Western Pennsylvania Youth Hockey

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Hello all- It has been a while since I dropped an update but being that it's been a beautiful week, I felt it was time to update the community. #1. @Pa Hockey I have had productive discussions with @Pa Hockey and as a result I have decided to welcome him back. Due to a few events in my personal life I have re-evaluated things and decided that I am ok with @Pa Hockey posting tournaments. After taking time to digest this all, I extended an olive branch to @Pa Hockey and invited him back as I think his informative posts/rankings/and his own "takes" are more valuable than not having him on board. At the end of the day, I am for as many kids participatin…

PA HOCKEY 2026-2027 "AAA AA & A" DIVISION RANKINGS FINAL - PRE SEASON AAA 1 SENECA VALLEY AAA 2 PINE RICHLAND AAA 3 PETERS TWP AAA 4 NORTH ALLEGHENY AAA 5 CENTRAL CATHOLIC AA 1 MARS AA 2 FOX CHAPEL AA 3 FRANKLIN REGIONAL AA 4 CANON MCMILLAN AA 5 BETHEL PARK A 1 QUAKER VALLEY A 2 BUTLER A 3 NORTH CATHOLIC A 4 PLUM A 5 AVONWORTH A 5 BISHOP MCCORT B 1 RINGGOLD B 2 NESHANNOCK B 3 BURRELL B 4 CONNELLSVILLE B 5 HAMPTON

There’s been some buzz that a USHL team could be coming to Pittsburgh, with the Lemieux Sports Complex potentially playing a role in the plans. Nothing has been officially confirmed yet, but the idea of bringing USHL hockey to the Pittsburgh area would definitely be something to watch. Could Pittsburgh be the next USHL market?

Tonight at S & T bank arena the IUP hockey Club will honor a true legend in hockey in the state of Pennsylvania as my friend Sam Kelly will be the first inductee into into the Hall of Fame. Whether it was IUP Indiana High School Youth Hockey the Keystone Games or Life I always considered Sam a builder of programs and was very fortunate to call him a friend. Please join us in Indiana at the House of King Samuel at a little after 6 PM for this great celebration of a good person to all

Having had bad experiences with Hershey Labor Day tournaments in the past, I look to see if they have gotten any better at placements. Doesn't look like it. Results are at: HERSHEY LABOR DAY SCHEDULE 2026 - Google Sheets One 12U A division team from Hershey, lost their four games with scores of: 20-0; 20-0; 10-0; and 14-0. That's a real shame that the people running that won't make changes mid-tournament. Maybe that team was comped their entry, but that's a miniscule consolation. Doesn't do much for the other teams playing them either.. Local teams saw some success. An Arctic Foxes team won the 18UA; a South Pittsburgh team won the Bantam A; and Beaver County team won …

Saw a post on facebook Kirk nevin was flooded.

With a new season upon us I'm surprised it's been so quiet on here.

Several Changes in the PIHL Alignment 2026-2027 - Please confirm Latrobe - Moves up to AAA Penn Trafford - Moves up to AAA Franklin Regional - Moves down to AA Fox Chapel - Moves down to AA Canon McMillan - Moves up to AA Moon - Moves up to AA Chartiers Valley - Moves up to AA Baldwin - Moves Down to A Bishop McCort - Moves Down to A Wheeling Park - Moves Down to A

Now that my son is done I’ve been wanting to say this for years while he was part of the program. I debated posting this hopefully this helps kids in the future or can inspire change. The school has its flaws but as a school it’s pretty good value due to the cost. Hockey, not so much. Just seeing some socials about their recent camp finally got me off my butt to write this my son was the one of the lucky ones he was part of the click played with some of these guys in youth friends with some but I do feel bad for some of the other kids that go play there. Yes, my kid benefited let’s get that out of the way. It all started to go downhill when slippery roc…

Pa Hockey Foundation Events 2026 - 2027 Season B = 4-15-26 - OFFICIAL INVITE Letter of Interest’ C= 4-30-26 - The Deposit of $ 750 to the Pa Hockey Foundation DUE May 15th 2026. D = 8-15-26 - TOURNAMENT PACKAGES MAILED BY PAHF E = 10-1-26 - Registration Deadline for ROSTERS + WAIVERS (ND) + FINAL PAYMENT DUE Invites are ATTACHED for 2026-27 Governors Cup Events - Deposits are required to Secure your spot for EACH Team Ohio - Pennsylvania - Challenge (12 Team) Limit - All Levels Cleveland Dec 18-20-2026 - Brunswick (Strongsville) 2025 Champions - Padua Ohio Pittsburgh Dec 27-29 2026 - Alpha Ice Complex - VAR/JV 2025 Champions - Thomas Jefferson VAR and Seneca Valle…

