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It’s always the refs fault, right? Couldn’t be parents or kids who don’t know how to act, probably learned from their parents. Looking forward to seeing you out there in the stripes next season. I have coached travel for a number of years and the officiating in other towns seems way worse than what we have around here, generally speaking. There’s always exceptions, but for the most part our Pittsburgh area officials do a nice job compared to other cities.

My understanding is that players that received a match weren’t just swearing, instead used phrases such as s*** my d*** and you’re r******d. Use your imagination. If that’s true than a match is absolutely warranted for that type of conduct.

My point is match penalties shouldn't be handed out like candy. You are correct, if the player swore at the ref there can be repercussions. Usually that would be an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, 10 minute misconduct or a game misconduct. Just like in school there should be a punishment but shouldn't go directly to being expelled. That to would be ridiculous. Yes the match penalties for removing the helmet is fine as it is a rule. I just get concerned when I see so many match penalties in one game. Now if they used hateful or discriminatory language that too would require a match. A match is not something taken lightly. It shouldn't be used as a weapon. I don't know the circumstances in this game but seems like a lot of match penalties and should probably be looked into.

All the parents complaining about the players behavior? Look in the damn mirror. Monkey see monkey do. When it comes to egregious actions, the responsibility always lies with the player first. Then the parents Then the coach Then the refs/league/USA Hockey Then the courts and judicial system Parents who continue to excuse their kid's actions get exactly what they deserve.

Well if you ever met that coach then it would make sense

Refs are all independent contractors, so there are minimal consequences other than not getting assignments. Typically over a large sample size the cream rises to the top and the better officials get more games, better games, and move on to higher levels (college, junior, pro etc). If officials get a reputation for letting games get out of hand or doing a poor job, they will be used less and less from what I have seen. USA Hockey can step in and suspend officials for extreme conduct violations, but they aren’t going to get involved and punish officials for judgment. That’s just the reality of dealing with independent contractors, they are essentially their own boss.

Remember that Hateful or Discriminatory language now requires a Match. It can be a very innocuous word that teenagers may use regularly to friends and they slip and say it to an opponent or official. If heard, requires a Match. Such is the word we live in now.

For a ref to hand out a match because a teenager said something to him is absurd. The problem is that no one ever holds the refs accountable because they are afraid they will quit if they get reprimanded. So in the end you get refs who are making very good money to do a very poor job for the most part. How many other jobs out there are paying the hourly rate refs make and have zero accountability to improve, or even just do the job correctly?

That’s a great story. But, you are out of touch with how top tier youth hockey and advancement to real juniors and NCAA works these days. USAHockey is even working against you now. They are planning a a nationwide 17u league for the best teams in the country to compete in, and be recruited from. I don’t know if players in that Preds team will advance to higher levels, but they are No. 10 in the country, and playing against the best in North America. So, I’m sure that’s the aspiration. If so, high school hockey is unfortunately in the rearview. Some will regret it, some won’t. I wish things could go back to the way you describe, but the reality is the path of the tremendous players you mentioned no longer exists. You conveniently skipped mentioning a whole generation of more recent local players that are playing juniors, NCAA, and Pro that left high school hockey behind.

Top 10 ? That team will have a tough time making it out of districts without their coach who fled for greener $$$ pastures of Kool Aid in the middle of the season ? I wouldn't blame those kids for going back to their HS teams and AA Midget who are HS Friendly And kids who play High School that dont play 10 games will be ineligible for the HS playoffs ............NO Malones Bartkowskis Zeilers Umbergers Mooneys Souths Laffertys even Gergachs on that roster and those guys ALL played HS How many of those kids are going past ACHA ? If so Where ? USHL ? OHL ? NCAA D III ? D1? Or straight to NHL? We went to National Semis in Green Bay and lost to Mike Richters Prep School nephew and never missed a High School Game with excellent Midget AA Program .......we enjoyed winning Penguins Cups + Districts and a fun College Experience because I do know and have watched this BS for years and SAVED lots of Money Kool Aid ...........Free the hostages !

