Lemieux to skate again in alumni game

[SCMom]

Lemieux to skate again in alumni game
Friday, December 10, 2010
By Shelly Anderson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Mario Lemieux wil return to the ice in a Penguins uniform as part of the activities surrounding the Winter Classic -- but not as an active member of the team.

Lemieux, the Hall of Fame center and team co-owner, will join fellow former stars such as Paul Coffey, Ron Francis, Bryan Trottier and Bill Guerin in a Dec. 31 alumni game against former Washington Capitals on the outdoor rink at Heinz Field.

The Penguins and Capitals will meet Jan. 1 in the Winter Classic on the Steelers' field.

The alumni game will be played at 9:30 a.m., followed by a Penguins practice at 11:30 a.m. on the outdoor rink. Tickets to both events, $25, will be available Dec. 17 at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000. Seating capacity that day is 10,000.

Among the Washington alumni will be Peter Bondra. Full rosters are yet to be announced.

The Capitals will practice following the Penguins, but that session is not open to the public.

"We all grew up playing on outdoor rinks, so we're really looking forward to having this chance to skate on the Winter Classic rink at Heinz Field," Lemieux said in a statement. "There is so much history between the Penguins and Capitals and it will be good to get together and see friends on both benches."

Shelly Anderson: shanderson@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1721.


Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10344...#ixzz17kFL5xy2

[SCMom]

Rosters announced for Winter Classic alumni game
By Rob Rossi, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, December 17, 2010
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt...rce=rss&feed=8

• Five Hall of Famers will represent the Penguins in an alumni game against the Washington Capitals on Dec. 31 at the Winter Classic rink at Heinz Field. The Penguins squad will feature many recognizable names, from former coach and general manager Eddie Johnston behind the bench to popular power forward Kevin Stevens leading a cast of 1991 and '92 Stanley Cup teammates. The squad will be led by Hall of Famers Mario Lemieux, Paul Coffey, Ron Francis, Bryan Trottier and Larry Murphy -- all members of the first championship team in franchise history. A Capitals squad will be led by Peter Bondra, a 500-goal scorer. Tickets cost $25 and go on sale at 10 a.m. today. Only 10,000 are available. Purchases can be made at ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000.

• Rock band Styx is scheduled to perform "Renegade" during the Winter Classic on New Year's Day. The song has been a tradition at Steelers home games for several seasons. NFL Films recently produced a special on the Styx-Steelers connection.

• Center Dustin Jeffrey was reassigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL on Thursday. Recalled last Friday, Jeffrey scored a goal and recorded an assist in a win Saturday at Buffalo.

• The combination of the Penguins' winning streak (then 12 games) and a "Commonwealth Cold War" meeting between the NHL's top teams produced big ratings for Versus. The broadcast of Tuesday's game between the Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers was watched on average by 750,000 viewers, with a peak of nearly 1 million between 9:15 and 9:30 p.m., according to the network. It was the most watched regular-season game on cable since December 2003, when games were broadcast on ESPN. The game drew an 11.2 household rating locally, up 50 percent from last season's average of a Penguins regular-season game on Versus.

[SCMom]

The alumni game WILL end up being streamed somewhere...on the Pens site. I'm very happy about this, I was pretty ticked when I found out it wouldn't be televised anywhere. Here's the link though.

Final Rosters Set For Pens-Caps Alumni Game
Mario Lemieux Returns to the Ice
Thursday, 12.30.2010 / 10:15 AM / 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic

Watch the Alumni Game live online at
www.pittsburghpenguins.com! The alumni game will be the first official event on the Winter Classic rink at Heinz Field.


Final rosters have been set for the Penguins-Capitals alumni game Friday at 9:30 a.m. at Heinz Field – featuring the return to the ice of Penguins great Mario Lemieux.

In addition to Lemieux, the Penguins’ alumni roster includes Hockey Hall of Famers Paul Coffey, Ron Francis, Larry Murphy and Bryan Trottier, in addition to Rod Buskas, Gary Roberts, Greg Malone, Bob Errey, Billy Guerin, Jay Caufield, Craig Simpson, Francois Leroux, Gary Rissling, Troy Loney, Kevin Stevens, Gilles Meloche, Phil Bourque, Dave Hannan, Peter Taglianetti, Warren Young, Frank Pietrangelo, Rob Brown and Rick Tocchet. Coaches will be Eddie Johnston, Randy Hillier and Pierre Larouche. Honorary GM is Jack Riley.

500-goal scorer Peter Bondra leads the Caps’ alumni roster, which also includes Dino Ciccarelli, Michal Pivonka, Sylvain Cote, Don Beaupre, Pat Ribble, Ken Sabourin, Yvon Labre, Mark Lofthouse, Nick Kypreos, Alan Hanglesben, Dean Evason, Errol Rausse, Alan May, Craig Laughlin, John Druce, Dennis Maruk, Greg Adams, Blair Stewart, Gord Lane, Robert Picard, Paul Mulvey and J.R. Reich. Coaches will be Granny Grant, Joe Reekie and Bucky Gallagher.

The alumni game is sold out. Fans with tickets may also attend the Pittsburgh Penguins’ practice session Friday at 11:30 a.m.

The 2011 NHL Bridgestone Winter Classic between the Penguins and Capitals will be played Saturday at 1 p.m. at Heinz Field.

http://penguins.nhl.com/club/news.ht...id=DL|PIT|home