PUCKCOVID19

well first rankings are out... AND the preds are at the bottom in every ranking at u15-18( the only BY that rankings really mean anything 

On 9/25/2021 at 1:19 PM, Danner27 said:

it pains me every time I say it. PPE if you are still in western pa at the age of 16 or older. 

so what's that like 3-6 kids from pgh then lol. 

9 minutes ago, twoboys said:

Emark places plenty of kids in legit junior leagues.  

And at the 08 and 09 level the Vengeance is strong. 

When kids get to high school other forces come into play.  The desire to play high school hockey, to go to homecoming and have a social life, maybe play another sport in addition to hockey.  And oh yeah, it is much harder to make a U18 team.  Two birth years on one team.    

go back and really dig.  yes those kids get a tender but they never make the NAHL teams that tender them. 98 percent of them are either ACHA NCDC or Premier NOT NAHL.    the last Esmark kid to go would be either the goalie thats in Alaska or the kid that went to johnstown and is now playing NCAA D1... 

so pens do move themes that MAKE the higher rosters 

On 9/21/2021 at 6:03 PM, carroll81 said:

Finally worked a bunch of games this weekend.   Worked every age group, mostly T1.    Surprising results:

1. The icing rule has not stopped anyone from simply icing the puck on the power play.

2. The offside rule is not that big a deal.  The good teams are regrouping back through their D.  Once in a while there is a whistle off a bad bounce, etc. 

3. The competitive contact rule has led to more contact off the puck.  Many of the T1 teams were using a lot of man-to-man D, with position battles everywhere.  Was not expecting this at all.

Interested to see how this goes over the next few weeks.   Don't think it's time to reject the changes just yet.  Need another 4-6 weeks to see what happens.  Same reaction occurred when the Standard of Play was first introduced and all the obstruction penalties were added.

number 2 is spot on its a great teaching rule for sure... parent love to complain  when in reality it is good but daddy coach can't teach a simple re group so they complain about a rule 

one thing WE can all agree on is NONE of theirs BY teams are no where close to being a aaa team. mediocre at best aa teams.   King Ralph is laughing all the way to the bank 

18 hours ago, Danner27 said:

12 year old “powerhouse teams” ? ?

teams ranked below 50 in tier 1 are basically very good AA teams. When you get into that 75 and further range, they turn into mediocre AA teams that the majority of top 30 AA teams will beat. I just noticed (U18) team Ohio tier 2 AA beat the vengeance tier 1 “AAA” team. It’s all about the extra “A” for parents, it’s not so much the kids. 

 

the 2005 Vengeance team got smacked around all weekend not to mention being out shot 2-1,  and one game 4-1.... One daddy put both teams together.....

that's all fine and dandy, play8ing your own age bracket as long as possible but say when BY A is the minor and BY B is the older may A BY will be cut and NOT make u18AAA when it really matters. 

2 hours ago, aaaahockey said:

"Left"

yes left. no need to bring up the past.....if your aware of what happened fine if not o well 

22 hours ago, carroll81 said:

They raised $40k so far.  That ain't gonna cut it.

they never had the support, this isnt a NCAA hockey town and never will be.

3 hours ago, Spear and Magic Helmet said:

I have to say it is a bit amazing they were able to pull this off after a year where it was cancelled. I didn't have the best experience at the KSG and found my region to be disorganized and the coaching to be lacking. However, it is an event that definitely has potential to be very good.

it doesnt even attract the best kids, most of the best kids for west where at the chowder cup 

1 hour ago, sadday4hockey said:

They should add copper or aluminum so everyone gets a medal. It's shameful that one team gets excluded like that!!

well..... sucks to suck 

hopefully all the school that play there pull out after this season and take their teams to Southpointe...  hit them where it hurts the most , their wallets 

1 hour ago, nemesis8679 said:

They should all be banned from USA hockey for life, and the organizations should be sued into bankruptcy. 

I have no tolerance for something like that. 

wow dont let you kid go play JR hockey then, bc you would wanna bankrupt every team then bc not this but there is alot of goof ballness and other stuff thats border line as well...

they have their goods and bads just like any other organization......

On 7/14/2021 at 11:54 AM, Lifelongbender said:

Still begs the question of why anyone who can play anywhere else wouldn't prefer it, but this is good news.

I'll believe in the continuation of the programs when I see them take the ice, though. I won't be holding my breath.

didn't they lose a decent amount of players to transfers ? Something like 7-10 kids and it was the better ones too.... Guess a bunch of club kids will move up for a season. BUT who in their right mind would wanna go there after this rug pull?

