Wednesday's Penguins Newswire

The Pittsburgh Penguins and ImaginePittsburgh.com are teaming up to fill CONSOL Energy Center with students from throughout western Pennsylvania when the Pens take on the Columbus Blue Jackets in a pre-season game Saturday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m.

And the tickets for the students will be … free.

“The young people of this region are such an important part of our fan base – and such a key to our future – that we thought the perfect way to say thank you was to create a ‘free’ game for students,” Penguins CEO David Morehouse said. “We normally play two pre-season home games each season, but we added a third game this year just for this special promotion. For many of these young people, it will be their first chance to see the new arena.

“Thanks to Penguins ownership and ImaginePittsburgh.com, we’ll be able to provide all of these tickets for free. It will make for a unique atmosphere, and I think our players and coaches will enjoy it.”

The Penguins’ “Ultimate Home Game,” presented by ImaginePittsburgh.com, is designed to create a “sellout” crowd featuring young people aged 4-24 -- ranging from Pens’ Kids Club members, youth hockey players to college undergraduates.

ImaginePittsburgh.com will distribute more than 8,000 of the tickets with a specific focus on alerting students from participating post-secondary schools to the growing job opportunities in the Pittsburgh area. Students who are 18 and older may register for a free drawing for those tickets at ImaginePittsburgh.com, STARTING THURSDAY AT 9 a.m. The website’s theme is “Pittsburgh: Imagine What You Can Do Here.”

“We want young people to imagine a bright future in our region. We’ve got jobs and more are on the way,” said Randy Dearth, President and CEO of LANXESS Corporation and chair of the Workplace Committee of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, which developed and manages ImaginePittsburgh.com. “Thanks to the Ultimate Home Game and our partnership with the Penguins and more than 50 colleges and universities across our region, we’ll be able to let them know that ImaginePittsburgh.com is their gateway to opportunity for exciting careers across our region.”

The Ultimate Home Game will launch a season-long partnership between Imagine Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Penguins to make young people aware of emerging career opportunities in the region.

The Penguins will distribute thousands of other tickets for the game to local youth hockey associations, as well as donate tickets to the Tickets For Kids Foundation.

Morehouse thanked ImaginePittsburgh.com, the Allegheny Conference and business partners LANXESS Corporation, PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, U. S. Steel Corporation, PITT OHIO EXPRESS, Bayer Corporation, Calgon Carbon Corporation and Campos Inc. for their contributions in making the “Ultimate Home Game” program possible.

“It says a lot for the Pittsburgh region that the Allegheny Conference and so many local businesses stepped forward to participate in this one-of-a-kind event highlighting our young people,” Morehouse said.

The Sept. 25 game vs. Columbus will be the second of the Penguins’ three home pre-season games at CONSOL Energy Center. The Pens open their home pre-season schedule on Wednesday, Sept. 22 against the Detroit Red Wings and then will host the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, Sept. 28.

OTTAWA—Her Excellency the Right Honorable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, will preside over an Order of Canada Investiture Ceremony at Rideau Hall, on Friday, September 3. The Governor General, will bestow the prestigious honor of officer to Mario Lemieux.

The Order of Canada was created in 1967, during Canada’s centennial year, to recognize a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation. Since its creation, more than 5,000 people from all sectors of society have been invested into the Order.

Lemieux received the Order of Quebec in June of 2009.