Chirps from Center Ice

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

PHOTOS: 2012-2013 Wilkes-Barre Third Jersey

Comments Off on PHOTOS: 2012-2013 Wilkes-Barre Third Jersey Posted by on September 7, 2012

Yours truly attended PensFest this afternoon. Normally the Penguins give fans at the ‘Fest a look at the third jersey for the upcoming season. I took some pictures of them. Pictures take up a lot of space, so click through the jump to see:

Read more of this post

The AHL, WBS

2012-2013 AHL Center Ice Season Ticket Prices

Comments Off on 2012-2013 AHL Center Ice Season Ticket Prices Posted by on September 6, 2012

Here’s the yearly look at what a center ice ticket will cost you for one season in the AHL. I’m going in alphabetical order this year. The Canadian teams are presented as is, figure out the conversion rate to the U.S. Dollar if you want to take it that far.

Here you go:

Abbotsford – $1,184

Adirondack – $790

Albany – $630

Binghamton – $555

Bridgeport – $1,026

Charlotte – $896

Chicago – $720 (38 games for the price of 30, with a bunch of cool benefits)

Connecticut – $898.70

Grand Rapids – $836

Hamilton – $570

Hershey – $645

Houston – $1,026

Lake Erie – $950

Manchester – $760

Milwaukee – $690

Norfolk – $600

Oklahoma City – $1,100

Peoria – $779

Portland – $570

Providence – $580

Rochester – $456 (existing season ticket holders get them for $418)

Rockford – $680

San Antonio – $779

Springfield – $684

St. John’s – $1,156.34

Syracuse – $580

Texas – $850

Toronto – $1,178 or $988

Wilkes-Barre / Scranton – $800

Worcester – $550

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Wilkes-Barre’s tickets are a little pricey when compared to the rest of the league collectively and $155 more than any other team in the East Division. The Penguins will tell you that you get to park for free, and that is figured into the overall price of the ticket. I’d still like to get more of a breakdown as to why they are as high as they are compared to the other division teams and the AHL as a whole. If I ever do, I’ll have a follow-up here on the blog.

The AHL

On Tangradi, Bortuzzo, Grant and Strait

Comments Off on On Tangradi, Bortuzzo, Grant and Strait Posted by on August 30, 2012

I figured there is a faction of the people who frequent this blog (read: Hi Mom!) that don’t use Twitter and Facebook and didn’t see the news that Pittsburgh made official today the re-signing of forward Eric Tangradi, defensemen Robert Bortuzzo, Alex Grant and Brian Strait.

So now you know.

Not surprised about the signings. Relieved to hear about Grant because depending on who you talked to there was a chance that he wasn’t going to re-sign here. (or simply balderdash)

Just saw something regarding Sidney Crosby possibly playing in Europe if (when) there is a lockout in the NHL. Perhaps this is my blind homerism shining through, but why not the AHL? Forget about waivers and whether he is allowed to play or not. If there is a will, there is a way. Not that Crosby riding busses to Hershey and Binghamton would ever happen. (it wouldn’t)

Moving on…

My blog pals at Sweetest Hockey on Earth have a photoblog of the new Bears colors. Did some research on fan reactions on the color changes and it’s about an 80/20 split for vs. against.

But for other signings, teams changing colors or otherwise, have a nice Labor Day weekend!

Pittsburgh, The AHL, WBS

Updating Old News

2 Comments Posted by on August 29, 2012

Two things were brought to my attention yesterday:

1) The Penguins have added a bunch of additions to the promotions list I blogged about last week. Now included are things like “Go Green” night, a Penguins scarf giveaway and something called Social Media Night. I’m social media. Wonder what this is about? Will find out quick as it is Friday, October 26 vs. Rochester.

2) Mohegan Sun Arena is apparently getting a new scoreboard and LED ribbon stripping between the lower and upper levels. That article was from May. Don’t know how I missed this.

A couple of housekeeping items outside of Coal Street…

— The Norfolk Admirals have a new ECHL affiliate in the Fort Wayne Komets.

— Hershey’s got a new look. This video explains it. The mascot Coco trimmed down, too.

Heard a flock of geese over the Chirps from Center Ice headquarters clucking it up, undoubtedly flying south for the summer. Hockey is getting close.

The AHL, WBS

The Downfall of the Typewriter

2 Comments Posted by on August 28, 2012

ALERT: This post has no Penguins news in it.

We are witnessing the decline of a staple of everyday life for most people. It is the newspaper. Nearly everyplace you look you are seeing and hearing about daily newspapers going from a daily publication to three times a week.

