Chirps from Center Ice

A fan blog about the AHL's Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins

Category Archives: The AHL

Three More Things…

Comments Off on Three More Things… Posted by on September 25, 2011

Passed over a few things in Fridays update. With camp starting tomorrow, there may be no room for these things this week with the flood of information coming out of Coal Street (I hope) so here you go:

<-> Don’t forget if you are a Penguins season ticket holder you can pick up your tickets this coming Thursday, September 29th from 5-9 p.m. at the Ice Rink at Coal Street. If you can’t make it out Thursday, you can get them Friday, September 30th or Sunday, October 2nd at the preseason games.

<-> AHL Preseason jumps off Tuesday. Schedule here.

<-> WBS is on TV again this year. WQMY or My Network TV has the games. Every Saturday home game but for New Years Eve. Here is the schedule:

Day Date Time Visiting Team @ Home Team
Sat

10/8/2011

7:05 PM

 Hershey @ Wilkes-Barre
Sat

10/15/2011

7:05 PM

 Binghamton @ Wilkes-Barre
Sat

11/12/2011

7:05 PM

 Norfolk @ Wilkes-Barre
Sat

12/17/2011

7:05 PM

 Norfolk @ Wilkes-Barre
Sat

1/7/2012

7:05 PM

 Syracuse @ Wilkes-Barre
Sat

1/21/2012

7:05 PM

 Syracuse @ Wilkes-Barre
Sat

2/4/2012

7:05 PM

 Albany @ Wilkes-Barre
Sat

2/11/2012

7:05 PM

 Portland @ Wilkes-Barre
Sat

2/25/2012

7:05 PM

 Syracuse @ Wilkes-Barre
Sat

3/17/2012

7:05 PM

 Worcester @ Wilkes-Barre
Sat

3/24/2012

7:05 PM

 St. John’s @ Wilkes-Barre
Sat

4/7/2012

7:05 PM

 Connecticut @ Wilkes-Barre
Sat

4/14/2012

7:05 PM

 Bridgeport @ Wilkes-Barre

I have no plans in the fold to make any practices this week. Couple of reasons. 1) I have a full-time real job. 2) I wouldn’t know what I’d be looking at being at practice and probably not know half the players anyway cause there are no names on the back of the jerseys. 3) I’d only be in Bombulie’s way anyway. He’s itching to get this going more than me. If there is anything going on with guys getting sent down from Pittsburgh or anything of note, I will have it here.

Go Penguins.

The AHL, WBS

The Fodder Express

Comments Off on The Fodder Express Posted by on September 23, 2011

Business is picking up. A boatload to get to. Here we go…

<-> Pittsburgh sent three more to Wilkes-Barre today. Bryan Lerg, Zach Sill and Keven Veilleux are in transit to the Wyoming Valley.

<-> Wilkes-Barre opens camp on Monday. Full schedule here.

<-> The September 28 game in Saratoga Springs vs. the Adirondack Phantoms will not be on the radio anywhere. Not in Wilkes-Barre, not in Adirondack. You can, however, follow Michael Cignoli from The Saratogian for updates as I will not be there to give them.

<-> Jerseys from the Black and Gold Game are up for auction. This should be interesting to see what the jerseys go for and how high people will pay to get them.

<-> Back to camp, you can find a full list of camp invitees over at the Penguins Insider. Jonathan has broken down the names which may not be familiar to some. The most notable name to me is Devin DiDiomete, who was a New York Rangers prospect previously and an agitator. With Jesse Boulerice retired, does DiDiomete step in as Wilkes-Barre’s hired muscle?

<-> If you aren’t familiar to the way waivers work, @Ozman51 has a nice article explaining the process with an emphasis on the tweeners still up in Pittsburgh who may or may not see time here in Wilkes-Barre.

<-> If you missed it earlier, I was a special guest on the Power Play Post Show. Always nice to talk puck. You can hear me at about the 1:01:26 mark, but if you can, listen to the whole thing.

<-> Finally, my AHL Previews are complete. I will have a full schedule of whats to come in a few days. They should debut September 28.

Last weekend without hockey for a long time. Enjoy the calm before the storm everyone!

About Me, Pittsburgh, The AHL, WBS

Chirping on the Radio

Comments Off on Chirping on the Radio Posted by on September 23, 2011

I played radio show guest with Bob Howard and the Power Play Post Show, which is a talk show entirely dedicated to the American Hockey League.

You can find the interview here. My segment is at about the 1:01:26 mark. We chatted up tweeting, fan blogging, the relationship with “real media,” last year’s season, the Black and Gold Game, what to expect this year and Scott Stuccio. You even find out what “nafsnep” means, if you haven’t been cavalier enough to figure it out already.

I want to thank Bob for the opportunity to come on the show and talk hockey.

About Me, The AHL

AHL All-Star Classic Details Announced

Comments Off on AHL All-Star Classic Details Announced Posted by on September 8, 2011

The League announced today that the 2012 AHL All-Star Classic will be held in Atlantic City at Boardwalk Hall January 29 and 30, 2012 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

If you were around with me in December, the Pens were supposed to play a game at Boardwalk Hall vs. the Albany Devils but it was postponed due to ice issues. I have seen a bunch of people on the Twitter side voicing concern about the same thing happening again. In December the night before the Pens and Devils were supposed to play there was an ice skating event. The ice was shaved down for the event and thus the ice during warmups sloughed off and the game was postponed. I do not anticipate this happening again.

Tickets go on sale Monday at noon. Details in the link provided above in the first paragraph.

