Penguins - Week 12

The Penguins were on the road for the entire week once again, but I still had to go in on Thursday for a couple hours. They didn’t tell me ahead of time what I was needed for.

I arrived at the office Thursday and was asked by my boss to have something to write on.

“There’s going to be a lot of information,” he said.

There was a lot of information.

We went into my other boss’s office and got straight to business. He had multiple copies of press releases he’s written in the past for different player moves the Penguins have made (trades, signings, recalls, etc.) and said we were going to have press release writing drills.

He is going to give us different scenarios over the next few weeks and we will have to write a press release about the situation he describes to us.

We went over a few examples and the general format he’s looking for. We’re not looking for anything fancy, just the details. Our first assignment is to write a release announcing the Penguins have recalled top prospect Jake Guentzel.

After we finished going over press releases, the focus shifted to our biggest assignment of the year: the Three Rivers Classic. I’m really excited to dive in and give this my all.

Each of the three interns and our grad assistant are essentially in charge of the entire event. The Penguins play a home game the day before and the day after the tournament, making for a long four days – the last four days in December.

I’m going to be doing a lot of heavy lifting for the Three Rivers Classic and have been given a lot of important responsibilities.

Of the four schools attending the tournament, Boston College is the most prestigious and notable. We are each assigned a team to be the main media relations coordinator for, and I was assigned Boston College.

“We can’t mess up BC,” my boss said.

I’ll work closely with Boston College’s sports information director to coordinate player interviews and handle media credentials.

Along with being the main contact for Boston College, I’ll also write team preview stories for the Penguins website that will be published in the days leading up to the tournament. That stuff is great for my portfolio and will be a great experience.

Another important job we’re tasked with completing is selecting the All-Tournament team and the MVP of the tournament. These are honors that will stay with the players for the rest of the careers and go into their bios.

There was a lot of information to digest Thursday, but boy am I excited for the opportunity to grab this by the horns and give it my all. It should be a great time!

Just a quiet day at the office Thursday, as the team was on the road.
December is a loaded month and will be our busiest.

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!

Penguins - Week 10 ... no update

There were no home games this week as the Penguins set out for a Western road trip.

The team went 3-0-1 in its last four games, one of them being in Philadelphia, the other three out west.

I didn't have to go into the office last week, instead I stayed on campus and accomplished a lot leading up to my live election show taking place Tuesday night beginning at 8:00 p.m.

In hockey-related news, the legendary broadcaster Mike "Doc" Emrick visited Point Park Thursday. I was able to do an interview and eat lunch with him around his scheduled speaking events with students. He was such a genuine man and was very down to earth.

So I didn't have to go to work, but instead got to make an incredible connection and hear great advice from a legend. Below is a photo of the two of us.

The Penguins have a busy home schedule next week, with games on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I am off Tuesday for election night.

I promise next week's update will be more interesting!

Penguins - Week 9

The Penguins keep winning as I keep working. I have yet to experience a loss with the team after a pair of wins last week.

It’s been an entertaining and a fun first few weeks of the regular season, and last week was no different. The Pens hosted a short two-game homestand last week, facing the Florida Panthers Tuesday and the New York Islanders Thursday.

The Pens found themselves down 2-0 to Florida and came back to win 3-2 Tuesday. They won a little more decisively Thursday against the Islanders by a 4-2 final.

We’re all starting to fall into the rhythm of the games and figure out each other’s strengths and weaknesses. I’ve gotten good at accurately making the line sheets each game and having them proof read and accurate I attached a sample below.  My game notes are getting more interesting with each game, pretty much because there’s more to research and more stats now that we’re almost ten games into the season.

Sidney Crosby returned to the ice Tuesday and sparked the comeback with the Pens’ first goal of the night. I got to go to the locker room and get Crosby’s post game audio, and was the closest person to him in the media scrum off his left knee.

I love watching post game video clips of the players’ interviews in the locker room and seeing my hand with the sound recorder. It gives me a nice chuckle.

Thursday was much of the same routine for the game. We started discussing our plans to work the Three Rivers Classic, our big last project of our internship. We practically run the ship for that operation.

After the victory,  I got the sound from Patric Hornqvist and Phil Kessel in the locker room, and then ran microphones at coach Sullivan’s press conference.

The Penguins began a four game road trip Saturday night in Philadelphia and won’t be back home until election night. I’ll head to the office some time next week to work on graphics and help prepare for our next home games.

I feel like I say it every week, but I’m really getting into a rhythm with this team and am really comfortable in my position. We get better every game and will only keep raising the bar.

Penguins - Week 8

The Penguins played three games in four games last week, two of which were at home. I wasn’t able to work the first game on Monday, but did work the game Thursday night, where the Penguins overcame a 2-0 deficit in the third period to defeat the San Jose Sharks in a Stanley Cup Final rematch.

I went into the office Wednesday to prepare credentials, media folders and the line sheet for Thursday’s game.

The new media backdrop and podium setup for
the PPG Paints Arena media room

For credentials, I type the name and affiliation of all of the media members wanting to cover the game or the visiting staff and print them on labels. Those labels then go on different credentials that we have premade for ‘visiting team,’ ‘ scout,’ and ‘media.’ 

The folders have the same thing, but are for media members for the game. We put any game information in the folders the morning of the games. It’s a nice thing for them to have I guess. I also updated the player stats and information on the roster of our line sheet.

The pregame Thursday was pretty standard. I triple checked the line sheet for spelling and correct information and helped set up the press box as per the usual.

During the game I stayed up in our booth in the press box and tried to find any game notes, but was coming up empty because we were getting shut out 2-0. I made the game sheet for the next home game Tuesday against the Florida Panthers.

We watched most of the third period from our office across from the locker room and slowly watched the team’s comeback. Because they came back and won, we went from doing nothing post game to doing recap graphics, game notes and the whole nine yards.

I went to the locker room post game to interview Malkin, Fleury and Ian Cole, then went to run microphones for coach’s press conference.

I’m really starting to get in a rhythm now with the Penguins and really have have the work. The staff is great, we get along well and the team is doing decently well to start the season.

Here’s to more Penguins hockey!

Penguins - Week 7

Hockey is back in Pittsburgh!

We officially kicked off the regular season Thursday and raised the 2016 Stanley Cup Championship banner atop PPG Paints Arena.

The opening game didn't start until 8:20 and we had to get to the arena at 2:30. For a typical 7:00 game, we have to arrive between 3-3:30.

We got to the arena and began working on the line sheets that list where each player is positioned for the night. They used to design each player's name, height, weight and stats in Photoshop and placed those files in InDesign. I found the process tedious and unnecessary to photoshop.

Because we also had to change the team fonts, we made the collective decision to scrap our old method and just make the line sheets in InDesign.

I went ahead and started chipping away at the line sheets and polished them up for the game, improving the design, alignment and process.

I sat at the credential table as usual before the game and helped finalize the line sheets before they were printed.

We were handing out game notes and line sheets as the banner ceremony began. It gave me chills. The roar of the crowd, the lights, the videos, everything. It was incredible.

Then, I had to run to the printer for more line sheets mid ceremony.

I made it back just in time for the player introductions and got to see the whole ceremony.

I watched maybe 7 minutes of the actual game on the ice. The rest of my time was spent in the office between periods, running stats, or writing game notes. I loved it.

We did good work that first game and followed up with a better game Saturday.

We had better game notes Saturday and I made another new line sheet. We're also incorporating new and more graphics to our @pensprlady Twitter account.

The three interns all work very well together. I think we have a nice bunch this year.

It should be a great season and now that we have two games under our belts, there's only room to grow and improve now that we have the basics down.