October 10, 20223 yr Author 13 minutes ago, Corsi said: You must have never experienced the old Neville Ice Arena on the South Side. Legitimately, had fans and players pass out from the fumes there. There's a reason why it isn't there anymore. our kids never played there. Which PAHL or PIHL teams used that?
October 10, 20223 yr 1 hour ago, Corsi said: You must have never experienced the old Neville Ice Arena on the South Side. Legitimately, had fans and players pass out from the fumes there. There's a reason why it isn't there anymore. LOL. And that wasn't even the worst think about that rink.
October 10, 20223 yr Author 3 hours ago, Lifelongbender said: LOL. And that wasn't even the worst think about that rink. please do tell us what was wrong with that rink. For those of us who never went there... ?
October 10, 20223 yr 6 hours ago, Wes said: our kids never played there. Which PAHL or PIHL teams used that? Many pihl teams used it in it's heyday. The central location and just available ice made it very attractive to a lot of high schools. Technically it was before the PIHL though. back then the WPIHL and SHIHL still existed. The PAHL team was called Central Pittsburgh. I believe the organization moved to Ice Castle and became the Predators. The Amateur Penguins also used South Side. Some connection between the rink operator (Paul Shuttleworth) and his kids playing Am Pens. I have breathed bad fumes in that small rink in Erie that's now gone. It was called the Igloo at that point but I think had a different name before it closed (ICE something?). I think a family named Legace ran that rink.
October 10, 20223 yr 1 hour ago, Wes said: please do tell us what was wrong with that rink. For those of us who never went there... ? East Carson St wasn't as bad as it is now, but bad traffic and, in the late 90s, evidence of drug use around the rink. In the last couple of years, there were rumors the rink was being used for raves. The roof collapsed in 2010, and by then it had long since been abandoned. It caught fire later that year and they didn't exactly hurry to extinguish the fire. The end of S 21st Street was surprisingly isolated
October 11, 20223 yr 4 hours ago, Spear and Magic Helmet said: East Carson St wasn't as bad as it is now, but bad traffic and, in the late 90s, evidence of drug use around the rink. In the last couple of years, there were rumors the rink was being used for raves. The roof collapsed in 2010, and by then it had long since been abandoned. It caught fire later that year and they didn't exactly hurry to extinguish the fire. The end of S 21st Street was surprisingly isolated Duquesne University used that as a home rink for at least a few years. Locker rooms in the dungeon! Wayyy back when I was a kid, I skated at that rink when it was outdoors. The lobby was enclosed, ice outside. As I have said before, ice is ice and I’d play anywhere it was available, no matter how a shabby the rink was. I got a lot of practice at the rink in Bridgeville. That place was a super dump of an ice rink, but it was ice. And as far as Rostraver goes, I loved playing there in high school. Only three games a year there, and I always looked forward to those games. I think it would be a shame for it to go away. I hope that it survives and remains as a rink.
October 11, 20223 yr 20 hours ago, Spear and Magic Helmet said: East Carson St wasn't as bad as it is now, but bad traffic and, in the late 90s, evidence of drug use around the rink. In the last couple of years, there were rumors the rink was being used for raves. The roof collapsed in 2010, and by then it had long since been abandoned. It caught fire later that year and they didn't exactly hurry to extinguish the fire. The end of S 21st Street was surprisingly isolated I was thinking of the locker rooms in the basement, myself. Though the rest of what @Spear and Magic Helmet wrote is also true.
October 11, 20223 yr 1 hour ago, Lifelongbender said: I was thinking of the locker rooms in the basement, myself. Though the rest of what @Spear and Magic Helmet wrote is also true. I forgot to mention those locker-rooms in the basement. Not far from whatever machinery was down there too. Also, only one set of stairs from the basement to the ice, so there would be fights on the stairs or in the lobby between opposing teams, who had to share the stairs and walk through the lobby together. Don't know if this is true, but the rumor is that the building inspector failed the rink because there was no emergency exit from the dungeon locker rooms, but someone bribed the inspector and made the problem go away.
October 12, 20223 yr Great news for Western Pa! It will be interesting to see what kind of improvements will be made with only one rink you can't be down as long as PIA white rink was this year. But obviously the place needs major work.
October 12, 20223 yr Not sure the monopoly they are building is "great news". Ice prices have skyrocketed since they started buying up rinks in the area and raising prices.
October 12, 20223 yr 9 hours ago, Carl Racki said: Not sure the monopoly they are building is "great news". Ice prices have skyrocketed since they started buying up rinks in the area and raising prices. Better to have expensive ice than no ice.
October 12, 20223 yr Author Likely better to have a solid management team owning the rink going forward who can better handle large capital expenditures.