No AHL team wil going to be affiliated with the event, but rather the AHL will work directly with Atlantic City officials.

Tim Leone who covers the Hershey Bears for The Patriot-News, spoke with league President and CEO David Andrews: “We’re really excited about it, partially because of the uniqueness of the venue. The proximity to Philadelphia and New Jersey, the proximity to Hershey and Wilkes-Barre, and the opportunity it provides to fans from around the league to go to what is certainly a destination and a resort for a lot of folks for an all-star event, I think it’s going to be a pretty good experience for everyone.” (credit: Tim’s Twitter feed from this afternoon)

Good stuff.

The other big news is Pittsburgh signing Richard Park whom could assist Wilkes-Barre should he get sent down. Details on this news below or just click here.

Keep chirpin’. Go Penguins!

The AHL

Stuccio to Hershey

Comments Off on Stuccio to Hershey Posted by on September 1, 2011

The Hershey Bears announced today that Scott Stuccio has been named the new broadcaster and media relations coordinator for the team. Stuccio replaces John Walton, who took the same position for the Bears parent team, the Washington Capitals a few weeks ago.

Scott had served as the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins Director of Communications and provided color commentary in the Penguins radio booth with the teams play by play voice, Tom Grace.

Kind words from former Bears voice John Walton here.

Bears beat writer Tim Leone caught up with both John and Scott for a story this afternoon.

I hate to say it, but I saw this developing all summer. When it was speculated that Steve Kolbe may not be back as the voice of the Capitals in early July, I knew that John Walton was the man for the job. When the Walton news became official, I knew Stuccio would be perfect for the job in Hershey. Walton and Stuccio are friends away from the rink. I have never heard a bad word muttered from a Bears fan regarding Stuccio so he was the perfect fit for the position.

The Penguins organization loses a huge, huge asset to the Hershey Bears organization. I would like to wish Scott the absolute best in his new endeavor with the rival Bears.

The AHL, WBS

2011-2012 AHL Season Ticket Comparison

3 Comments Posted by on August 31, 2011

It’s that time of year again, time for me to examine how much it costs someone to chirp at center ice for one year as a season ticket holder in each AHL building.

I did this last year. In keeping with the same context from last year, I am looking at how much it costs for a single season seat at center ice which is usually prime real estate to watch a hockey game. For the second straight year that I have been doing this the Penguins are the highest among in the East Division for seats at center ice. In the defense of the Penguins, parking at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza is free for everyone. For Canadian teams the price is listed as is which I’d assume is in CAD. You can do your own conversions to the USD if you wish.

Below is my research going highest to lowest:

Abbotsford – $1327.55
Houston – $1,050*
Oklahoma City – $1,040
Bridgeport – $1,026
Toronto – $988
Lake Erie – $874
St. John’s – $874**
Connecticut – $864
Texas – $840
Charlotte – $820
Wilkes-Barre / Scranton – $800
Adirondack – $780
Peoria – $760
Grand Rapids – $756
Milwaukee – $751
Manchester – $750
Chicago – $720***
Hamilton – $720****
San Antonio – $720
Rockford – $680
Hershey – $660
Syracuse – $646
Albany – $660
Binghamton – $555.75
Portland – $551
Norfolk – $550
Worcester – $550
Providence – $540
Springfield – $456
Rochester – $380

* – 38 games for the price of 30
** – only team without season ticket information listed. Price is based off of a $23 / game ticket for 38 games.
*** – price based off of 30 games and it comes with a bunch of good stuff.
**** – another team without full season price listed. Number based off of double their 20 game flex plan.

Make your own comparisons to your team versus your rival and Wilkes-Barre. Also, keep in mind that the AHL reduced its schedule this upcoming season from what was 40 home games to 38 home games.

Keep chirpin’. Go Penguins.

The AHL

Signings, Tickets, Promos and Old Faces

Comments Off on Signings, Tickets, Promos and Old Faces Posted by on August 24, 2011

Smattering of small news stories shall compile the following blog post…

– Binghamton signed two defensemen yesterday, Bobby Raymond and Josh Godfrey. Raymond actually played a little with the B-Sens last season before he got injured. Godfrey apprenticed in the ECHL with South Carolina and appeared in a few Hershey Bears games.

– Speaking of the Bears, they signed forward Stanislav Galiev to an entry-level contract today. He won’t play for the Bears this year as it’s either NHL or juniors for him due to his age. Even if he were able to, I wouldn’t project him seeing any ice for Hershey with how stacked the 11-time Champions are going to be up front.

– Ex-WBS Penguin Ryan Stone is off to play in Finland next year. He had played last year with the Calgary organization.

– The Pens tweeted that sale dates for individual tickets for the upcoming season will be announced this week along with the promotional schedule. Always a hit with the fans, I can’t wait to see what the brain trust on Coal Street has planned this season.

– I have some inquiries out to a few teams on ticket prices at center ice for my yearly look at what a season ticket at center ice costs for every AHL team. Look for that post very, very soon here. Some interesting data.

– The fourth road game for the Pens preseason game hasn’t been announced yet. There is no news on this front whatsoever. Norfolk is actually playing a trio of games versus the St. John’s IceCaps, so the Admirals as a potential opponent is out. I still think it will be Syracuse. However I have nothing to back up my speculation.

– You can follow every AHL team on Twitter by going here and clicking “Follow this List” or you can follow every AHL team individually. While you are at it, if you are new to Twitter, follow this guy too.

Keep Chirpin’. Let’s Go Pens!

The AHL, WBS

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