Penguins - Week 11

What a week.

The Penguins began a three-game homestand Tuesday against Edmonton, but I was tied up with Point Park’s Election Night coverage and was unable to attend the game Tuesday. Election Night was incredible. We were on the air for 5 ½ hours and produced one heckuva program. Watch the full show here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vieYXeQc4k and the behind the scenes here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwDnaA2ypKM&feature=youtu.be

I went into the office Wednesday only a few hours after going off the air to work on the credentials and media folders for Thursday’s game.

I then experienced my first regular season loss Thursday with the Penguins when they fell to the Minnesota Wild 4-2. I unsurprisingly learned that when the team looses, post game duties fly by. The coach doesn’t talk as much, the player interviews are short, and there are far fewer game notes to go over following the game.

The Penguins paid tribute to our veterans before the game and also had a moment of silence for the fallen Canonsburg police officer. A brass corps played the national anthem prior to the game and really gave me chills.

What gave me chills even more than that was the roar of the crowd following the National Anthem prior to Saturday’s game against Toronto. The crowd was pretty loud when it sang along to ‘O Canada’ and erupted after the Star Spangled Banner. Toronto scored first and it was evident that there were a lot of Maple Leafs fans in the building.

Pittsburgh wore its road white jerseys at home for the first time since game two of the 1992 Stanley Cup Final. It was a nice touch.

We were also keeping an eye on the Pitt-Clemson game, where the Panthers were about to upset the No. 2 team in the country. My boss is a huge Pitt fan, and was in a great mood after the Penguins put the final score up on the video board.

Pittsburgh scored twice in the third period, creating a tough scenario for the post game notes. It was a lot to take in and research all at once and I felt rushed with the whole job. I went back and forth between writing the notes and waiting for Leafs’ coach Mike Babcock to do his post game press conference so I could go and get his sound. I also got Babcock’s sound when he was in Pittsburgh for the World Cup of Hockey.

The Pens won 4-1 and became the fourth team in the NHL to reach the 10-win mark. I had some decent notes for post game and again contributed to our digital takeaway and note of the night graphics.

I was asked to head into the office next Thursday despite not having a home game next week. The next two weeks will be pretty slow at home, with only two games falling over Thanksgiving break (I only work Saturday, Nov. 26’s game).

We’re officially halfway done with the Penguins, as far as the games are concerned. I worked the 12th game last night between the preseason and regular season, and only have 12 more left. We also have two days to work the Three Rivers Classic at the end of December, which will be taxing, but a fun way to end the internship.

It’s been fun so far, and I hope December doesn’t fly by too quickly!