High hopes
Oct. 1, 2000 — Even
after last season’s campaign, Penguins coach
Glenn Patrick predicts his
squad could contend for a
championship this season. “I think we’re up in talent. Not only on-the-ice talent, but we have more character on this team. Guys
who really want to win.”
Let the games begin
Oct. 5 — Phantoms
goalie Roman Cechmanek
stifles the Penguins, stopping 36 shots and outdueling Garth Snow, to lead
Philly to a 2-1 win in the
season opener at First
Union Arena. The Pens’ second campaign begins much
as the first ended.
Nothing comes easy
Oct. 6 — The Pens
score their first win with a
touch of drama. Greg Crozier breaks a tie game with
1:21 to play, giving the locals a 3-2 triumph in Philadelphia. Crozier’s game-winner comes after the
Phantoms recovered from a
2-0 deficit to tie the Penguins in the third period.
Who are these guys?
Oct. 22 — A historic
night at the arena. With
their 7-0 thrashing of Albany, the Pens record the
most lopsided win in the
franchise’s brief history.
Also, goalie Sebastien
Caron records the first shutout ever for the Pens. All
this while the Pens allow a
record-low 15 shots by the
hapless River Rats.
Oct. 27 — The Pens
start to catch steam, winning 5-4 in Albany. The win
is a team-record fourth in a
row.
Oct. 28 — The early-season milestones just keep
on coming, as the Pens
earn their first-ever share of
first place after beating the
Phantoms, 5-2.
Nov. 4 — Another 5-4
win, this one over Rochester at the arena, brings the
Pens’ winning streak to
seven games. It would end
the next night against Cincinnati in a 4-4 tie.
Nov. 19 — A 13-game
unbeaten streak (10-0-3)
comes to an end, as the
Pens lose, 4-1, to the St.
John’s Maple Leafs at the
arena.
Steel City shuttle
Dec. 6-7 — Penguins
Toby Petersen, Greg Crozier
and Billy Tibbetts are called
up by the parent Pittsburgh
Penguins, leaving the local
squad without three of its
top four point scorers.
Dec. 14 — Four Penguins — forwards Tibbetts
and Petersen and defensemen Andrew Ference and
John Slaney — are selected
to play in the AHL All-Star
Classic. Ference and Slaney
will play for the Canadian All
Stars, while Tibbetts and
Petersen get the nod for
PlanetUSA. All but Ference
are named starters. Crozier
later would be named as a
last-minute replacement.
Dec. 28 — Petersen returns to his duties with the
Penguins after his stay in
Pittsburgh. Some guy
named Mario Lemieux took
his spot on the big club.
New year, new view
Jan. 1, 2001 — The
team starts the new year
19-10-4, three points ahead
of the second-place Rochester Americans in the AHL’s
Mid-Atlantic Division.
A chapter ends
Jan. 14 — The Pittsburgh Penguins trade Slaney, a two-time All-Star and
team captain widely considered the best player in franchise history, to the Philadelphia Flyers for veteran
left wing Kevin Stevens. The
move is made on the day
that Slaney was supposed to represent
the local Pens in the
All-Star Classic’s
skills competition at
the First Union
Arena.
Also, Tibbetts is
recalled by Pittsburgh, which ships
talented rookie Milan Kraft to Wilkes- Barre/Scranton.
Jan. 15 — The
All-Star Classic quickly becomes an All-Penguins performance. Crozier had a
goal and two assists to
lead Team Canada to an
11-10 win over Planet USA.
But it was Sla
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