Hattrick Swayze

Esmark should do all of these kids a favor and tell them to move on now. Instead they are on social media asking for more players to show up. Heard it was 12 players and a few goalies most of which weren’t true AAA level players. 

5 hours ago, RJUSHL said:

Black Bear owns the rink so they are forced to play either 15U AA AHF or 15U AAA THF. They will fit much better in the Tier 1 league.

If they weren't attached to Black Bear, they could play 16U AA PAHL next year but would likely be the best team even though they are a year younger than most teams.

 

Black Bear does not own their rink. They are not being forced into competing in their leagues but decided to do so on their own. Icemen deciding to go AAA next year instead of trying to compete at Tier 2 to make nationals again is not smart on their part. 

On 1/30/2024 at 4:41 PM, YardSale said:

based on the scores, no, they are not developing them at all.  I would say they are developing at a slower rate than their competition

 

 

Beyond that I heard that the coach went into the locker room and lost it on the kids and basically said he was quitting. It’s not the 9 and 10 year olds in the rooms fault that they were blatantly lied to. The organization and the coach should be ashamed that they stole these peoples money and set the kids up for failure. 

Heard a rumor 18U Vengeance might be folding. Any truth to that?

5 minutes ago, RJUSHL said:

Congrats to Brandon! Awesome seeing a local kid drafted.

What local program did he play in before PPE?

He played for the Allegheny Badgers until his first year of PeeWee’s. 

Is there an award for having the most supplemental tryouts? If so the Aviators win by a land slide!!

25 minutes ago, hockey55 said:

and there were two at Allegheny that made vengeance but declined their spots so I would say aaa players who chose to go national bound aa instead 

From what I have heard Allegheny added 3 Esmark players and one of their goalies as well as a SHAHA AAA goalie from last year. On top of that they had 2 of their players make Vengeance and decline to stay. Seems like that team will be very good. Mid State added two Pens cuts and already had a strong team and not sure what is going on with Icemen having two teams but their top team is supposedly really strong. 

Anyone know where all the Viper Stars players ended up this season because they were a very good PAHL team last year? Assuming a few went to Renegades or Icemen and maybe a few to Allegheny? Should be an exciting year for the 09 group at Tier 2.

3 hours ago, Hockeyville31 said:

Did they shut down that 09 Esmark team?

Yes, they did. Unfortunately for a lot of the kids they did it late enough that they couldn't try out Tier 1 anymore. Tier 2 will be very good in Western Pa this year. I also heard they are not refunding  any of their tryout fee's even though they folded the team. Not a great look on their part!

They need to give up and let these players try out elsewhere. They are going to hold on to them too long and it’s the kids that are going to get screwed over. 

18 minutes ago, Spear and Magic Helmet said:

Who was the coach of that team? Was that Taibi's team?

Yes

If I were one of the families whose player got named to that team I would be running for the hills. The team most likely won't be as good as some of the AA teams locally and they will be paying 3 times as much with the normal Esmark travel on top of that. Already a mass exodus and the supplemental will just bring more AA level players. Wouldn't be surprised if this team ends up folding and these players have nowhere to go. 

Pretty sure 2 or 3 Forwards and a Goalie went to the Long Island Gulls. Top Defenseman to Esmark. Sounds like the majority of the rest of the players trying out at Vengeance now. 

They canceled the tryout tonight. Top 4 players and both goalies left so assuming the coach pulled the plug as the team was not going to be as competitive as he’d like it to be. 

I don't take anything on this forum as the gospel truth. Just curious as it has kind of gone silent on here and I was talking the other day with someone who is highly involved at Alpha and they said there is no way they'd have ice there. I just don't want to see a bunch of players without a home if that is the case. Thanks for the feedback.

I know Vipers are holding tryouts at Alpha but does anyone know if they actually have ice there next season? I have heard from a few people at that facility that they will not have enough ice or any ice at Alpha. It would be really sad if players try out for them and then they do not have any practice ice for next season. I hope they are not desperately trying to hang on and setting the players and families up for a complete disaster.

Seems like a lot of money for one 50 minute practice slot a week and nothing else included. Let’s Fly!!

3 minutes ago, aaaahockey said:

At least they haven't flooded the forums with excuses and kids telling us why they deserve a chance? 

That is true! At least not yet.

Don’t let this article fool you. McCort knew exactly what they were doing and got caught. They listed a player on 15 score sheets when that player only played in 9 games. Their Coach deliberately cheated and they were turned into the league.  In no way did they turn themselves in and take the high road here. McQuillan has been coaching in the PIHL for close to 3 decades so there is no chance he did not know what they did was against the rules. 

Obviously PIHL has to start doing a better job as well of checking eligibility. Their on site reps should make sure that players who are listed as playing on the score sheet are in fact in the lineup. It is sad that youth hockey has come to this but obviously there are adults out there who will cheat to win. Pathetic!!

If you know the Montour coach at all none of this comes as a surprise.

23 minutes ago, aaaahockey said:

Agreed it's totally dumb.  

Especially when they had two Tier 2 teams make the National Championship last year. The Renegades 18U team is mostly the same team that won Nationals at 16U. You’d think they’d be proud of that but apparently not. 

Love that MidAm doesn't even have a link for the Tier 2 Tournament on their site. Both the 18U and 16U Divisions have 3 teams in the top 30 in the country. At 18U Mt Lebo is 12th, Foxes are 24th, and Renegades are 26th. At 16U Allegheny Independent are 10th, Renegades 14th, and North Pitt is 24th. Should provide some competitive games throughout the weekend but I guess Tier 2 isn't important enough for the district to advertise it. 

It’s official. 

The Pens are the only real AAA organization in the area. Esmark at 16 & 18 are very competitive but below that they don’t compete in the top 25 at the AAA level. Vengeance has a few competitive teams but overall are not a legit AAA level organization.
 

Some people will always look for an extra A instead of paying half the cost and getting the same development out of their local organization. North Pgh, Renegades, South Pgh, and Allegheny all have good programs and some very competitive teams at a much lower cost without offering the “AAA” option but lots of families still flock to the organizations offering the extra A for bragging rights. It will never change so we should all quit complaining about it. 

14U Badgers are playing for the National Championship tomorrow as well!