted a record of 35–8–1 in 46 appearances, along with a 1.94 goals-against-average and a .922 save percentage. Head coach John Hynes won the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award, awarded to the most outstanding AHL coach of the season. Despite the best regular season finish in team history, the Penguins were eliminated in the second round of the 2011 playoffs by the Charlotte Checkers in six games.

The Penguins have made the playoffs in all but four seasons of their existence. The Penguins held a playoff streak of 16 seasons from the 2002–03 season to the 2017–18 season.

Prior to the 2009–10 season, they held the inaugural Penguins Black and Gold Game, an intra-squad game which featured members of the Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and was the first ever head-to-head meeting between Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The game was a complete sellout and tickets never reached the general public. The Penguins organization held its second Black and Gold Game prior to the 2010–11 season on September 19, 2010.

In 2009, they also spawned an affiliated youth level organization, the Wilkes-Barre Junior Pens. The team is based out of the Ice Rink at Coal Street Park, which also serves as a practice facility for the Penguins.[3]

The Penguins' biggest rivals had been the Philadelphia Phantoms, the AHL affiliate of Pennsylvania's other NHL team, the Philadelphia Flyers. After that team moved to Glens Falls, New York, (as the Adirondack Phantoms) the Hershey Bears, also located in Pennsylvania, became the major rivals of the Penguins (they are currently the AHL affiliate of another rival of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Washington Capitals). In 2014, the Adirondack Phantoms relocated back to eastern Pennsylvania as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Season-by-season results

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Games Won Lost Tied OTL SOL Points PCT Goals
for 		Goals
against 		Standing Year Prelims 1st
round 		2nd
round 		3rd
round 		Finals
1999–00 80 23 43 9 5 — 60 .375 236 306 5th, Empire State Div. 2000 — Did not qualify
2000–01 80 36 33 9 2 — 83 .519 252 248 2nd, Mid-Atlantic Div. 2001 — W, 3–2, SYR W, 4–2, PHI W, 4–0, HER L, 2–4, SJF
2001–02 80 20 44 13 3 — 56 .350 201 274 4th, South Div. 2002 Did not qualify
2002–03 80 36 32 7 5 — 84 .525 245 248 3rd, South Div. 2003 W, 2–0, UTA L, 1–3, GR — — —
2003–04 80 34 28 10 8 — 86 .538 197 197 3rd, East Div. 2004 BYE W, 4–3, BRP W, 4–2, PHI W, 4–3, HFD L, 0–4, MIL
2004–05 80 39 27 — 7 7 92 .575 227 219 4th, East Div. 2005 — W, 4–2, BNG L, 1–4, PHI — —
2005–06 80 51 18 — 5 6 113 .706 249 178 1st, East Div. 2006 — W, 4–3, BRP L, 0–4, HER — —
2006–07 80 51 23 — 2 4 108 .675 276 221 2nd, East Div. 2007 — W, 4–2, NOR L, 1–4, HER — —
2007–08 80 47 26 — 3 4 101 .631 223 187 1st, East Div. 2008 — W, 4–1, HER W, 4–1, PHI W, 4–3 POR L, 2–4, CHI
2008–09 80 49 25 — 3 3 104 .650 274 212 3rd, East Div. 2009 — W, 4–1, BRP L,3–4 HER — —
2009–10 80 41 34 — 2 3 87 .544 239 229 3rd, East Div. 2010 — L, 0–4, ALB — — —
2010–11 80 58 21 — 0 1 117 .731 261 183 1st, East Div. 2011 — W, 4–2, NOR L, 2–4, CHA — —
2011–12 76 44 25 — 2 5 95 .625 235 215 2nd, East Div. 2012 — W, 3–2, HER L, 3–4, STJ — —
2012–13 76 42 30 — 2 2 88 .579 185 178 3rd, East Div. 2013 — W, 3–0, BNG W, 4–3, PRO L, 1–4, SYR —
2013–14 76 42 26 — 3 5 92 .605 206 185 6th, Eastern Conf. 2014 — W, 3–1, BNG W, 4–3, PRO L, 2–4, STJ —
2014–15 76 45 24 — 3 4 97 .638 212 163 4th, Eastern Conf. 2015 — W, 3–0, SYR L, 1–4, MCH — —
2015–16 76 43 27 — 4 2 92 .605 230 203 3rd, Atlantic Div. 2016 — W, 3–0, PRO L, 3–4, HER — —
2016–17 76 51 20 — 3 2 107 .704 247 170 1st, Atlantic Div. 2017 — L, 2–3, PRO — — —
2017–18 76 45 22 — 6 3 99 .651 252 223 2nd, Atlantic Div. 2018 — L, 0–3, CHA — — —
2018–19 76 36 30 — 7 3 82 .539 232 228 6th, Atlantic Div. 2019 — Did not qualify
2019–20 63 29 26 — 3 5 66 .524 164 193 5th, Atlantic Div. 2020 — Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21 32 13 13 — 4 2 32 .500 92 107 5th, North Div. 2021 — No playoffs were held
2021–22 76 35 33 — 4 4 78 .513 209 225 4th, Atlantic Div. 2022 W, 2–1, HER L, 0–3, SPR — — —
2022–23 72 26 32 — 8 6 66 .458 191 224 8th, Atlantic Div. 2023 Did not qualify
2023–24 72 39 24 — 8 1 87 .604 211 194 3rd, Atlantic Div. 2024 L, 0–2, LV — — — —

  Won Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy for the best record in the regular season
  Round not held

Further information on the details of the: 2013–14 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins season

Players

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Current roster

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Updated December 18, 2024.[4]