4 hours ago, twoboys said:

Doesn't the South Hills have AAA teams already?  Lebo 08 is AAA.  06 SHAHA is AAA.  Can't get a straight answer about 07 SHAHA.  Some say it is independent?  Is that AAA?  Preds have plenty of AAA teams.  No way the parents in control of those teams move to Southpointe.

not one preds team is true AAA more like AAa 

WOW some people really hating on kids..... NO MATTER WHAT TEAM WE TALK ABOUT ( PPE,ESMARK,PREDS OR WHOMEVER) THERE IS ALWAYS PEOPLE BITCHING ABOUT WHO IS AND ISN'T ON THE TEAM...... WHO REALLY CARES?   Everyone of them will all be beer leaguers by 26-28 years old...  Enjoy the current rides with your kids bc before you know it it will be over. Then what are you going to grumble about?

1 hour ago, forbin said:

I hope so! If there's anything that western PA youth hockey needs more of, its faux AAA teams! We need something to talk about on here.

I would say they need to try to field half decent AA team or 2 before trying for AAA.   OR could it be that Esmark moves down there with a name change ? 

1 hour ago, Eddie Shore said:

I agree, Athens is a great place to watch a game, have been to tons, but when you go there, half the rink is students, and half is the community from around the area, who have never even attended college, but they come to the games anyway.  My question is why do they support hockey there, but if you went to watch RMU, Slippery Rock, Duquesne or Pitt there are very few if any non-family or friends at the game?  It can’t because these teams suck, because at this time Pitt was better than the Bobcats and beat them every time.  So, I’ll ask again, why do these schools get little support? The answers I have gotten are, they don’t market well, they don’t support teams that don’t win, and they don’t have a rink on campus.  Is this correct?

liberty university sells out every game and their acha d1. 

13 hours ago, Saucey said:

Icemen as an organization has fielded one AAA team. That was the team with the owners son and their first year. After that, the highest level was AA. Totally the story of the dad wanting to fulfill his kids dream. They will form teams just to form teams, regardless of skill level. If there is no other option to fill the roster and the parent is writing a check, you can go there and say you are AAA. Are you doing your kid any good? No. You do not create AAA players by playing on that kind of team. Does your kid get 'exposure'? No. Scouts go to certain events and tournaments that teams like the Icemen do not get into. Can the coach guarantee your kid will make NAHL or anything else? I mean, if you are listening to that kind of pitch and buying it, can I have access to your check book? There are no guarantees. If I wanted to call my kid AAA, this is the worst choice out there. All you are doing is doubling the cost of your kid playing hockey. Will your kid become a better player? No. I have known a lot of kids that went there who play the same as before they went. 

So what are you paying for, exactly? Just the ability to say you are AAA.

Last I checked ALL kids are going to end up in the same place ( beer league). so what's it really matter if someone wants to play a more competitive schedule, 2-3 ice slots a week all season, and has numerous friends on the team. Who cares, are you writing the checks? So many act like this or that team blah blah blah. BUT maybe the families there, its a fit for them and their happy with the coaching.......       

Not to mention their numbers where better then the Preds AAA, Lebo AAA, and Veng AAA....... so they must be doing something right ? They had more supply and demand then any of those other 3 teams........

5 hours ago, hockey55 said:

Wouldn’t get the third A and where would those coaches/owners get their money??!

the first year that they had the 2005 team, they finished in top 20. (18th). that would've been top spot for Mid ams in tier 2.....

2 hours ago, fafa fohi said:

Anyone on this thread have a player attend last night's Icemen 06 tryout and if so, how did it go?

30-35 skaters BUT only 1 goalie 

13 hours ago, Danner27 said:

Little young for the parents and players we still communicate with but I heard most of the 2004s left for the vengeance, maybe these younger kids are going there ?  I didn’t realize the vengeance had midget teams, They failed pretty bad a few years ago trying a U18 team - finished almost dead last in the rankings - embarrassment.  I figured the talk this year about midget vengeance teams was just talk but I’m sure some group of parents probably put it together. If you want to play for the predators just pay “that guy” for lessons, your kid will make it. The man was let go recently from the varsity job he had, he has to make that money up. What’s the early over / under the predators midget “AAA” teams are out of the district tournament by October ? 

the u16 team has said IF they aren't competitive but mid December that they will declare tier 2..

2 hours ago, Saucey said:

Ok, to be serious, but really, if you wanted to avoid any snide remarks there was no need to mention AAA at all.

There is only one treadmill in Pittsburgh, at RMU, unless they have one at Lemiuex. Call there and see who does lessons. Truly, it is hard to give a recommend because I think it really depends on your child. For a private, I think you need to understand how your kid is motivated and whether the instructors style will blend with that.

I believe Delmont ( Center Ice ) has a treadmill as well 

4 hours ago, HSFBLJ said:

How about Rostraver or Allegheny, at least people could watch the games in person.

both rink are shit holes and don't deserve the extra money from the league, not to mention they are both in the middle of nowhere... 90 percent of the teams are 40 plus minutes away from there too.... so why not rmu