2009-2010 SCHEDULE RELEASED

WILKES-BARRE, PA – The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins will open their 11th season of play at home on Saturday, October 3, when they take on the Syracuse Crunch. The entire 2009-10 American Hockey League schedule was released on Thursday.

The Penguins will play an 80-game unbalanced schedule, meaning they will face opponents from the East Division 54 times (27 home/27 road) during the regular season, while taking on foes from the Atlantic and North Divisions a total of 26 times (13 home/13 road).  The Penguins will not face a West Division opponent this season.  In all, the Penguins will face off against 17 of 28 AHL opponents.

Highlights of this season’s slate include a return visit from the defending Western Conference Champion Manitoba Moose (January 30 and 31) and the first visits of the Rochester Americans since 2006-07 (January 2 and March 20).  The Interstate 81 rivalry has been warmed up with Syracuse moving to the East Division, and the Philadelphia Phantoms are now the Ghosts from Glens Falls – the Penguins will host the Adirondack Phantoms four times this season.  The Penguins will also ring in the New Year on January 1 at Wachovia Arena, by hosting the defending Calder Cup Champion Hershey Bears in one of six home “Battles of Pennsylvania.”

The majority of Penguins home games (29 of 40) will be played on weekend nights and afternoons, with 10 games taking place on Wednesday evenings and one on a Monday. 

In addition, the Penguins have changed the start times of Sunday home games from 5:05 pm to 3:05 pm.  “We’d like to make Sunday games more accommodating and fan-friendly.  This will be an opportunity for families to attend these games and still arrive home at an early hour,” said Penguins President Rich Hixon.

The longest scheduled home-stand is seven games (December 28–January 9) while the team’s longest stretch of games away from the Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza will be five games (January 15-23).  The team will also play nine three-in-three’s (three games in three nights) and seven four-in-five’s (four games in five nights).

Season tickets, mini-plans and group packages for the 2009-2010 season of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Hockey are on sale now, and available by calling 570-208-7367.  Information on individual ticket sales will be released at a later date.

Full AHL Schedule (pdf download) | Penguins Block Schedule (pdf download)