It happened today, twice in two AHL East Division markets:

Hershey:

https://twitter.com/WaltonCaps/status/240460923637211136

Syracuse:

Tim Leone covers the Hershey Bears for The Patriot News. Lindsay Kramer covers the Syracuse Crunch for The Post-Standard. You can follow both men on Twitter @timleone and @PSCrunchHockey respectively.

Jonathan Bombulie tweeted this form of satire the other day:

–

I truly feel a bit of resentment as the untrained, unpaid, “fan blogger” in even continuing and maintaining to blog if by doing so leads to the downfall of print journalism either directly or indirectly.

Let me state unequivocally that it is not this blogs intent to take away from anything the paid professionals, be it in Hershey, Wilkes-Barre, Syracuse, Chicago or beyond put into print. I encourage you to read the actual journalists first because I always do.

That said, the intent of blogging and the downfall of print may be unavoidable in this “I want it now” society. Face it, news happens and breaks in real time in this day and age. The people who truly get their news from a newspaper anymore are few and far between with the dawn of the blog, the smartphone, Twitter, Facebook and beyond. That the newspaper may be extinct in ten years like the tube television is an absolute crying shame.

Buy a newspaper. You don’t know what you have until it’s gone. Let’s all hope that day never comes.

Just Rambling

All the Money is Gone!

Comments Off on All the Money is Gone! Posted by on August 23, 2012

Couple of things to stay on top of this afternoon:

–> Scott Munroe has signed with the Adirondack Phantoms. Munroe was a rock solid backup to Brad Thiessen last season for the Penguins and will mentor two rookie goaltenders eyeing the nets in Glens Falls this season.

–> Here’s the story from beat writer Tim McManus from The Post-Star in Glens Falls, NY and another from Micheal Cignoli from The Saratogian in Saratoga Springs, NY.

–> The 2012 Offseason Moves list has been updated accordingly. Worth mentioning that the remaining names on the list that are unsigned are Chris Barton, Robert Bortuzzo, Alex Grant, Casey Pierro-Zabotel, Matt Rust and Cody Wild. It’s assumed that Eric Tangradi has or is re-signing with Pittsburgh very soon.

–> Here’s a piece from the Penguins on Brian Gibbons and Paul Thompson, looking to build off of their rookie seasons and avoid the sophomore slump.

If you like to read tea leaves like I do, you’ll notice that a name was no where to be mentioned in that article. That name belongs to Nick Petersen. Petersen, who as you recall missed the second half of the Penguins postseason due to what the Pens dubbed, “personal reasons.” Peterson remains under contract to the Penguins. Let me disclaim that I have no inside information on the inner workings of what goes on at Coal Street. That said, if I had to bet any amount of money, I’d wager that Petersen’s ship has permanently sailed the waters of Wilkes-Barre. It doesn’t help that Jonathan Bombulie mentioned it today in his blog entry. I guess we all have to wait and see what happens on that end.

But for more signings, defections or otherwise, have a great weekend.

The AHL, WBS

PensFest and Promos

Comments Off on PensFest and Promos Posted by on August 22, 2012

It’s been out for a day or so that PensFest is back this year. It’s Friday, September 7 at Coal Street. On hand will be Beau Bennett, Brian Dumoulin, Tom Kühnhackl, Reid McNeil, Jason Megna, Joe Morrow, Adam Payerl and Dominic Üher to sign autographs.

The Pens won’t have the season ticket pickup at PensFest this year, instead delaying that to Wednesday, October 3 starting at 9 a.m. You can also get them during the preseason games and during a special evening practice at Coal Street Wednesday, October 10 at 6 p.m.

I got my mailing from Coal Street today and in it was the promotional schedule. Here it is in case you haven’t gotten your mailing yet or if you just want to know what the giveaways are this season:

Saturday, October 29 — 2012-12 Wall Calendar
Saturday, November 10 — Team Photo
Saturday, November 24 — Mormina’s Mustache Mania
Saturday, December 1 — Nut Cracker
Thursday, December 27 — Outdoor Game Giveaway
Saturday, January 12 — Talking Bottle Opener
Sunday, February 17 — Kids Day
Saturday, February 23 — Dog Tags – Military Appreciation
Saturday, March 2 — Bobble Head #1
Saturday, March 23 — Penguins Clothes Hamper Giveaway
Saturday, April 6 — Bobble Head #2
Friday, April 19 — Water Bottle
Saturday, April 20 — Fan Appreciation Night (Jerseys off our back to all season ticket holders.

I am most interested in knowing what “Mormina’s Mustache Mania” is as well as who is the voice behind and what the voice will say in the “Talking Bottle Opener” giveaway.

Enjoy responsibly.

WBS

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