Penguins 2009-2010

[slacker76 3]

Didn't see another Penguins topic started so here goes.

1. What does everyone think of the Pens so far this season: changes made and if the team will make the playoffs and how far they'll go.

2. Thoughts on the new Consol Energy Center and memories of Civic / Mellon Arena during its last year.

[Chadd 916]

2. Thoughts on the new Consol Energy Center and memories of Civic / Mellon Arena during its last year.

They can't tear down that dump fast enough, though the low hanging section at the end are some of my favorite seats in any arena.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

I would think most teams would kill to have Cooke-Staal-Kennedy as a third line. 9 goals already.

Apart from that (insert caps fans hates the pens comment here) :)

[ReggieDunlop 3]

Just curious what happened to the Pens message board?

[camhockey16 5]

gonchar's hand being broken might put a damper on things a little bit - he's out for a month at least

[RiSeOnFiRe 0]

gonchar's hand being broken might put a damper on things a little bit - he's out for a month at least

Its actually his foot. and He's out for up to 6 weeks. Guess i gotta pickup letang or goligowski.

Edit: I'm a liar, its his wrist.

[Trooper 8]

Gonchar shouldn't hurt them too much, not the way Goligosky, Letang, and the rest of the D are playing. Their success is due to the 3rd and 4th lines, that won't change with Gonchar out.

[RiSeOnFiRe 0]

But their PP WILL take a hit regardless. Their other Dmen can obviously keep them afloat, but expect their PP conversions to drop.

[english15x 3]

2. Thoughts on the new Consol Energy Center and memories of Civic / Mellon Arena during its last year.

They can't tear down that dump fast enough, though the low hanging section at the end are some of my favorite seats in any arena.

how can you call that place a dump. its legendary. everytime i go there it gets better and better.

[Chadd 916]

2. Thoughts on the new Consol Energy Center and memories of Civic / Mellon Arena during its last year.

They can't tear down that dump fast enough, though the low hanging section at the end are some of my favorite seats in any arena.

how can you call that place a dump. its legendary. everytime i go there it gets better and better.

I've been there a dozen time. It's cramped, smelly and a pain in the ass to get upstairs depending on where your seats are. Also some of the most obnoxious sports fans I've ever seen, and I've been to Eagles games.

[english15x 3]

2. Thoughts on the new Consol Energy Center and memories of Civic / Mellon Arena during its last year.

They can't tear down that dump fast enough, though the low hanging section at the end are some of my favorite seats in any arena.

how can you call that place a dump. its legendary. everytime i go there it gets better and better.

I've been there a dozen time. It's cramped, smelly and a pain in the ass to get upstairs depending on where your seats are. Also some of the most obnoxious sports fans I've ever seen, and I've been to Eagles games.

haha. well i enjoy it very much. the new center will just feel so weird. and the fans? .. well i cant say much about that.

[slacker76 3]

how can you call that place a dump. its legendary. everytime i go there it gets better and better.

I've been there a dozen time. It's cramped, smelly and a pain in the ass to get upstairs depending on where your seats are. Also some of the most obnoxious sports fans I've ever seen, and I've been to Eagles games.

I love the Igloo. Though the facilities are antiquated. The layout isn't great. Though the view is pretty good from most of the seats. What makes the Igloo great are the cast of characters that you'll see at a game. Gotta love the "CottonCandy Guy" and TC. As for the fans. Pittsburgh fans are a little rough now doubt. I've gone to NHL games in away venues wearing Pens stuff and didn't take nearly the abuse that I see Flyers and Caps fans take when they come to town. But to say Pittsburghers are worse than Philly is a stretch. Remember they booed Santa Clause!!!

As for the new building. I'm definately excited because it should be an awesome facility. The only thing I don't agree with in the new construction is that it will only seat 18,087 for hockey. They should have built it for 20,000. The season ticket waiting list is well over 3,000 people deep.

[WSjo22 1]

As for the new building. I'm definately excited because it should be an awesome facility. The only thing I don't agree with in the new construction is that it will only seat 18,087 for hockey. They should have built it for 20,000. The season ticket waiting list is well over 3,000 people deep.

supply and demand my friend, if they go to 20,000 thats gonna reduce demand for each game which will bring down ticket prices

[Chadd 916]

I've gone to NHL games in away venues wearing Pens stuff and didn't take nearly the abuse that I see Flyers and Caps fans take when they come to town. But to say Pittsburghers are worse than Philly is a stretch. Remember they booed Santa Clause!!!

As for the new building. I'm definately excited because it should be an awesome facility. The only thing I don't agree with in the new construction is that it will only seat 18,087 for hockey. They should have built it for 20,000. The season ticket waiting list is well over 3,000 people deep.

I've watched Pens fans boo Gretzky and cheer for an opposing player (John Leclair) being injured, that is pretty much equal to the santa claus and Michael Irvin incidents that the Eagles fans get hammered for. I was in the igloo for those acts and saw them with my own eyes. The fans were great there when the team sucked, those were the true hockey fans in Pittsburgh and it was a great environment. When teh team does well though, the assholes come out of the woodwork. I watched a drunk guy screaming at a guy in another jersey for 20 minutes while the ushers just stood there and laughed. I've been in a dozen or so arenas and they are the worst that I have experienced, others may have different experiences.

