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.

May I ask why high level playing experience matters? I’m honestly just curious.

PIHL could have - SHOULD HAVE - made the game a forfeit and the future Mars/Armstrong game a forfeit. It’s completely ridiculous that hasn’t happened yet.

I would agree if this was about the play on the ice. It is not. Officials stop games for spectator issues all the time. If this was directed at either of them, it would not have been tolerated. What happened goes way beyond “ref you suck” or “call it both ways” - comments that I have seen games stopped and spectators thrown out for. I usually side with officials, but not this time.

You’re obviously associated with the Armstrong hockey team. If you don’t like how your school handled the situation, take it up with your superintendent. Those cheers seemed more than loud enough for anyone there to hear. If you didn’t, it’s likely other Armstrong parents were close enough to stop it if they had a problem with it and were really worried about how it would reflect on their players. How many did that? Stop deflecting the blame. You’re all culpable. Whatever punishment the hockey association and school district receive will be deserved but probably not sufficient.

She absolutely should not have to do that. If the league isn’t already communicating with her and with Mars Hockey on the course of action being taken, shame on PIHL. Her lawyer should go to the meeting.

§ 2709. Harassment. (a) Offense defined.--A person commits the crime of harassment when, with intent to harass, annoy or alarm another, the person: (1) strikes, shoves, kicks or otherwise subjects the other person to physical contact, or attempts or threatens to do the same; (2) follows the other person in or about a public place or places; (3) engages in a course of conduct or repeatedly commits acts which serve no legitimate purpose; (4) communicates to or about such other person any lewd, lascivious, threatening or obscene words, language, drawings or caricatures; … If the goalie was my kid, I would be calling the police, getting a lawyer and filing criminal harassment charges. The PIHL, Armstrong Riverhawks hockey, the Armstrong school district, MIDAM, USA Hockey and the refs would also be named in filing. Amazing how if a spectator says something about the refs during a game, they will stop the game and address it, and oftentimes won’t resume the game until that person leaves. But this wasn’t worth stopping the game over? It’s absolutely sickening. The people who take SafeSport training and are supposed to protect these kids (refs, coaches, board members, etc) all did nothing? That is honestly scary.

https://www.nhl.com/penguins/community/hunt-armory-rink

It’s missing an A. Or two.

Poor officiating and subpar competition isn’t unique to the teams to the East.

If they want cheap ice, going from PIA to Southpointe doesn’t seem to be the answer since they are now both owned by Black Bear. One would think the rates would be the same at both rinks. Assuming that Black Bear is canceling all existing ice contracts and negotiating new ones, that would leave the door open for Esmark to go elsewhere, but that’s a lot of ice slots needed. Southpointe seems to be the only rink that could accommodate that need, especially if they are adding another sheet. Does anyone know how much is Black Bear increasing the ice fees?