Lifelongbender

It sometimes seems like the dehumidifiers are turned completely off. The HVAC in that building is completely unacceptable. Honestly, I thought before BB bought it that the HVAC alone was enough to mess up the deal.

They have not. At least not yet.

And, let's face it, they'd probably have to build a new building to put in a second sheet there.

At Rostraver I have noticed that they cleaned alot - the windows between the lobby and the rink are actually clear now. I was there a week or so ago and I'm pretty sure they were using the old Zamboni.

SHAHA has new jerseys now - it started last season. They updated their logo and have new jersey patterns and socks. There are probably some players still wearing the old stuff, though.

Whether fortunate or not, this was inevitable when they started buying rinks in the area. This board had discussions about this at that time. I can see definite possibilities for improvements in Girls' hockey, specifically, but I'm not sure what to think about coed hockey. Since we have seen how unserious PAHL is about Girls' hockey over the years - even though in recent years things have improved slightly - Black Bear can probably seize upon that as a money making arena and make substantial improvements. For me, there are already so many non-PAHL teams in the City, dividing what is honestly a relatively small talent pool into smaller and smaller buckets. I doubt strongly that PAHL and AHF can both inhabit this space. I'd agree with what's been said above about more choice being better, with the caveat that more choice in this sense means more diluted talent, at least in the short term. I'd also agree that there is much not to like about PAHL. Only time will tell what the effect that Black Bear will have on Pittsburgh hockey in the long term. I do hope they'll at least continue to make improvements in the various rinks they own, some of which were substandard by any measure when they bought them.

And it's early yet, but Mon Valley isn't listed there either.

Whether it is true or not, this perception definitely exists with Pens Elite at least. And they don't need to come from Eastern Europe - Detroit is far enough.

It doesn't hurt that shooting left puts a righty's dominant eye towards the target for most folks, either.

My kids have been out of Little Pens for a ling time now, but back at the beginning at least they were giving everyone a flat bladed stick for that program too.

This is true, to some extent. The primary reason for the differences in the costs for Little Pens at different rinks is the cost of the ice at the rinks. But don't kid yourself, @Pucks11, organizations/rinks are definitely giving reduced ice rates to Little Pens sessions. At least some of them are. It's absolutely true that LTP ice is cheaper on the average than game ice. On the other hand, @fafa fohi is also correct, above. In the end there's plenty of money for the ice in the program costs. I just know that the ice is discounted for LTP sessions at many rinks.

I'm not at all sure what the discussion of left/right shots has to do with Rostraver being sold, but as a coach and a player I do have to comment that, unlike in Europe and Canada, most Pittsburgh players are right handed and shoot right (close to the percentage of right handed people shoot right). You'll have noticed, if you pay attention, that about 65% of NHL players shoot left (it's between 60% and 70% according to NHL.com), despite those players almost certainly being mostly right handed as well. It may be true that what really matters is how the player feels. But the numbers don't lie. It's obvious that most right handed players in the NHL shoot left from the numbers. Over the years I have come to believe that this is baseball-related - most Pittsburgh players do not have parents who played hockey (yet), but I'm betting that most of them have parents who played baseball and/or softball. And righties shoot right in baseball - that is, they stand to the left of the ball so that their bat is on their right side. I think that inexperienced parents assume that right handed and "shoots right" are the same thing, and kids just get swept up in it. (Amusing sidenote is that I am right handed and shoot left, but both of my kids are right handed and shoot right despite my efforts to get them to try shooting left). For any given player the handedness of their shot is entirely personal. It is, however, accepted wisdom supported by statistics that righties "should" shoot left. And by the way, @Icebucket has it right. That's just how I remember stores selling sticks (and by stores, I mean Rupp's) back in my youth.

I had the same thought. Black Bear moves in and runs their own leagues, right? I figure they feel like they have critical mass with rink ownership in the area. Truth be told there is much to be improved about how things are done around here by both PAHL and PIHL (especially with girls hockey in PAHL). I guess we will see how this all pans out. Maybe Black Bear will push a bit and things will improve.

The place was a deathtrap if there were ever a fire because of that stairwell. Anyone in the locker rooms was trapped. As for the comment about fighting, what is arguably the most famous school hockey fight in Pittsburgh history happened there between South Park and someone I can't remember in that very stairwell. If you're a hockey person of a certain age in Pittsburgh you remember that one.

I was thinking of the locker rooms in the basement, myself. Though the rest of what @Spear and Magic Helmet wrote is also true.