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Scott Reinardy
Wednesday, February 09, 2000 Page: 3B
crease / ‘kres /n, 1: the 4-by-8-foot area in front of the goal off-limits
to offensive teams until the puck enters. 2: this column filled with inside
information about the Penguins. Stat of the Week Although the Penguins have
the worst record in the AHL, they are the fourth best in attendance this
season, averaging 7,275 fans per game. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has sold out 10
times this season and had crowds of 8,000 or more on 12 occasions. A sellout
is 8,143. Play of the Week Trailing Hershey 5-3, Steve Leach makes a pass at
the Bears’ blue line to Sven Butenschon. Butenschon cuts down the slot on a
breakaway and beats goalie David Aebischer between the pads for his 11th goal
of the season. Number Crunchers Defenseman/center John Slaney has 14 points
(six goals, eight assists) in his last 10 AHL games. Slaney, the team’s
leading scorer with 46 points (21 goals, 25 assists), is playing in
Pittsburgh. … Forward Martin Sonnenberg is second on the team in scoring
with 35 points (13 goals, 22 assists). Sonnenberg has 13 points (four goals,
nine assists) in his last 10 games. … Left wing Mark Murphy has eight points
(three goals, five assists) in his first nine Penguins games after signing a
25-game contract on Jan. 21. Murphy was leading Trenton of the ECHL with 39
points (21 goals, 18 assists) in 37 games. … Center Valentin Morozov has
recorded 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in his last 26 games. In his first
18 games this season, Morozov only had 10 points (three goals, seven assists).
… Defenseman Andrew Ference has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 15
games with the local Penguins. He had six points (two goals, four assists) in
30 games with Pittsburgh before being assigned here on Jan. 8. Also, Ference
is only one of two Wilkes-Barre/Scranton player who doesn’t have a negative
plus-minus rating. He’s at zero. Forward Steve Leach is the other player with
a plus-1, but he’s only played three games. … Defenseman Pavel Skrbek has
the worst plus-minus rating on the team at minus-27. … The Penguins are the
only team in the AHL to give up more than 200 goals so far this season. Their
208 is 20 goals more than St. John’s, the second-worst team in the AHL. …
Tom Kostopoulos is seventh among rookie scorers with 34 points (17 goals, 17
assists). Greg Crozier is ninth among rookies with 31 (14 goals, 17 assists).
… The Penguins have a six-game winless streak, dating back to an 8-4 victory
against Syracuse on Jan. 25. They’ve tied twice during the streak. Passing
the Puck Last week’s question was: Is watching professional hockey in person
what you expected? Why or why not? Erica Gillespie writes: “Absolutely, it
is amazing watching the Pens in person. We got season tickets and I really
didn’t know if I’d like it or not since I didn’t really like it on TV. But I
loved it. I’ve been to every game. I know all the players and met a few of
them and I know most of their stats. So look up in section 204 every game
you’ll see their Number 1 fan with a few signs also hangin’ up.” Pat
Crawford writes: “AHL Hockey is much more exciting than I ever thought it to
be. Haven’t missed a home game yet, and have also been to a few away games.
All of the people I’ve spoken to in the stands are already die-hard fans, and
have been since opening day.” This week’s question: At this point, what
would be considered a successful season for the Penguins? You can respond to
Scott Reinardy at 831-7342 or online at sreinardy@leader.net.