[WSjo22 1]

I'm a die hard penguins fan..... I'm at a playoff game vs. the Canes in a Pens jersey with my buddy whos mom works for Compuware so he's obviously a Canes fan so he's in a Staal Canes jersey, so retard 25-30yr old night shift McDonalds manager that still lives in mommy's basement comes up to me with his buddy and tries to start a fight with me and my buddy because "I'm hanging out with the enemy". I had a few choice words with him which included me commenting on the penguins tennis shoes he had on and me telling him that I'd fight him but his life clearly sucks enough as it is and I didn't want to beat the dead horse..... Moral of the story is Chadd is right, I've seen less retards at a special olympics event than at a Pens home game.

[dsjunior1388 81]

I'm a die hard penguins fan..... I'm at a playoff game vs. the Canes in a Pens jersey with my buddy whos mom works for Compuware so he's obviously a Canes fan so he's in a Staal Canes jersey, so retard 25-30yr old night shift McDonalds manager that still lives in mommy's basement comes up to me with his buddy and tries to start a fight with me and my buddy because "I'm hanging out with the enemy". I had a few choice words with him which included me commenting on the penguins tennis shoes he had on and me telling him that I'd fight him but his life clearly sucks enough as it is and I didn't want to beat the dead horse..... Moral of the story is Chadd is right, I've seen less retards at a special olympics event than at a Pens home game.

Wow, Ive seen plenty of good natured sarcasm over being with a fan of the opposite team, but never someone actually wanting to fight. that's just sad.

[WSjo22 1]

yea but you have to notice the point of the grown ass man wearing velcro penguins shoes with a pens logo temporary tattoo on his face, clearly this guy wasn't a rhodes scholar

[english15x 3]

yea but you have to notice the point of the grown ass man wearing velcro penguins shoes with a pens logo temporary tattoo on his face, clearly this guy wasn't a rhodes scholar

:lol:

haha. and about chad saying the assholes come out of the woodwork. jesus lord do i wish sometimes we were the worst team in the league so i didn't have to put up with so much fair weather bullshit. people are redonkulous.

[slacker76 3]

As for the new building. I'm definately excited because it should be an awesome facility. The only thing I don't agree with in the new construction is that it will only seat 18,087 for hockey. They should have built it for 20,000. The season ticket waiting list is well over 3,000 people deep.

supply and demand my friend, if they go to 20,000 thats gonna reduce demand for each game which will bring down ticket prices

I think in the Pittsburgh market you will always be able to sell the tix a certain price point. I wish the new arena would have seated more. During the Stanley Cup Finals, it was easier to get seats in Detroit, than in Pittsburgh. People I know where paying 2 to 3 times the face value of tix to get in the door. That I always thought was a little crazy. Though one thing that was nice is that I received a letter from the Pens stating that they will not be using the personal seat licensing (PSL) fees for the new arena for the season ticket holders. The Penguins definately appreciate their fans and especially the season tix holders.

As for the people that come to the games. Unfortunately there are a ton of "fans" that come out of the wood work who I can do without. I assume that the majority of these hilljacks come from south of the City a little too close to West Virginia. Though overall everyone's personal experiences are different.

One of the best NHL experiences I've had was at Joe Louis Arena in 2008 Stanley Cup Final game 1. I started by pregaming at the Anchor Bar on Fort Street. There I hung out with Steve Latin and I got to hear some great hockey stories from the old Pens EQM. Me and my cousin were the only guys in the place wearing black and gold and everyone was awesome, buying us beers and shots. I also met two guys who were ushers at the Joe who were also "pregaming". They were great. When I got to the Joe I met up with them again, and they gave us a little tour of the building before the start of the game. Showing us all the history and of course showing me where Gordie Howe sits to watch the games. Great night overall( even though the Pens lost game one), everyone was really cool and had a great time. Fast forward to game 1 Stanley Cup Finals 2009. Again pregamed at the Anchor. Always an awesome time. Then off to the Joe where we drank outside with Tyler Kennedys Dad and brother outside the Gordie Howe entrance. In the first intermission I went to restroom where a drunk RedWing fan attempted to pick a fight with me declaring that I had to go to the end of the line because I was a Pens fan. The little drunk yard gnome wearing the wings jersey told me "he knew people hear and would get me thrown out of the rink". I wanted nothing more than to crush the tiny little drunk man but feared getting kicked out of the arena after driving 3.5hrs to watch a finals game. Definately soured the evening as I was pissed off all night. After the Pens lost the game I looked everywhere for the little fella but alas couldn't find him. Two trips to the same venue during the same time of year and two totally different experiences.

[Chadd 916]

I think in the Pittsburgh market you will always be able to sell the tix a certain price point.

It wasn't very long ago when they were struggling to get 10,000 people in the building and that's when the E section was $30 (now $65) and the Igloo seats were $100 (now $185). Pittsburgh fans will show up as long as the team is winning, it is not a market that will thrive under all conditions.

[phunky_monkey 6]

So Gonchar has a broken wrist? No good! Though I'm glad they have Letang and Goligoski to pick up the slack while he's gone, but that's a big blow in my opinion.

Great game against the Blues, they were really dominant. Hopefully they can keep it up.

[camhockey16 5]

i would hope that when they get the new arena then could sell it out no matter if the team is good or bad - but there is no way of telling

[Chadd 916]

i would hope that when they get the new arena then could sell it out no matter if the team is good or bad - but there is no way of telling

Just like the New stadium helped the Pirates sell out?

[camhockey16 5]

i think everyone has given up on the pirates frankly - but they did have decent attendance the first few years the stadium opened - it didn't hurt them

[english15x 3]

i think everyone has given up on the pirates frankly - but they did have decent attendance the first few years the stadium opened - it didn't hurt them

yeah of course people will go just to see it and eat in the restaurants there but pirates are such a dead franchise right now. they have been losing for too many years.