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7/2/2009 3:33 AM

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By Zachary Taylor, Staff writer

newsroom@observer-reporter.com

CANONSBURG - When Consol Energy Inc. purchased the naming rights to the new Penguins arena in September, members of the team made a stop at company headquarters in Southpointe to graciously sign autographs, shake hands and say thanks.

The team also made a promise to send the Stanley Cup to Consol following a successful playoff run.

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Nine months later, the Penguins made good on their promise, and Wednesday a white-gloved representative from the Hockey Hall of Fame placed the trophy on an official NHL pedestal in the Consol lobby, allowing any employee to have a photo taken with Lord Stanley's cup.

"It's just amazing to have the opportunity to see it, to touch it, to smell it," said Kim Raeder, one of the 300-plus Consol employees who packed the main lobby to pose with the cup.

Raeder said she screamed when a co-worker called her at home to tell her the cup was going to be at Consol.

Employees were allowed to stand next to, touch and even kiss the cup as a photographer took pictures.

"To be able to have had it here for a couple of hours is pretty special," said Tom Hoffman, Consol's vice president of external affairs.

The cup arrived at Consol at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, escorted by official cup "keeper" Mike Bolt, who said that following Stanley's stay at Consol, each member of the Penguins will get to spend 24 hours with the cup. During that 24 hours, the player can take the cup anywhere and show it to anyone.

Bolt said after the cup makes a few more stops in Pittsburgh, he will escort it to Ontario, Canada, where forward Tyler Kennedy will be the first player to take it for his 24 hours.

In addition to traveling across the United States and Canada to visit the team's North American players, Bolt said the cup is also expected to visit Petr Sykora in the Czech Republic, Miroslav Satan in Slovakia and Evgeni Malkin in Russia.

But wherever he goes with the cup, Bolt makes sure he handles it with the trademark white gloves.

"It's a sign of respect," he said, explaining that the cup ultimately belongs to the players and the fans, and that as an NHL official, handling the cup with bare hands would be a breach of tradition.

The fans appreciate the gloves too.

"People just love the gloves," Bolt said.

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