One of my favorite minor-league arenas visited so far came from Wilkes-Barre, PA as I loved everything there during my visit to Wachovia Arena (now called Mohegan Sun Arena). My rankings of Stadium experiences even have them tied at the top with Hershey. I can’t believe its been seven years since I made the three hour trek South to see the Baby Pens play and with no new nearby facilities available for me to visit this weekend, I’ll make an eagerly anticipated return visit. Once again, Wilkes-Barre is dominating the AHL and they will take on Norfolk in Game 2 of the Calder Cup Playoffs (Round 1). With a little more stadium tripping experience under my belt, we’ll see if everything still matches up nicely with the arena. Of course, going to this game puts me in a tough spot as the Sabres are playing Game 2 at 5:00 PM. Thanks to XM, I’ll listen to Rick Jeanneret call the first and some of the second period on the way to the game. Then, I will try extremely hard to look away from any NHL score updates in the arena as I DVR the rest of the game. You might be wondering why not head to Philly and watch the Sabres in the playoffs (instead of AHL playoff hockey). Part of the reasoning is money, but its mainly because I fear walking into a Philly sporting facility wearing the jersey of the visiting team.
Stadium and Arena Visits 