Pens season ticket holders thrilled to travel with the team

As Penguins players boarded their flight to Buffalo for their 2018-19 preseason opener against the Sabres at KeyBank Center on Tuesday, they noticed there were a few extra passengers on the team plane.
That's because a number of season ticket holders were given the opportunity to travel with the team, which turned out to be a fantastic experience for the lucky fans who were chosen.

"The whole experience has been great," said Ken Geiger, who has had Penguins season tickets since 1970. "Not knowing what to expect, it was really awesome to just go through the whole thing and see what the players go through on a travel day. Seeing the players and talking to the staff members, that's been really good too."
The Penguins reached out to fans who have full season ticket packages, and those who were interested entered their names into a contest.
"We're always looking for ways to give our season ticket holders great experiences as they are such a big part of our organization," said Chad Slencak, Penguins vice president of ticketing. "We want them to feel part of the team, and this idea is, in our minds, a home run. They got to go on the team plane, see how the team flies to an away game and experience that all from start to finish."

When Rich West's ticket representative called him to let him know he'd been selected, he actually didn't believe her at first.
"I thought she meant you had tickets to go to the Buffalo game," West said. "I was like okay, I don't know if I'm going to be able to make it. But when she said no, no, you don't understand, you're going to fly up, I said, I think my calendar just cleared up. I think we're good to go (laughs). So it was pretty exciting."
KeyBank Center was the fifth road arena West has been to, but traveling there was certainly a different experience than what he's used to, particularly when it came to the flight itself as it was a charter.
"The best part was we were waiting for one more person," West said. "And everybody was like, who are we waiting for? And Olli Maatta just walks on and he's like, hey guys. It's 3:13, we're ready to go (laughs). That was pretty amazing."
After landing in Buffalo, the season ticket holders filed off the plane after the players, coaches, management and team staff and took a bus to the arena, where they were treated to dinner before heading to their seats. For Geiger, the day's events still hadn't quite sunk in as the lights dimmed prior to the national anthem and puck drop.
"I'm stunned to this minute, I'm so excited," Geiger said. "I can't believe it. It's amazing."
Just last week, a number of lucky season ticket holders had Penguins players come to their homes and deliver their season tickets. This week, more season ticket holders got to go on the road with the team. Experiences like these are just some of the incredible and exciting benefits of being a Penguins season ticket holder.
"It's just so awesome that they think of the season ticket holders the way they do," Geiger said. "I volunteer for a hospital in Westmoreland County and I told this story and this lady said, well, I've got one too - and she said that Matt Murray delivered her season tickets. So it's awesome. It's just a terrific promotion."
"The staff of the Penguins, they really go above and beyond the way they treat you, the way they go after things for you," West added. "Just knowing they care about the season ticket holders, every year they have to figure out new things to do and this is a really cool experience. It's a neat thing for them to do for people."