Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | |
---|---|
2017–18 AHL season | |
City | Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania |
League | American Hockey League |
Conference | Eastern |
Division | Atlantic |
Founded | 1981 |
Home arena | Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza |
Colors | Black, Gold, White, Red |
Owner(s) |
Ron Burkle Mario Lemieux |
General manager | Bill Guerin |
Head coach | Clark Donatelli |
Captain | Tom Kostopoulos |
Media |
Wilkes-Barre Times Leader Scranton Times-Tribune AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh WILK Newsradio 103.1 |
Affiliates |
Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL) Wheeling Nailers (ECHL) |
Franchise history | |
1981–1988 | Fredericton Express |
1988–1993 | Halifax Citadels |
1993–1996 | Cornwall Aces |
1999–present | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins |
Championships | |
Regular season titles | 2 (2010–11, 2016–17) |
Division Championships | 4 (2005–06, 2007–08, 2010–11, 2016–17) |
Conference Championships | 3 (2001, 2004, 2008) |
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are the American Hockey League affiliate of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Penguins. They play in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. They were the 2011 winners of the East Division and the Eastern Conference (in terms of regular season titles), winning their first Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy. The Penguins serve as a professional hockey team to the people of Scranton, Pennsylvania and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The Penguins are located in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area.
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 a top 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, but left the team inactive until the 1999–2000 season, due to delays in construction of the local arena in Wilkes-Barre. The team is affectionately referred to as "The Baby Penguins" by fans. Their mascot is Tux the penguin, who wears number #99 in reference to the team's first season in 1999.
The WBS Pens have gone to the Calder Cup Final three times but have never won the championship. The team first made the finals in their second season playing, losing to the Saint John Flames in six games. The Baby Pens 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 4–2.