Team roster
No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
25 Sweden Sebastian Aho Injured Reserve D L 28 2024 Umeå, Sweden Pittsburgh
12 Canada Corey Andonovski RW R 25 2022 Uxbridge, Ontario Pittsburgh
80 Latvia Raivis Ansons Injured Reserve LW/C L 22 2022 Riga, Latvia Pittsburgh
78 Canada Isaac Belliveau D L 22 2023 Fleurimont, Quebec Pittsburgh
52 Sweden Emil Bemstrom LW R 25 2024 Nyköping, Sweden Pittsburgh
30 Finland Joel Blomqvist G L 22 2023 Nykarleby, Finland Pittsburgh
63 United States Scooter Brickey Injured Reserve D R 25 2024 Mt. Clemens, Michigan W-B/Scranton
26 United States Tristan Broz C L 22 2024 Bloomington, Minnesota Pittsburgh
44 United States Jonathan Gruden (A) C/LW L 24 2021 Rochester, Michigan Pittsburgh
85 United States Avery Hayes Injured Reserve RW R 22 2023 Westland, Michigan W-B/Scranton
81 Canada Mac Hollowell (A) D R 26 2024 Niagara Falls, Ontario Pittsburgh
16 Canada Jimmy Huntington (A) Injured Reserve C L 26 2024 Laval, Quebec Pittsburgh
14 Canada Bokondji Imama LW L 28 2024 Montreal, Quebec Pittsburgh
9 United States Marc Johnstone RW R 28 2023 Cranford, New Jersey Pittsburgh
61 Canada Boris Katchouk LW/C L 26 2024 Vancouver, British Columbia W-B/Scranton
42 Russia Nikolai Knyzhov Injured Reserve D L 26 2024 Kemerovo, Russia W-B/Scranton
41 Finland Ville Koivunen RW L 21 2024 Oulu, Finland Pittsburgh
15 Finland Joona Koppanen C L 26 2023 Tampere, Finland Pittsburgh
82 Czech Republic Filip Kral D L 25 2024 Blansko, Czech Republic Pittsburgh
31 Sweden Filip Larsson G L 26 2024 Stockholm, Sweden Pittsburgh
32 Canada Justin Lee D L 24 2023 Waskada, Manitoba W-B/Scranton
73 Canada Mats Lindgren D L 20 2024 North Vancouver, British Columbia W-B/Scranton
2 United States Rutger McGroarty LW L 20 2024 Lincoln, Nebraska Pittsburgh
11 Russia Vasily Ponomarev C L 22 2024 Moscow, Russia Pittsburgh
22 Canada Sam Poulin C/RW L 23 2021 Laval, Quebec Pittsburgh
48 Finland Valtteri Puustinen RW R 25 2021 Kuopio, Finland Pittsburgh
6 Canada Dan Renouf (A) D L 30 2024 Pickering, Ontario W-B/Scranton
3 United States Jack St. Ivany Injured Reserve D R 25 2022 Manhattan Beach, California Pittsburgh

Team captains

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Notable alumni

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Players listed have played at least 100 games with the Penguins and 100 games in the NHL.

Team records

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Single season
Goals: Chris Minard, 34 (2008–09)
Assists: Jeff Taffe and Janne Pesonen, 50 (2008–09)
Points: Janne Pesonen, 82 (2008–09)
Penalty minutes: Dennis Bonvie, 431 (2005–06)
Goaltending wins: Brad Thiessen, 35 (2010–11)
GAA: Jeff Zatkoff 1.93 (2012–13)
SV%: Rich Parent (2000–01), Dany Sabourin (2005–06) and Brad Thiessen (2010–11), .922
Career
Career goals: Tom Kostopoulos, 181
Career assists: Tom Kostopoulos, 269
Career points: Tom Kostopoulos, 450
Career penalty minutes: Dennis Bonvie, 1081
Career goaltending wins: John Curry, 103
Career shutouts: Brad Thiessen, 17
Career games: Tom Kostopoulos, 627

AHL records

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As of the 2009–10 AHL Season. Data from the AHL Hall of Fame Website.[5]

Team

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Most road wins, 80-game season: 28 (2010–2011) (tied)
Longest road winning streak (one season): 13 games (October 9 – December 3, 2005) (tied)
Longest road winning streak (overall): 15 games (April 10 – December 3, 2005)

Player

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Most points by a defenseman, career: John Slaney, 486 (Baltimore, Portland, Cornwall, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Philadelphia)
Most goals by a defenseman, career: John Slaney, 157
Most goals by a defenseman, season: John Slaney, 30 (1999–2000)
Most PIM, career: Dennis Bonvie, 4,104 (Cape Breton, Hamilton, Portland, Philadelphia, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Providence, Binghamton, Hershey)
Most PIM, game: Steve Parsons, 64 (March 17, 2002 vs. Syracuse)

AHL awards and trophies

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Per the AHL Hall of Fame:[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Marrapese, Nancy L. (May 19, 1996). "Mighty Casey a pinch hit". The Boston Globe. p. 52. The [Pittsburgh] Penguins will move and rename the AHL's Cornwall Aces after buying the franchise from the Avalanche.
  2. ^ Mayer, Sean (July 2, 1996). "Pirates plundered". Press & Sun-Bulletin. Binghamton, NY. p. 3D. [Godfrey] Wood will be responsible for finding a home for the [Pittsburgh] Penguins' incoming AHL team, the defunct Cornwall Aces franchise Pittsburgh bought from the Colorado Avalanche.
  3. ^ "Wilkes-Barre Jr. Penguins Youth Ice Hockey Club". Wilkes-Barre Junior Pens. Archived from the original on March 29, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  4. ^ "Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Roster". Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. December 18, 2024. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
  5. ^ "AHL Record Book". AHL Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on June 6, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  6. ^ "AHL Hall of Fame Trophy List". AHL Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on October 31, 2007. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
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