twoboys

The kid is local. He played for Altoona and the Mid-State Mustangs. But he did leave town and play 3 years of Prep hockey. Failing to mention that is sort of misleading.

Personally I would skip Puckmasters since it isn't on the ice. More of a shooting clinic on synthetic ice. I think Cliff Loya (National Elite) has some weeknight clinics at Baeril. Maybe Tuesdays? Also, they have instructor ice at Pittsburgh Ice Arena in New Kensington.

Which rinks are convenient to you?

For those of you that don't have young kids, a lot of the better young players (squirts and peewees) play other sports in addition to hockey. They may have two hockey games and a baseball game on the same day. Or they may come straight to hockey practice from baseball. Yet they still find the time to take clinics or lessons. The difference between these kids and other kids is the amount of time that they have to run around outside. This is because they just don't have a lot of free time.

I think that a lot of kids that are Squirts and Peewees still do a lot of clinics and lessons during the season. Seems like as kids get older they stop doing them for whatever reason. I agree that skating is important but I also feel that skating can be worked on with pucks. A good skill instructor can work on both stick handling and skating in one lesson.

Up to you and your kid. I think kids get better by taking lessons and clinics. But some kids don't want to be on the ice that much. The other things is a couple of lessons don't really matter. You really need to make a commitment. Probably need to do something almost weekly.

I think Eddie was making the point that the only way to have college paid for is to play Division 1. If either of my kids want to play hockey in college I think it would be great if they could play Club or Division 3 hockey.

The Renegades have to move down too. They lost to Lebo 5-1.

Didn’t they tie already?

Erie was AA last year. Maybe they have a strong squad coming back and want to play AA again. Not many legit AA teams this year. SHAHA, Foxes, Badgers, NP, Altoona and the Huskies. Next would be the Viper Stars. Lebo and Preds aren’t that strong this year. Renegades only have an 08 team. Indiana? I still think NP 2 could sneak in.

I think they are trying to get out of AA. Lebo already played the 08 Viper Stars. They tied them. So, has to be 07 Viper Stars. NP could be either 1 or 2. Essentially showing that they don’t belong AA.

So, what games are scheduled?

Just a guess but I guess the PAHL games lower their ranking which means fewer teams want to play them. Also, isn't it easier to get into some tournaments if your are a AAA team?

Tourney Machine is an app that we have used for tournaments.

Renegades are not playing PAHL. Depending on how many teams PAHL wants in AA a second NP could sneak in. My guess is AA is SHAHA, Foxes, NP, Altoona, Allegheny and Huskies. After that I am not sure. Viper Stars, Preds, Indiana, NP 2, Lebo?

My kids are still pretty young so they don't pay attention to myhockeyrankings.com However, I know that parents often look at the rankings when we play an out of town team to see if the game will be competitive.

That is what I heard too. Supposedly, this will start in December. Also, involves a plan to add a pair of roller rinks behind the building.

SCIR played the Rush as well. They also played Westmoreland this weekend.

Some kids love hockey more than other kids. Hockey might be their only thing. Not everyone of these kids is a AAA. Or even capable of making their organizations top PAHL team. What happens if one of these kids gets placed on a team that doesn't require a commitment from its players? A team that doesn't get decent attendance at practice because the other players are playing other sports too. And the team only plays one or two tournaments when the top team is playing 5-7? The player and the family are probable not happy and they are probably looking for a new team the next year. I think there are more of these kids and parents than you think.

I would think it would be more accurate to say that most PAHL teams have a lack of commitment. I can't tell you how many times I walk through various rinks and see teams holding practice with fewer than ten skaters. From my experience it is usually the top teams in each organization that require a significant commitment.

It was Esmark 15u.

Shouldn’t you be upset with the PAHL programs for not giving the consumers what they want? Thus, players and parents to look elsewhere. And is really more like 50-60 U15 and 50-60 U16. With something like 6-8 AA u16 teams you are doing something wrong if you have that many players and parents you are doing something wrong.

I think I saw it on the PAHL facebook page.

The price charged isn’t outrageous. I bet U15 at the Pens is close to double. A guess is over 6000 plus a team fee. It is all about the ice slots. One slot a week it is outrageous. But 2 practices plus games and then you are paying the going rate at the bigger rinks. My kids fees are each over 3000 and they play PAHL. Most of my friends pay over 2000 without a paid coach or training.

I thought the Lebo team that won it basically stayed together and is now playing AAA?