October 12, 20223 yr Changes to come... Better website New signage advertising their PAHL-alternative leagues More expensive ice That's likely it. But at least it will stay open. Right now 22% of all the PAHL teams play in a Black Bear rink. Seems like they could easily force those teams to play their AHF league next year. The only division they are missing is the "West" division. Just a matter of time. Is that good or bad? I'm not sure. Edited October 12, 20223 yr by RJUSHL
October 12, 20223 yr 23 hours ago, Spear and Magic Helmet said: I forgot to mention those locker-rooms in the basement. Not far from whatever machinery was down there too. Also, only one set of stairs from the basement to the ice, so there would be fights on the stairs or in the lobby between opposing teams, who had to share the stairs and walk through the lobby together. The place was a deathtrap if there were ever a fire because of that stairwell. Anyone in the locker rooms was trapped. As for the comment about fighting, what is arguably the most famous school hockey fight in Pittsburgh history happened there between South Park and someone I can't remember in that very stairwell. If you're a hockey person of a certain age in Pittsburgh you remember that one.
October 12, 20223 yr 10 minutes ago, Lifelongbender said: The place was a deathtrap if there were ever a fire because of that stairwell. Anyone in the locker rooms was trapped. As for the comment about fighting, what is arguably the most famous school hockey fight in Pittsburgh history happened there between South Park and someone I can't remember in that very stairwell. If you're a hockey person of a certain age in Pittsburgh you remember that one. Definitely a death trap. I never thought about that when I played there, probably because I was young and stupid. I know that South Park was on “super” probation for a while after that incident. They had many instances of misbehavior back then.
October 13, 20223 yr Got an email today about learn to play at Palmer. Little Badgers program. Free equipment. Year round. That’s seems to be quite the shot across the bow to the Little Pens. Equipment provided by Black Bear of course.
October 13, 20223 yr 4 hours ago, Novos51 said: Got an email today about learn to play at Palmer. Little Badgers program. Free equipment. Year round. That’s seems to be quite the shot across the bow to the Little Pens. Equipment provided by Black Bear of course. How much is it?
October 13, 20223 yr 5 hours ago, Novos51 said: Got an email today about learn to play at Palmer. Little Badgers program. Free equipment. Year round. That’s seems to be quite the shot across the bow to the Little Pens. Equipment provided by Black Bear of course. I had the same thought. Black Bear moves in and runs their own leagues, right? I figure they feel like they have critical mass with rink ownership in the area. Truth be told there is much to be improved about how things are done around here by both PAHL and PIHL (especially with girls hockey in PAHL). I guess we will see how this all pans out. Maybe Black Bear will push a bit and things will improve.
October 13, 20223 yr On 10/12/2022 at 9:05 AM, RJUSHL said: Changes to come... Better website New signage advertising their PAHL-alternative leagues More expensive ice That's likely it. But at least it will stay open. Right now 22% of all the PAHL teams play in a Black Bear rink. Seems like they could easily force those teams to play their AHF league next year. The only division they are missing is the "West" division. Just a matter of time. Is that good or bad? I'm not sure. Does the black bear league use fair play points? If they don't, that alone would make me lean towards thinking it would be a good thing. Can't tell you how many players Ive talked to who play faux AAA because they find PAHL to be a joke, and the FPP is always at the top of the list. Maybe it would entice some of those players to stick around at AA and play in a better run league. But honestly I know very little about black bear so I could be off.
October 14, 20223 yr 8 hours ago, Spear and Magic Helmet said: How much is it? Email didn’t give a cost. Just that the gear was free. Pens LTP is like $150? With free gear.
October 14, 20223 yr And now I got one for Printscape. Little Rebellion learn to play. Free equipment. Year round. They are coming for PPE. Pull from little pens and more young kids to their rinks at anytime if the year. I expect within a couple years BB will be looking at a true competitive AAA as well as their own league and Juniors. Things are about to really change folks.
October 14, 20223 yr 11 hours ago, Novos51 said: And now I got one for Printscape. Little Rebellion learn to play. Free equipment. Year round. They are coming for PPE. Pull from little pens and more young kids to their rinks at anytime if the year. I expect within a couple years BB will be looking at a true competitive AAA as well as their own league and Juniors. Things are about to really change folks. Pens LTP can range for $140-$220 for ice time - everything else is free. And to see other rinks / groups get involved at this level is encouraging as Pens have been the one and only since its inception. I see BB acquiring rinks such as Rostraver is a huge win as it keeps it in the hockey community as opposed to selling to an outside group and converting to a church. We have PLENTY of those already. And if BB puts together a competitive league to PAHL, even better.
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