Student Rush Is Back!

The Penguins are going to continue the Student Rush Program this upcoming season.

In a Q&A session with Penguins President David Morehouse, a fan asked if the program would still be intact. Morehouse responded with...

"Obviously, with the recent surge in ticket sales, there won't be as much ticket inventory available this year. That's a good problem to have, of course. But continuing the Student Rush program is so important to us that we will hold aside a minimum of 200 tickets for the Student Rush every game. To avoid having students be disappointed by standing in long lines when there is not much inventory, we'll actually have a text message program, where students can sign up for Student Rush alerts. And they'll be on a list where they'll have a chance to be selected for Student Rush. When there is additional inventory available, we will have our traditional Student Rush program - tickets that go on sale one hour before game time. "

Details of the text message program were not available.

Line Predictions

When there is no new news about the Penguins the only thing you can do is to try and predict the season. We might as well start with the lines. The Penguins have only three new players added to their roster. If defenseman Kristopher Letang joins the mix, the Penguins will have 8 defenseman on their roster. However if Letang does start the season with the Penguins, Alain Naserddine will most likely be with the Baby Pens.

These are only predictions:

Forwards:

Roberts/Crosby/Sykora

Staal/Malkin/Recchi

Ruutu/Talbot/Laraque

Malone/Christensen/Armstrong


Defense:

Gonchar/Eaton

Orpik/Whitney

Sydor/Letang


Goalies:

Fleury

Sabourin

If Sabourin does not preform well as a backup, don't be surprised if Ty Conklin is called up. He probably will not see much playing time in the minors because the Baby Pens have two goalies that just came over from two of the best college teams in the country. David Brown and John Curry came from Notre Dame and Boston University respectively. Also Conklin was said by Ray Shero to be a mentor for the two new goalies.

New PIHL Divisions

Short post tonight...

The new divisions are out for the PIHL. Click on it, it will expand. Sorry bout that


Also the official season starts on October 22.

Pens Re-Sign Lannon

The Penguins have further backed up their minor league affiliate the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins by re-signing Ryan Lannon. Lannon, a defenseman, played a total of 68 games for the Baby Pens while registering 19 points which all came by assists. He also put up 71 penalty minuets. In his professional career, Lannon has posted a total of 29 points including two goals and 136 penalty minuets.

This move will further help keep a strong farm system if the Penguins need to draw from the well. Last year many of the Baby Penguin players were from the Edmonton Oilers minor league affiliate. However that deal is no longer in place and therefore players such as Jonathon Filewich will remain in the minor leagues unless an injury befalls the big team.

Pens Get Another "Syd"

The Pittsburgh Penguins have aquired yet another "Syd" in veteran defenseman Darryl Sydor. Joining a team with the most famous "Sid" in hockey, Darryl will look for a new nickname that doesn't resemble prolific point-getter Sidney Crosby's. Although Sydor hasn't achieved what young Crosby has point wise, he can claim two Stanley Cup Championships, one with Dallas in '99 and another with the Lightning in '04.

"Syd" is yet another defenseman that will help to aid the ailing Pittsburgh defense. He is enthusiastic about being part of the team, and the blueliner will add a great deal of veteran experience. Sydor has had the privelege of playing with many greats, including "The Great One" himself, Wayne Gretsky. This is the way he started his career, and entering his 16th season in the NHL, he will likely finish his career playing with Sidney Crosby, whom many compare to Gretsky. Sydor is excited for this oppurtunity, and hopefully he will be able to teach the younger players their position, so that they may better the Penguin's defense for years to come.
-ShocKer

Mike Lang Is Back!

Well, "Scratch my back with a hack saw," and "Slap me silly Sidney." Thats right... after many long nights of crying and nervous stomach pains for Penguin Fans, Mike Lange has signed a one year deal to cover all 82 Games on 105.9 "The X." This will be Lange's 32nd season with the Penguins. Lange has covered basically every Penguin Game in those years and was a part of the Penguins two Stanley Cup years. Also returning is the "Old 29'er" Phil Bourque. Bourque has been the color commentator for the Penguins for the past 3 years. Bourque played for both Penguins Stanley Cup teams.

The Pens even put up a Mike Lange survey where you can vote for his all time greatest sayings.

Do People Want To See Fighting In Hockey?

From old timer Marty McSorley, to present day Georges Laraque, these were and are considered the heavyweights of the NHL. Enforcers of the league and protectors of the stars; they stand up for their teammates and sacrifice themselves for chunks of 5 minuets at a time. Recently, these types of players have been criticized for their play.

The American public doesn't want to see this type of behavior from professional athletes. Bullcrap. Just look at all the different fight leagues popping up on T.V. The UFC, IFL WEC, Elite XC, and Strikeforce are just a few of these leagues. Even ESPN has put Chuck Liddell from the UFC in its "Who's Now" competition.

Not only are the fights in the NHL exciting, they have a purpose. Just look on youtube for a fight of Laraque V.S. Raitis Ivanans. They actually agree to fight each other. Why? Because they both know that whoever wins, just gained a huge moral boost for their respective team, especially if your the home team.

All of the talk this year to abolish fighting started from violent actions such as Chris Simon's slash on Ryan Hollweg's face. From that single action, many other incidents were brought up, including former Penguin Ronald Petrovicky. These types of actions have been called one of the main reasons the NHL is the black eye of the sporting world.

Fact of the matter is, the NHL needs fighting. The NFL has linemen to protect the quarterback, the only protection a baseball player needs is a cup and a glove and the NBA isn't a contact sport unless your in the paint. Guys like Laraque, Petrovicky, and Donald Brasher are needed to protect stars like Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin.

There is nothing like watching a fight if your at the game. The Crowd is going insane cheering for their home town combatant. Lets face it, these guys become fan favorites the minute they step on the ice. Jarkko Ruutu was cheered for in the first game as a Penguin. He didn't even fight but his presence was enough. Same with Colby Armstrong. He was supposed to be a big scorer this past year, however he struggled. So he adjusted his role and laid out at least 10 big hits throughout the year, and solidified his position as a Penguin.

Fighting is a natural part of the game that can't be taken away. If it is, then we could end up seeing more severe acts of violence due to built up anger.

The fans love fighting, and so do the players. What more do you need?