Danner27

they treat those acha kids like royalty - but if they start pulling the money away - you will be correct. Im guessing that will happen with a ncaa team on campus. Now they have to play by the rules. I don’t think many players at all will make the jump to ncaa D1 but if the acha team starts to get treated like a step child they will fall a bit. Time will tell. when PSU jumped to NCAA d1 how many kids made it from the club team they used to build up to a ncaa program ?

Hey look we can agree on something! ?

With college attendance on a steady decline over the years, the schools will use whatever they can to get a kid paying. the Mercyhust club player I was speaking of was not going to mercyhurst due to the cost. the acha coach really wanted him. The acha coach went and got more merit scholarships to get the school’s price in line with other chma schools. Essentially he is getting money to play club hockey. It’s not a lot, it’s nothing like the powerhouse acha schools do. In the end It got the kid to erie.

This. what I’m reading about the CHF - it seems like the usphl.

Yes, I caught pitt vs rmu this year in person. it was good hockey - I’m not taking anything away from these teams. In my opinion the hockey played by the final 8 at the M3 nationals was better hockey than what we see here locally with M1 chma. I do think think my opinion is not that far fetched, these were considered the top 8 M3 teams in the country. I wished I would have paid attention earlier to see the entire Field of m3 but I dismissed it assuming it’s the lowest of the 3 classes. In my opinion m2 was the lowest of the three classes. The final 4 of M1 are clearly on a different level than all of the ACHA.

I’ll never understand how they define the classes (M1,M2 & M3). I watched some of the nationals this year. Hope College who won M3 looked better than anyone I watched in M2 along with a lot of M1. to tell the truth, the final 8 teams in M3 would definitely roll through the chma M1 conference. I’m sure they wouldn’t be able to compete against the powerhouses in M1, but who can. all three classifications I watched during nationals - pretty damn good hockey. M2 was the weakest on this stage. The point I am making, the classifications are all over the place. It makes PIHL look like they know what they are doing. I’ve also read the acha has somewhat of a competitor now called the CHF. It appears to mainly be the south regions & upstate NY. I couldn’t say if it’s good hockey or not, haven’t seen it played but I’m guessing it’s a step down from the acha from what I’m reading.

All the schools listed above - the only ones I’ve heard over the years that will find merit scholarships to get a kid they like are Mercyhust & JCU. We know a 02 at mercyhurst, they shoveled a good amount of money to in the form of merit scholarships to get him to play club hockey. He told us the school is around 50k a year so he’s still paying the price of schools like IUP, CAL etc. he would have gone to IUP if it was not for the merit $ mercyhurst gave him. The on campus rink was a big plus in his eyes. He had an opportunity in the nahl but opted not to gamble and goto school. it’s nice to see some schools locally doing what the powerhouse acha schools do for club hockey. So that brings me to this - what are the local schools like rmu, pitt, iup, Duq, cal & upj offering during their “recruiting” ? Seriously, what are they saying or doing ? They don’t offer anything in from of financial support.

While this does sound logical, I looked back at the last 3 years for U18 - predators, predators & icemen - all played 3A. So I guess western pa has lost usa hockey registrations this year ?

Thanks! odd our local teams at 14 & 16 will play 3A but 18 will play 2A.

I’ve only stated the current data - I don’t know the answer, thus the reason I’m asking. thanks for pointing out shaha played for 3A when they won the U14 nationals. I’ve always been under the impression the western pa tournament champion plays for 3A. It appears it’s normally that way. if I’m understanding your thought process correctly - you are thinking the size of the org matters for the national class the team is placed in. Again, that would make zero sense since everyone from Pahl along with the indie teams from western pa play in the tournament. So if Armstrong lost to someone like Allegheny, Allegheny would represent in 3A ? But since Armstrong is smaller, they won they get to play 2A ? There is no logic in that, they all play each other in the same tournament.

