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What I find interesting is that D3 and USHL/NAHL teams become interested after they looked at ACHA top Players in  action ? I fielded E-Mails and Phone Calls from them and have first hand experience 

No Juniors  and No Tier 1 was a big money savings and time savings for our family as well. At 23 this Tier 2 and HS Hockey kid has moved on with MBA and great experience with ACHA and  very good job.  Hockey comes to an end at some point. Danner is right on this one !  

 

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15 hours ago, Carl Racki said:

By the way I have never heard of the Ohio Bobcats.  They are actually ACHA ELITE not just ACHA.  

Well then.............. I guess you've pretty much outed yourself as a diarrhea of the mouth know-it-all who really has no clue. Then again Carl, should we have expected anything else?

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44 minutes ago, Pa Hockey said:

Hastings Kiski + Rossi Latrobe + Schmizzi Latrobe + Sacca Carrick + a couple that graduated all played in the PIHL is who I was referring to !!

They did spend time in juniors - some short - but still experienced it.  Do you think that gave them a look?  I had a mother contact me that wanted her son to go to that school. He wanted to play on that team.   Couldn’t even get the coach to talk to them. He said - go experience juniors then call me.  My son played juniors.  His first year was a challenge. That coach contacted my son and offered him a spot for the next year if he wanted to leave juniors.  

 

and just a personal opinion- i believe some ACHA teams could beat some NCAA Div 3 teams and maybe even div 1.   (Liberty vs LIU)

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4 hours ago, DieHardLeafs said:

As making a D3 roster is HARD, unless as you say (though you never offer or show any proof) you are independently wealthy enough to pay for a spot. Ask any kid who does it, it is not easy (but apparently Danner knows all). The coaches are usually highly selective, most D3 rosters are ex Tier 1 and 2 players with the top of Tier 3 to round out the teams.

Yes you are correct the top ACHA teams usually are better, but if you actually knew hockey you would also point out the usual process of going D1 comes from ACHA, look at ASU and the current teams going through the process. Hence THOSE ACHA teams are even more selective to get into. Furthermore, up until I believe two years ago some ACHA teams even gave out sports scholarships to further entice kids to play for them.

Lastly, though many people talk about the costs. If a D3 team wants you, you almost always get merit scholarships so you get to go to a small private college for about 5K a year.

Let’s clarify something since I’m so dumd. In the acha it’s not “D” it’s “M”. So everyone needs to stop with this acha d1 crap. It’s acha m1 - it’s m for men because it’s club, the ncaa wants no confusion. 

NCAA D3 - 75% of these schools you wouldn’t want to send your kid there for an education, let alone the enormous cost. There are no althetic scholarships, there are some merit scholarships available, it doesn’t amount to much. None of the kids qualify for financial aid. These kids only qualify for real academic success money. Look at Chattam - I would consider them better then half the ncaa D3 schools when it comes to eduction standings. They are middle of the road when it comes to hockey. They barely got past the IUP M1 team last year. I know 3 kids playing ncaa d3 hockey, nice kids & families, I’ll leave it at that. Look at buffalo state college - ncaa d3 hockey.  one of the better schools in this tier when it comes to education. When the ncaa eligibility is up, their players move to the club team while they are still finishing their degree. The club team doesn’t even play in acha, they play in the chf. At this point these ex ncaa d3 players are 23-24-25-26 years old playing against CHF teams with 18-21 year olds that played anything from A minor youth hockey up to tier 1. You would think the Buffalo kids would light up the lowly CHF ? Nope. 
 

as for the big acha M1 teams giving scholarships to get players - it was never a lot of money. A few thousand under merit - leadershio scholarships. Tack on out of state tuition and it really didn’t do much. Those days are also over. Lindenwood started this trend years and years ago. Thier entire conference started to do it to compete. Everyone complained about it. It all came to end right before covid. creative financial aid (this depend on the kids family income) or aid due to your kid having incredible test scores and great grades is all that’s available. these are also available to any student that qualifies.
 