What is the point of being AAA independent and not declaring Tier 1? So does this mean that this 15U team technically doesn't compete for anything?

I have first hand seen a player get a match for saying "that's fucking bullshit" about a call against him. While it's certainly not the right way for a 17 year old to speak to an adult referee, handing out a match is a disgrace.

Word is spreading about this game, and after reading the comments, it raises an important question: Who would want to work in an environment where a teenager feels entitled to say whatever they want, however they want, and that behavior is considered normal? The first incident falls on the player, but the referee set the standard and held everyone accountable. Every penalty after that is on the coach and parents for failing to tell their kids to be respectful and keep quiet. We need more refs like them!

ty and a. kuqali

From what was shared over the past week or so is that the former Preds coach intended on finishing out the season with Preds, but it was higher ups in the Preds organization that fired him when they heard about the move.

I think many people would say practices are more important than games. If getting better is your goal. So missing a AAA practice for a high school game, makes sense. Also one of your "hostages" said they played too many games, and had so many injuries, but then they want to add 20 more school games on top of that, how does that make sense?

At the end of the day HS hockey here just isn't a high level. I agree that most local players should play as it's nice to represent your school and it's good socially, but for the highest level players it's a waste of time. All it's going to do is lead to bad habits developing

lol you are referring to old timers - Different times, different circumstances. Stop living in the past.

Ok where's the plan? Or is it a concept of a plan?

You think players that have been playing against teams like SSM, BK, Jr sabres, honey baked, Culver, should go back and play against Baldwin, Westmont, Richland?

If you are playing on a Top 10 team, high school hockey is not part of the equation. You wouldn’t know though!

So what were the promises you claim he made to them? Are you claiming he told these kids that they were going to the NHL? I highly doubt that. And we all know that “shared” information is often incorrect or at the very least ill informed. Just like in the past, unless you speak to people on both sides and know facts, you should probably keep your opinion to yourself. You are a very knowledgeable about youth hockey, but should stick to presenting facts and information instead of sharing stories from one side of a story.

Assuming he is looking towards next year. That U13 vengeance team is 92nd. Also congrats on being 20.

The roster is 23 players.

PA HOCKEY 2025-2026 "AAA AA & A" DIVISION RANKINGS FINAL - WEEK 12 AAA 1 SENECA VALLEY 12 0 0 24 AAA 2 PETERS TWP 10 3 1 21 AAA 3 CENTRAL CATHOLIC 7 3 2 16 AAA 4 PINE RICHLAND 6 4 2 14 AAA 5 THOMAS JEFFERSON 6 5 1 13 AAA 5 NORTH ALLEGHENY 6 3 3 15 AA 1 HEMPFIELD 12 2 0 24 AA 2 PENN TRAFFORD 11 2 0 22 AA 3 ARMSTRONG 10 2 0 20 AA 4 BETHEL PARK 7 4 1 15 AA 5 SHALER 7 6 1 15 AA 5 BISHOP MCCORT 8 6 0 16 A 1 CANON MCMILLAN 12 0 0 24 A 2 CHARTIERS VALLEY 12 0 1 25 A 3 MARS 11 0 2 24 A 4 QUAKER VALLEY 11 1 1 23 A 5 AVONWORTH 9 2 1 19 A 5 BUTLER 9 3 1 19 B 1 NESHANNOCK 10 2 0 20 B 2 RINGGOLD 10 3 0 20 B 3 KNOCH 9 3 0 18 B 4 CONNELLSVILLE 9 4 0 18 B 5 BURRELL 8 4 2 18

There you have it, the Elite prospects site is probably correct, Tomahawks site probably missing players. I didn’t think it would be possible to play at that level with only 14 skaters. Thanks.

Being able to call the team AAA without having to play actual AAA teams?