Black and Gold game returns to Wilkes Barre

WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON – On Monday, September 19, Pittsburgh and

Wilkes Barre Penguins fans were treated to a rare event when the Black and Gold game returned to the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.   The inaugural event, held in September 2009, was the first head-to-head meeting of Captain Sydney Crosby and Alternate Evgeni Malkin.      Now, two years later, the intrasquad game has returned.  
 
Playing to a near sell-out crowd, fans got to see Malkin and the Gold team take on Jordan Staal and the Black team.   The Gold team ended up beating the Black team with a score of 3-2, with both Malkin and Staal each scoring a pair of goals.   The other goal on the Team Malkin was scored by defenseman, Paul Martin, in the first period.   One player that people were looking forward to seeing, but did not play, was Captain Sidney Crosby.   He is still not cleared for contact after a concussion shortened his 2010-2011 season.   He was in the building with Coach Dan Bylsma and watched from one of the luxury boxes on the third level.  
 
With a fast pace and a modicum of physical play, the game was a pretty good facsimile of what you would expect to see in any NHL exhibition game.   And that is the way the game was treated by Bylsma, the coaching staff, and front office members that were watching.   It made for an important game for prospects, as well as those who have already earned their spot on the Pittsburgh roster.  
 
Ray Shero, the general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins, said the Black and Gold game is played in Wilkes Barre as a special thank you to the fans who continue to buy tickets to support the Penguins developmental organization with Wilkes Barre.   Without the fans, there couldn’t be a team,and he is very appreciative of the support they have received in the last 12 seasons.   Many of the current players have never played in Wilkes Barre, but Shero wants all the players to have an idea of where it is located, what the rink is like, and what the fanbase is like.   That he and the rest of the organization is proud of Wilkes Barre.  
 
After an exciting exhibition game, we know it’s sure to be an exciting season.   The Wilkes Barre-Scranton Penguins will begin their regular season at home on Saturday, October 8^th, at 7:05, against the team’s long-time rivals, the Hershey Bears.  
 
Team Black
Forwards:  Chris Kunitz – Jordan Staal – Jason Williams , Matt Cooke – Richard Park – Tyler Kennedy , Eric Tangradi – Bryan Lerg – Nick Johnson , Steve MacIntyre – Ryan Craig – Paul Thompson
Defensemen: Deryk Engelland , Scott Harrington , Zbynek Michalek , Matt Niskanen , Carl Sneep , Brian Strait
Goalies: Marc-Andre Fleury and Brad Thiessen
 
Team Gold
Forwards: James Neal – Evgeni Malkin – Steve Sullivan , Pascal Dupuis – Mark Letestu – Colin McDonald , Brian Gibbons – Zach Sill – Keven Veilleux , Tom Kuhnhackl – Joe Vitale – Geoff Walker
Defensemen: Simon Despres , Kris Letang , Ben Lovejoy , Paul Martin , Joe Morrow, Alexandre Picard, Philip Samuelsson
Goalies: Brent Johnson and Scott Munroe Contact the author at Comment@prohockeynews.com Photos by Matthew.Osterstrom@prohockeynews.com