Penguins send LW Pesonen, G Curry to minors

Oct 8, 2008 - 11:58 PM PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- The Pittsburgh Penguins reached the 23-man roster limit Wednesday by assigning goaltender John Curry and left wing Janne Pesonen to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.

Both players accompanied the Penguins to Stockholm, Sweden for their season-opening, two-game series against the Ottawa Senators but did not appear in either contest.

A ninth-round pick of Anaheim in 2004, Pesonen signed a contract with Pittsburgh on July 7. The 26-year-old has spent his entire career in his native Finland, where he recorded 34 goals and 44 assists in 56 games with Karpat Oulu in 2007-08.

The 24-year-old Curry split last season between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Las Vegas and Wheeling of the ECHL. A product of Boston University, the native of Minnesota posted a 24-12-3 record with three shutouts and a 2.23 goals-against average in 40 contests with the Penguins' AHL affiliate.

Pittsburgh will be in action Saturday, when it hosts New Jersey in its home opener.