Ynot02

That’s one of the reasons why I wanted to share it. It’s one piece of the whole picture. For those who pursue Juniors and don’t get a sniff at NCAA D3, these are good options - and many are much better quality schools than you find in NCAA D3. Several points in the article are valid even for the lower divisions in ACHA and AAU. The variety of fees, possible student run/student coached, etc. Also, depending on the school, some struggle to field a team, while it can be very competitive to make any team at others. Even lower division schools “recruit” and have prospect skates. Getting in touch with the coach in advance is important. Assuming because you’ve played a decent level of hockey here in western PA is no guarantee you’ll make a team. I’ve just encountered a lot of disappointed players/families lately who didn’t have enough insight, and figured it might be a helpful topic for this board. I’m just trying to encourage others to share their insights on college club hockey to show the full picture.

As I talk with more people who expect their kid will play club hockey in college, I’m finding there are a lot of misconceptions and overall lack of knowledge. I found this recent article that really provides some good insight related to both ACHA and AAU. https://www.neutralzone.net/mens/2023/06/21/get-to-know-non-ncaa-club-college-hockey/ Not looking to debate what teams are mentioned (or not) and who’s better than who locally. There is another thread for that. The goal of this post is to educate those hoping to play club in the future. By sharing our experiences and lessons learned, let’s provide knowledge (and opinions of course!) about the landscape and where it is headed.

Yes, Friday nights create school-travel conflicts. This can be mitigated by going to a split season. School hockey will always be the lesser option in this area as long as the current model is in place.

This is a great idea. Once football season ends, Friday nights would bring more fans.

Gateway and Knoch are both co-ops. Probably wouldn’t have fared well in the Varsity D2 division, or would have records similar to Central Valley and Trinity. https://cdn1.sportngin.com/attachments/document/f211-2439663/Schools_in_a_Co-op_9-2022.docx?_gl=1*w8uh69*_ga*MTgwODA3NTk0Mi4xNjc3MjAzNzYx*_ga_PQ25JN9PJ8*MTY3NzcxMDc1Ni4xNy4xLjE2Nzc3MTA4MTYuMC4wLjA.#_ga=2.242837952.352119034.1677423514-1808075942.1677203761

“Thanks for waiving the fines PIHL. We’ll now use it to sue you…”

No, since you are requesting the exception, YOU send the email with a summary of the conversation so you have it in writing. That burden is not on the person who granted the exception.

Old thread on Team Pittsburgh:

I agree, as most of the remaining are municipal rinks. Based on their purchases to date, their gap seems to be the north. Based on the ownership Baierl seems unlikely. Frozen Pond just doesn’t seem like a good investment - the building and the property (built on that hillside) have to be a deterrent. There were previous rumors about RMU… maybe that is still a possibility?

I completely agree. So the question is why are these teams leaving? If it truly is because of playing teams in the AA bracket that don’t belong there and it’s a waste of time, PAHL needs to stop allowing teams that don’t belong in AA in that division. However I think it’s too late to fix it now. I think the trend toward larger AA divisions started about 6-7 years ago, and here we are. I remember when there were very small AA divisions - only 4-6 teams. But then you started to see 10-13 teams. AA is supposed to be for the TOP talent, but PAHL allowed it to become something else. That AA designation used to be an elite class and an accomplishment. It hasn’t been that way in years, especially at the younger age divisions.

Wow Danner, what a good friend you are blabbing personal details all over a message board. Hopefully it’s worth the chest thumping high that you’re feeling. SMH

Tier 2 doesn’t have “bids” like Tier 1. Organizations chose whether or not to declare.

Funny and ironic that it is now a church!

For Tier II the bottom division is 1A. All Pgh teams were in 3A (top division) at Nationals this year.