Wilkes - Barre / Scranton Penguins The Wilkes - Barre / Scranton Penguins are the American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL ' s Pittsburgh Penguins . They play in Wilkes - Barre , Pennsylvania at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza . History . The Pittsburgh Penguins ' top minor league affiliate throughout the 1990s was the Cleveland Lumberjacks of the IHL . However , in the mid 1990s , the IHL began moving away from being a developmental league and more towards being a top independent minor league . For this reason , the Penguins wanted their top minor league affiliate in the AHL . The Penguins purchased the dormant Cornwall Aces AHL franchise from the Colorado Avalanche in 1996 , but left the team inactive until the 1999 – 2000 season when it was placed in Wilkes - Barre . The team is affectionately referred to as " The Baby Penguins " by fans . The WBS Pens have gone to the Calder Cup Final three times in their first eleven years of existence , most recently in 2008 by way of beating the Portland Pirates in a thrilling seven game series in the Eastern Conference finals ; the Penguins took game seven by a score of 3 - 2 after being down in the series three games to two . They went on to play the Chicago Wolves in the final , but lost the series 4 - 2 . Their mascot is Tux the penguin , who wears number # 99 in reference to the team ' s first season in 1999 . The team celebrated their 10th Anniversary Season in Wilkes - Barre / Scranton in 2008 / 2009 with the catch phrase of " Making Memories " . The team qualified for the Calder Cup Playoffs in 2009 for the seventh year in a row and attempted to make the Calder Cup Final for the third time in six years to try and win the franchise ' s first Cup . The Pens fourth drive to the Calder Cup Final came to end against the Hershey Bears in the conference semifinals . The series went to seven games with Hershey taking the final two at home by identical scores of 3 - 0 after the Pens won three in a row in Wilkes - Barre . They began their 11th season of play on October 3 , 2009 . Their slogan for this season is " Where Champions are Born " , a reference to their parent Pittsburgh Penguins , who won the 2009 Stanley Cup . In 2009 , they also spawned an affiliated junior team , the Wilkes - Barre Junior Pens , which will play at the new Ice Rink at Coal Street Park , which will also serve as a practice facility for the Penguins . The Baby Pens qualified for the Calder Cup playoffs for an eighth consecutive year in 2009 - 2010 , but bowed out early , swept in 4 games by the Albany River Rats . It was the first time in club history that the team was swept in the first round of the playoffs , thus not making it to at least the second round for the first time in club history , excluding the team ' s two non - playoff years in 2000 and 2002 . It was only the third time that the team got swept in a playoff series , first in 2003 - 2004 against the Milwaukee Admirals in the Calder Cup Final and in 2005 - 2006 against the Hershey Bears in the conference semifinals . The team is 14 - 9 in 23 playoff series all time in 11 seasons . AHL awards and trophies . < / small > Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy ( AHL regular season champions ) Frank Mathers Trophy ( Eastern Conference regular season champions from 2004 - 2011 ) Richard F . Canning Trophy ( Eastern Conference playoff champions ) F . G . " Teddy " Oke Trophy ( East Division regular season champions from 2002 - 2011 ) Robert W . Clarke Trophy ( Western Conference playoff champions ) Eddie Shore Award ( Best Defenseman ) Aldege " Baz " Bastien Memorial Award ( Best Goaltender ) Harry " Hap " Holmes Memorial Award ( Goalie ( s ) with lowest goals against avg ) Yanick Dupre Memorial Award ( AHL Man of the Year Service ) Louis A . R . Pieri Memorial Award ( Coach of the Year )