We have friends playing for unlv, asu, Oklahoma & Adrian. I can ensure you none of these kids are receiving money to play club hockey. They do have some perks you won’t find around here such as Tutors while away, note takers in class like ncaa kids, free sticks etc. 
 

one of lindenwood’s better players a few years back is a family friend, he has since graduated. He came in at the end of the fake scholarship program. His family was still paying more than what any instate tuition would have been for them.  He left a ncaa d3 program for lindenwood M1 for multiple reasons. He was tired of being under the ncaa rules, it made it hard to get his school work done. The level of hockey at lindenwood along with the teams they played was superior. The acedmics were a joke at the ncaa d3 college he started at. 

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8 hours ago, Danner27 said:

Look at iup‘s team one this year, 6 or so freshman right out of HS made the team. 2 esmark, a few faux aaa programs along with Pahl aa. 
 

Unless your kid is trying to make team 1 at schools like Adrian, unlv, Arizona, Ohio, liberty etc - it doesn’t matter much. 

Hard to use iup as an example for this year. They are certainly in a rebuild as the majority of their team just graduated.

There is no doubt they will take a midget player if they are good enough. It just doesn't mean that player will be able to hang right away. It will take most midget players a while to adjust.

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6 hours ago, sadday4hockey said:

Well then.............. I guess you've pretty much outed yourself as a diarrhea of the mouth know-it-all who really has no clue. Then again Carl, should we have expected anything else?

Racki.jpg

Yeah, I am the one with no clue.  Just send your kid to tier 3 juniors so they have a shot to make an ACHA hockey team plus you can tell everyone you kid plays juniors.  Who knows they will probably get drafted to the NHL from that ACHA team (if they can still manage to make one). Definitely an intelligent way to spend your money.  Great advice!

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So what do you all consider an elite ACHA team. Top 5? 10? 15?  And most people playing or coaching will tell you that they play ACHA  D1 club. Noone understands M1. Stigma attached to D1 club doesn't realize that some club teams practice 3 days/week, give up weekends and partying on Thursday and Friday cause they're serious about playing. And really; who cares if a kid plays juniors a year to make a BETTER club team that takes hockey seriously. So he retires at 66 instead of 65.  By the time these kids turn 65, they may not be able to retire anyways the way things are going.

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On 9/23/2022 at 10:04 AM, Danner27 said:

I should add - don’t let your kid pick a college based on the hockey program. College should be picked based on the fit for the kid, acedmics,  cost for your family etc. 

acha 1,2 & 3 are not all that much different once you get passed the top acha programs - none reside in western pa. There are good and bad teams in all the classes. 

This is so important and you need to remind your kid of this from time to time. If they broke their leg and can't play, would they still be happy at the school?

This may not be accurate at all schools, but a local college coach told us that the difference between the ACHA teams there was how much commitment you wanted to give to the team, with the 1 team having most practices, travel, etc. (I took that with a grain of salt, still think more talent is going to put you on team 1.)

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On 9/13/2022 at 1:20 PM, sadday4hockey said:

That's a good observation and point. Any successful business realizes faults and shortcomings and makes changes. However, the egos that lie beneath out there will NEVER admit any such things and don't think anything is wrong.

I would also suggest that at the one younger age group where the parents of a lot of top players thumbed their noses at the "Elite", they are also getting their asses handed to them and that would be at the 08 age group. I would bet a LOT of dough that they won't be reaching out to play the 08 Vengeance team at any time other than a forced matchup at MidAms.

I would say it comes off as snobbish to roughly 80% of people and yes, their clientele loves it.

First post here but I felt compelled to respond to this with some truth.  This past weekend the PPE 2008s won the USHL Fall Classic 14U by going 5-0.  They beat AAA powerhouses including a Minnesota all star team comprised of talented kids from the Blades & Lakers, Mount St. Charles & yes even the highly touted and talked about 08’ Vengeance in a game more anticipated than the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight.  
 

I am a “hockey guy” with no dog in the fight and went to the game played primetime @ upmc.  I must admit I was surprised because of postings I have read on this board.   The PPE outplayed and outmuscled the Vengeance even their star forwards who looked shell shocked and frustrated and their bigger D who looked like they never faced a team that moved the puck.  The PPE team was organized and efficient while the V’s looked disheveled and unhinged.  Maybe coaching? 

