PENGUINS 2008-09 SCHEDULE RELEASED

Team Opens 10th Season On October 8 Against Hershey

WILKES-BARRE, PA – WILKES-BARRE, PA –  The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins will open their 10th season of play at home on October 8, when they take on the Hershey Bears.  The entire 2008-09 American Hockey League schedule was released on Thursday. 

PDF DOWNLOADS: Block Schedule | Press Release w/List Schedule

The Penguins will play an 80-game unbalanced schedule, meaning they will face opponents from the East Division 50 times (25 home/25 road) during the regular season, while taking on foes from the Atlantic, North and West Divisions a total of 30 times (15 home/15 road).  In all, the Penguins will face 18 of 28 AHL opponents during the year.

Highlights of this season’s slate include rare visits from the Houston Aeros (January 3) and San Antonio Rampage (February 6).  The last time that Texas twosome visited Northeast Pennsylvania was during the 2002-03 season.

A rematch of the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals will take place on December 13, when the Portland Pirates return to Wilkes-Barre.  The last time the Pirates sailed into town (May 24), Tim Brent popped home the series-clinching goal with 31 seconds to play, as the Pens posted a 3-2 win in Game Seven.

The majority of Penguins home games (28 of 40) will be played on weekend nights and afternoons, with 11 games taking place on Wednesday evenings and one on a Tuesday.

The longest scheduled home-stand is five games (February 6-15), while the team’s longest stretch of games away from the Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza will be seven games (October 19-November 5).

Season tickets for the Penguins’ 10th season in the American Hockey League are on sale now, and available by calling 570-208-7367.  Information on individual ticket sales will be released at a later date.