Fink calls out sparse Penguins playoff crowds in conference final
An Eastern Conference Final team played before fewer than 3,500 fans in Game 1, a jarring sight in an 8,300-seat building.
Mike Fink put the spotlight on the most uncomfortable number in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s run to the Eastern Conference Final: the crowd. The Penguins reached the conference finals for the first time since 2014, but Game 1 at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza drew fewer than 3,500 fans, and Game 2 brought just over 5,000 into the 8,300-seat building.
That split screen says plenty about the market and the moment. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton hosted the first two games of the best-of-seven series against the Toronto Marlies on Wednesday, May 27, and Friday, May 29, yet the building never came close to a full playoff feel for a stage this big. Midweek scheduling clearly played a role in a league that leans heavily on weekend crowds, but the numbers still underscored how hard it remains for an AHL club to turn a conference final into a true event night after night.
The Penguins have been the primary tenant at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza since 1999, and that long runway has not always translated into a packed postseason identity. This was supposed to be the kind of spring that helps a franchise deepen its regional hold, especially with a rare trip back to the conference final after back-to-back appearances in 2013 and 2014. Instead, the turnout showed the gap between on-ice success and market reach.
The attendance issue also hits the bottom line. A half-empty playoff building means less urgency in the bowl, less revenue from tickets and concessions, and a weaker showcase for one of the league’s biggest stages. It also affects optics for the AHL itself. Playoff hockey is the product the league wants to sell as high-stakes, fast, and intense, but sparse crowds can flatten the atmosphere even when the hockey delivers.
The series did deliver. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton opened with a 4-2 loss to the Marlies, then dropped Game 2, 2-1 in overtime, before bouncing back with a 5-3 win in Toronto on June 1. The on-ice drama was worthy of the round; the crowd sizes at home were not.
Fink’s notebook also turned to assistant coaches to watch and to TJ Hughes as a difference-maker for the Colorado Eagles in the Calder Cup playoffs. But the louder story in Wilkes-Barre was the one in the seats: a conference final team still searching for the kind of attendance that matches its place in the bracket.
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