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I can sympathize with you, I really can, but honestly what did all of you expect going into this? You said nobody wanted to travel to play you. That's because the make-up of the teams you were playing were adults with full time jobs and possibly young families. Like most adult league teams. Can you blame anyone for choosing (or needing) to stay home? It's why 99.9% of beer league players only play at their local rink in a league that works with the personal and professional schedule. I think it's great that you guys all shared the same vision and wanted to make this work, but finding decent competition in a competent organized league was going to be damn near impossible. I said this last year when this team was announced, but history tends to repeat itself. See the MAHL in 2008. Anyone who remembers that league probably saw this coming from a mile away. The owner and all of his personal business aside, the concept of the team and league were flawed from the start, and it's you guys -the players - that were let down.

He's a fantastic player, but over 40% of his points came in games against the bottom 4 teams in D2. Teams that would struggle to beat or even compete with good Tier 1 and Tier 2 JV teams.

USA Hockey doesn't recognize 15U as a division under Tier 2, which is why you haven't seen a PAHL division for it yet. There are a couple of different approaches to this. You can play up in AA as the minor birth year for the sake of greater competition but at the cost of winning. I believe the Huskies did this last year. Or you can play one year in Major Black and continue the build towards AA for the following season. I believe the Hornets did this last year. Both teams have similar records in 16AA this year. So I would hesitate to say one route is better than the other. It's more about what makes most sense for the team.

This was brought up in an older post, but if I'm opening a new rink, the airport area is exactly where I'm putting it.

Better game times, more press coverage, etc. There's likely no evidence that was EVER the case, but I was told that by someone who worked for PIHL a few years ago. And yes, not taking into account graduating classes from the year before is an issue (I've been there, believe me). This is where school enrollment, program enrollment, and 5-10 year history should be taken into consideration like Rewster said above. It would provide a good idea of how quickly a program can bounce back. The attitude of "there is no benefit of moving up, ever" though is why the classifications are sized the way they are currently.

I concur. These 6 teams should be in the same section based on history and geography. This is what happens though when you have an A division with 24 teams. More than double the size of AAA and AA. I believe one of the initial goals of the "3 Year Formula" before it was abandoned was to promote and reward teams for moving up a classification. What instead has happened are teams are fighting to get moved down, or refusing to get moved up. Hence the logjam we now have in A. Realignment at this point is necessary, whether programs like it or not.

I know you're a Montour guy and I appreciate the optimism, but man, Montour might need to score 10 goals a game if they want to contend for anything this season.

History has a funny way of repeating itself. Do your homework on the Mid-Atlantic Hockey League (MAHL) in 2007-2008. If this new league actually gets off the ground, I would expect a similar demise.

I am pretty sure the "front desk" at Rostraver is the pub.

That 07 squad was THE ONLY Huskies team before the takeover, so it's not surprising that team specifically is full. The question is all of the other age levels.

They did not field a single team. I've heard conflicting stories as to why. First being they cut most of their players for "AAA" players, and those "AAA" players bailed after accepting their placements for a different team. I have also heard they cut better players to accommodate their returning players, and that's why those "AAA" players left. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. It's been amusing to watch how absolutely absurd this 18U tryout season has been. I have never seen it this bad. That's a good coaching staff at the Rebellion that now inexplicably doesn't have a team to coach.

The top guys move on while some guys decide to play AA and/or HS instead. It happens, it's nothing out of the ordinary, and it shouldn't diminish the good runs those team's had.

"No dog in the fight", but you felt compelled to create a post on this forum... okay. I coached against Plum, and I recall them having a pretty good team in the 19-20 season in Class AA. I don't remember what their record was, but I think they made the playoffs. Varsity teams from small to mid sized programs will always have their peaks and valleys. If you are lucky, you get a few strong classes and you can compete for a few years. Sometimes that's not the case, and all you can do is maximize whatever the potential is for your team. If that potential is only a handful of wins, or hell - even no wins - then you still give your players, the team and the program everything you have. If this coach is doing that, then kudos to him, and he should stay put and Plum should be thankful he remains committed to them.

This was a directive from their board, I believe.

It's absolutely possible, I just don't have a clear recollection of those team's playing home games or having banners hanging on the Landside rink. Those banners do exist though. I believe they are hanging up at Brady's Run in all their wrinkled glory.

The Airport Ice Arena was my home ice from 1995-2002. I worked there from 2000-2002. I can't tell you how many hours I spent in that place as a hockey player, employee and customer. At no point do I recall there being a "new program" they called the "Badgers". I know who you are referring to as the "disgruntled Beaver Co parent", and I don't recall him putting anything like that together during my time working there. Did the Beaver Badgers practice there occasionally? Yes. But that rink's amateur program during those years was the Arctic Foxes, until they relocated to the Island. The Aviators program began shortly after.

This comment made me laugh. I bet that 95 year old coach has won a lot of games playing a defense-first system, including big games, and especially against teams who love the east-west skill game. Believe me, that approach will open up more ice for your skilled players, and usually in high-percentage scoring areas. I agree with you though. Having options is a great thing, and finding the right fit for your player is essential to their development. You shouldn't be forced to stay in a situation if you are unhappy.

You just described nearly every road trip I took while playing in college.

You could argue the Airport Ice Arena had one of the better locations for a rink. In it's heyday (95-05) that rink was bustling and served a lot of programs well. Unfortunately, it was then run into the ground, and a lot of those programs have not fully recovered, and some don't exist anymore. If I am building a new rink, I am putting it in that area.

I really hope this post gains some traction. There are far more good guys in our sport than bad, even though the bad gets discussed here far more often. I grew up playing in this area and have coached for the last 13 years. There are so many good and influential people I've met along the way. Ranging from coaches I've played for, coaches I've coached with and against, business managers and other volunteers that sink countless hours and go the extra mile. He was already mentioned earlier, but Howard Smith deserves much praise for his contributions to the sport over the last 20 years. A great coach but an even better man.

Mt. Lebo is in the process of having LiveBarn installed.

Loach, this is great insight, thank you for sharing!

Eddie, I think removing body checking at 12U has amplified the parent paranoia, and in some areas hindered the kids development. I understand the thought process behind removing it 8 or so years ago, but respectfully disagree with it. It's better for players to learn and acclimate themselves to body-checking at a younger age, where both first and second year players are still relatively small. At bantam, the size discrepancy is much larger. You can have a first year player at 4'11 and 85lbs go up against a second year player who is 5'10 and 160lbs. That's the nature of bantam hockey. When you factor in the first year player having no experience with checking, specifically lacking good habits to properly protect themselves, then things can get dangerous. They should consider reintroducing body-checking back into 12U, however, I fear they're more likely to remove it from 14U.

USA Hockey is the main governing body that oversees hockey across the country. Under USA Hockey, you have different Districts/Affiliates such as Atlantic, Central, and in our case - Mid-American (MidAm). Under the Districts, you have leagues that fall within their supervised areas, such as the PIHL and PAHL in our area. Individual leagues have their own rules, but also must adhere to rules set by their district, as well as the standard USA Hockey rules.

I did the Penn State camp when I was your son's age for 3 consecutive years. It was excellent. Assuming the curriculum is somewhat similar to what it was in the late 90s, but with the updated facilities/amenities, it's probably even better now. Other comparable options are Kent State and Miami (OH).