09/18/2001 - Updated 05:00 PM ET
Lemieux sent to AHL for one night only
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) This just in: Mario Lemieux is being sent to the minor leagues.
For one night, anyway.
The Pittsburgh Penguins' owner/center will suit up for the team's American Hockey League affiliate, also nicknamed the Penguins, in Wilkes-Barre at 7 p.m. Saturday in an exhibition game against the NHL's Penguins at First Union Arena.
"I'll have to ask the coach what I did wrong," Lemieux joked.
Actually, the idea was conceived months ago because both teams thought it would be a nice way to reward the minor-league team's fans, said Wilkes-Barre team president Jeff Barrett.
Entering their third season, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were third in the 20-team AHL in attendance last season, averaging 8,253 fans a game. By drawing well and advancing to the Calder Cup final they provided a financial boost to their parent club.
Lemieux was all for the idea.
"I think it's going to be exciting to see me in a different uniform," said Lemieux, who has played all 13 of his NHL seasons for the Pittsburgh Penguins. "I always wondered what it would be like to play against the Penguins. I'll have my chance on Saturday."
Lemieux has never played a minor-league game, and he likely never will again. Asked if he had done anything like this at any other training camp, he laughed and said, "No. I never owned two teams before."
Lemieux's No. 66 Wilkes-Barre jersey will be auctioned off after the game, and the proceeds will be donated to disaster relief for the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C.
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