This past weekend there was not one, but two bench clearing brawls. Nine year-olds. This is learned behavior, and should make everyone feel ill. https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1BMjmKd6Wm/?mibextid=wwXIfr https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1GVv9q99wR/?mibextid=wwXIfr

The meeting minutes from the PAHL meetings provide some insight into the initiatives and trends capturing the attention of the league administrators and member organizations. The 2026 annual meeting was held on May 3. The minutes are at: Draft Minutes Some of interesting notes are: --The 2026/2027 season will still have the same number of games, but the season will end a earlier for most age-groups. Whereas the 2025/2026 regular season ended on 2/15 for girls, 3/1 for 12U-18U coed, and 3/8 for 8U-10U, the season will now end on 2/21 for 12U-19U coed and girls, and 2/28 for 8U-10U. This cuts a little over a week out of the season, but teams will have to play the same numbe…

In the conversation about the Vengeance, it got me thinking about the nonprofit status for most of the local hockey associations. Since their information is publicly available, I did a little digging to compare their revenue/expense numbers using the ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer with their most recently reported year (most of these are from 2024 or 2025). Just wanted to share this with everyone. Not an exhaustive list, but interesting to compare. TEAM ORGANIZATION NAME REVENUE EXPENSES Pittsburgh Penguins Elite Pittsburgh Penguins Elite Amateur Hockey $3,297,413 $…

It looks like USA Hockey will be moving forward with it's new Development League starting next season. I would assume the Pens Elite will be part of this, as no other Tier I teams in the area seem to fit the criteria. It looks like they won't be able to compete at the 16U level at Nationals though, so maybe the other area Tier I teams will benefit at the 16U level now. "The USA Hockey Development League is being designed to work in cooperation with Tier I hockey, not to replace it. The current Tier I structure consists of 13O, 14U, 15O, 16U, and 18U age groups. The USA Hockey Development League is intended to have two age categories, 15U (consisting of 14- and 15-y…

If you haven't seen this yet, it does appear that the recent publicity/pressure on the Black Bear Group and their wonderful CEO, here is the latest news. Great News for all of youth hockey that these folks are being exposed publicly and forced to try to explain the rationale. But it got me thinking about what happened to all of those BB Cheerleaders lauding what they do and how well they run everything, where are they now? https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2026/05/07/lord-of-the-rinks-black-bear-youth-hockey/89503875007/

I do not think this is against forum rules as all player would be adults and it should be public knowledge. ************I don't want to bash any of the orgs, just a simple list of players.*************** Let's start list of local players that have gone on to play NCAA D1, D3, or any level of Professional hockey. List Male or Female just to be fair. If you know their path out of Western PA list that also. I suspect that if some of us old timers can jog out memories the results might be a bit interesting.

Dorsey has lost all control of that organization. Tryouts were complete and utter joke! Half of the players quit the U18 team and now it’s made up of mostly West Allegheny kids. A lot of them 2002‘s. I’ll be surprised if they win a fifth of their games. The U16 team is also very weak. The coach cut most of the good players. Why, who knows. “Vengeance Coaches & Friends.” The 2004 is now stealing a goalie from the renegades top bantam team. Didn’t want him at tryouts, but wants him now. Biggest joke in Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Vengeance.

What 16U AA teams are going National Bound this season and when are tryouts?

Has anyone heard any news coming out of the "AAA" tryouts that just finished at the beginning of the week? I heard a rumor that SHAHA did not get enough of a turnout and will NOT be fielding an 18U AAA team this season.

Congrats to the Armstrong Arrows u 18 and Southpointe Rebellion u 14 and good luck to two High School friendly organizations in National QF

Pete Shaffalo, who many of you may know, passed away over the weekend. He was a member of the 1987 state champion USC team and has coached many teams in the area as well as managing and working at local hockey stores. Gofundme below is mostly just for information - there will be tons of donations, so don't feel obligated to make a donation. https://gofund.me/446e18f8a

If your teams or organization is looking for a business that provides medical services on or off the ice, please contact me. Howard Halle MEDIX LLC 4122873215 or howardhalle@comcast.net