That wouldn’t make any sense - the district tournament at tier 2 is pretty much made up of every Pahl org regardless of size. Anyone can play, just apply & pay the money at the start of the season. It’s not really a district tournament, it’s a western PA tournament. if you take a look at the teams playing for 3A at U18 (team ohio, Oakland, Philly Blazers etc) that’s where teams from mid am should be & normally are. Armstrong lost to both Philly & Oakland 7-2. They lost to team ohio last week 7-0. ? U16 - Scir is playing for 3A. U14 - Allegheny is playing for 3A.

I was just taking a look at tier 2 - when did mid am become a 2a district ???!? I noticed at U18 armstrong is playing for 2A nationals.

The oddity about the local BK player - for years, his mom was very very Involved with PPE & the Pens Foundation. I’m guessing there was a falling out between PPE & the parents. It appears the older son (2004) is also at BK.

Read my above post about ringold playing in the Greensburg-Salem tournament this year. Sure some of those teams could hold their own against some A teams but they couldn’t compete in AA or AAA. there is massive jump in team speed, skill from d2 to the AA & AAA class. Having 2-3 decent players, or in the case of your team, a good goalie - doesn’t cut it up there. congrats on winning the “d2 championship” - they don’t even call it that penguins cup for that classification.

I have no idea what age group you are speaking of or game. Esmark is far from beloved by me - it’s just the only real tier 1 Option in western pa after PPE. looking at this years Greensburg-Salem tournament it appears ringold got hammered by everyone from A & AA that participated in the tournament. Ringold finished winless. Ringold also lost in this tournament to a AA team that went winless during the pihl season! that alone should tell you enough about the level of play as the classifications go up.

We get it, your kid plays for neshannock. It’s that a real division ?

Looking at year’s past - the predators “AAA” teams have never been better than the top Pahl AA teams. more comparable to the middle Pahl AA teams. I suspect this year is no different after looking at the scores and rankings. The 18U “AAA” team finished second to last In the the district while losing to the icemen who are dead last in the district. both these teams season’s were over after their first weekend of play.

Very cool experience for that young man.

No displeasure, surprised they got bounced. After an undefeated PAHL season and told by a few they are clearly the best AA team locally, I was a bit surprised. I call them the NA foxes as an identifier due to this board along with a lot of NA players on that team. Personally, I think NA does school hockey correctly. They took over the program. Minimum parent / board politics running the team.

Tier 2 18’s - NA foxes got bounced out.

If cliff or yuri still coach summer teams tryout for them. Your player will get real coaching and some quality practices. They won’t tell you there will be “scouts” at whatever tournament you attend.

On PPE - life’s not fair, It’s the way it is. Doesn’t make it right but PPE isn’t the only team that does it. All the top tier 1 teams do it. It’s always been that way.

It’s really not personal with pa hockey, he rubbed me the wrong way when he claimed most of the team transferred from slippery rock (his kid was one) when the team shut down. He claimed it was unjust. The old thread is still here. That team needed shut down. It was known for years the issues with hazing, underage excessive drinking, stripper parties, etc. do you think the school would put out that statement if it wasn’t true ? Anyway, most did not transfer out. They stayed, half joined the inline hockey team that is something like 1 in the nation. He exaggerated the transfer situation for certain reasons. Who transfers college for club hockey ??????? Oh that’s right. the behind the scenes crap he tries to pull for his home area school. He didn’t like it much and did not comment when I posted what he was saying up there to other FR parents who I know with kids still playing on that team. if you’ve been around long enough, you would know. I could go on but I won’t air out all the crap he’s pulled over the years while pulling the shades down over the local hockey communities eyes. and if you read above, he says what i stated about the foxes / NA player is false (PB has now edited my original post) he accused me of lying. I’m friends with the family and know the actual truth. Not second or third hand because I creeped into a rink to try and sell books out of my car, talked to a few parents that had no desire to commute with him.

It’s not personal details. None of this is a secret, the kid & his family talk about it publicly. It’s a kid trying to figure out what’s next in his life. Discussions like this have been taking place on here for years. im not thumping my chest, just stating the truth, Not hearsay because I’m lurking around rinks trying to sell books.

It’s PPE - they control mid am. Have the backing of a pro team. They do what they want. A “skate” is not a “try out”. They do it every year looking at kids from all around North America. It’s no secret when the real tryouts start, there is never more than 2-3 spots open.