hockeyisgreat

Great support for Willow last night at UPMC Lemieux. Heard there was a standing room only crowd and the local girls teams came out to support Willow. Sutton, looks like you are being called out here by Rock Hard Pride. But it is an interesting question. If you were at that game why didn't you do anything and looking back on it would you do something if it happens again. Bottom line you are the one who brought it to this boards attention and it wasn't swept under the rug by Armstrong and PIHL. Thanks

OK how about we go with no elite teams in AA until the Pens Cup winner and call them Elite! Sounds like the field is pretty wide open if you all know what you are talking about. I personally have not seen any of them play.

Wow, Pa Hockey Rankings has TJ second in AA. I guess they aren't ranked #1 so they do have room for improvement!!!! Granted it's early in the season and it should all sort out after Christmas!

I should have checked Pittsburgh Hockey Digest before I posted. They did a great job with a lot of fun pictures. Looked like a neat event. Couldn't tell much about the crowd from the pictures!

Any more word on this? Is it still happening? I would like to go check it out if and when it opens.

Not sure what you mean by that first sentence. I know it's really expensive and that sure doesn't change as you get older.

Thanks PA Hockey for sharing my opinion. I thought I saw that earlier. I think you do a great job with your rankings.

So how was this event? Did it get a lot of people? I know a lot of teams were out of town at tournaments this weekend.

Nope, Just don't think they are one of the weaker teams in AA. I'm puzzled a little by Mars. Expected them to have a better record at this point. Maybe they will get started tonight. Good luck to both teams. Hopefully they will have a great atmosphere to play in. A packed house at UPMC Lemieux.

Wow! What;s your beef with South Fayette? At least they went from weak to average at best! What do they have to do to be an above average team for you? Just wondering!

Thanks for the update! Fun to watch these change as the weeks go on. Might have to put Burrell at 5 after OT shoot out loss to Avonworth last Monday.

Seriously! The rink owners are the problem? How about the people that go to the Rink? The Rink owners have no responsibility to raise respectful kids! Maybe the responsibility lies with the Armstrong Community and Parents of the disrespectful kids. I know if it's my kid we would have a serious talk and it would be along time before they would go to a game again. I would be really disapointed in myself that I didn't teach them better.

So you mean the PIAA needs to take over Hockey? I can't believe it didn't happen along time ago. Certainly Hockey has as much of a following as say Volleyball. Coming next to the PIAA is female wrestling. Why is there no place for Hockey? Is the PIAA saying it's to expensive or are the School Districts quite OK with Parents footing the bill to play? It will never change. Too accepted now.

You better go back and look at South Fayette! Not sure why you are calling them a weak team!

I assume they are putting out a memo to all PIHL Schools and Rinks to make sure this type of behavior is not tolerated. Hopefully the attention this got will help make everyone more aware of what's acceptable. There are going to be a lot of people unhappy that nothing was done in regard to Armstrong Coaches, Armstrong Hockey Board and Security.

This board has been doing a good job of keeping it going. Multiple news stations talked about the fact that the PIHL was having closed door meetings last night. Hopefully they are putting in calls to them to find out where it's at.

Is that news from the meeting tonight?

At least she will be aware and be able to be prepared for this. Playing goalie is one of the toughest positions in all sports. But maybe her mom can answer your question a bit better than me. She has been reading this forum and gave us some good incite already.

Hey Paul & Forbin. I see you are up to 21K views on this topic. How does it compare to the most ever? I'm sure it's far from over as we await what the PIHL has to say tonight. Then get everyones opinion about how it's not enough of a punishment. Whatever it is!

Hey you can worry about who is to blame and what punishment should be given out. That will take care of itself at this point. And I'm sure there will be dissatisfied people. I'm going to use this as a teaching moment to educate myself and my kids so that it doesn't happen to anyone again. I'll bet the Goalie feels that way also. Her mom has said so multiple times. She is a true athlete and a classy young lady who loves to play hockey.

I think we have heard enough about who is to blame. We all think we know what we would have done in the moment. Easiest thing in the world is to second guess. I know there are a lot of people who feel bad that they didn't step up in the moment! Time to step up now and educate ourselves and our kids on what is and isn't acceptable behavior. Can't change the past! Can only prepare and make the future better. Learn from mistakes and make things better.

Great article! Well worth the read. Thanks for sharing.

Hey Sutton, Did you post this story anywhere else? It's amazing to me the attention it has received from the media and the buzz at rinks. Everyone in Western Pa is certainly aware of it now and talking about it. I would bet the ranch that this won't happen again in a Western Pa rink and no way it can be swept under the rug now. You may not get the justice you seek in this case but you sure have helped change the culture in the stands for PIHL Hockey going forward. Won't change crazy parents yelling at the refs but will make everyone more aware of the student sections.

Just listened to the Armstrong Coach on the news trying to say he didn't know what was being said. I would bet the ranch that the kids were talking about it between periods. His explanation doesn't seem sincere. Just my opinion.

Paul Baxter for helping provide us a place to talk and vent about Western Pa Hockey and Forbin for keeping it going and real.