Overall, PPE just plain way out skilled the V’s at every position including goalie.  PPE seemed to be a deeper more talented team who used skill and speed to overwhelm and frustrate.
 

I’m not sure if this game was organized and scheduled by PPE or USHL but kudos for playing it at the Lemieux center.  Fun to watch. 

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3 hours ago, Salsemotionalfriend said:

First post here but I felt compelled to respond to this with some truth.  This past weekend the PPE 2008s won the USHL Fall Classic 14U by going 5-0.  They beat AAA powerhouses including a Minnesota all star team comprised of talented kids from the Blades & Lakers, Mount St. Charles & yes even the highly touted and talked about 08’ Vengeance in a game more anticipated than the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight.  
 

I am a “hockey guy” with no dog in the fight and went to the game played primetime @ upmc.  I must admit I was surprised because of postings I have read on this board.   The PPE outplayed and outmuscled the Vengeance even their star forwards who looked shell shocked and frustrated and their bigger D who looked like they never faced a team that moved the puck.  The PPE team was organized and efficient while the V’s looked disheveled and unhinged.  Maybe coaching? 

Overall, PPE just plain way out skilled the V’s at every position including goalie.  PPE seemed to be a deeper more talented team who used skill and speed to overwhelm and frustrate.
 

I’m not sure if this game was organized and scheduled by PPE or USHL but kudos for playing it at the Lemieux center.  Fun to watch. 

Pens won this game because they out skated/hustled the Vengeance team, plain and simple.  Credit to them.  Hopefully these teams can play more frequently now that the ice has been broken….

In terms of your description of the game, it was a 2-1 game until a late empty net goal, so I tend to disagree that PPE “way out-skilled” the V.  I also disagree with the “star forwards” being shell shocked.  They’ve played in this game before, so that’s misleading.  

Last, the V had the toughest overall schedule last season, so I’d have to assume they’ve seen teams that move the puck….

 

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4 hours ago, Salsemotionalfriend said:

First post here but I felt compelled to respond to this with some truth.  This past weekend the PPE 2008s won the USHL Fall Classic 14U by going 5-0.  They beat AAA powerhouses including a Minnesota all star team comprised of talented kids from the Blades & Lakers, Mount St. Charles & yes even the highly touted and talked about 08’ Vengeance in a game more anticipated than the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight.  
 

I am a “hockey guy” with no dog in the fight and went to the game played primetime @ upmc.  I must admit I was surprised because of postings I have read on this board.   The PPE outplayed and outmuscled the Vengeance even their star forwards who looked shell shocked and frustrated and their bigger D who looked like they never faced a team that moved the puck.  The PPE team was organized and efficient while the V’s looked disheveled and unhinged.  Maybe coaching? 

Overall, PPE just plain way out skilled the V’s at every position including goalie.  PPE seemed to be a deeper more talented team who used skill and speed to overwhelm and frustrate.
 

I’m not sure if this game was organized and scheduled by PPE or USHL but kudos for playing it at the Lemieux center.  Fun to watch. 

You really sound a bit too effusive to have “no dog in the fight”. Let’s not over romanticize a 2-1 game. The PPE played very well for their talent level. They hustled all over because that was their path to victory. But the V were hardly “out-muscled” or “shell shocked”. They just didn’t play well and didn’t match the intensity of the Pens  

The PPE head coach also scouted the V for two periods against the Sabres earlier in the day, taking copious notes. Clearly he developed a good plan and had his teams buy in. When your paycheck is dependent on results at PPE, I guess scouting 13 and 14 year olds is a must do. Congrats on the big wins all weekend. The wrath of losing to the “other guys” would’ve been substantial I’m sure. 
 

Funny thing……I’ve also seen this same PPE team, with their #1 goalie in the net, lose quite convincingly to teams ranked nowhere near the top 20. Where they couldn’t execute a 6 foot pass. So if they did indeed blow the doors off the V in this single game, and only had essentially a 2-1 win not counting the empty netter, they probably aren’t this super skilled juggernaut that you describe. Let’s not cream in our jeans over one game buddy. 

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14 minutes ago, Anomaly556 said:

You really sound a bit too effusive to have “no dog in the fight”. Let’s not over romanticize a 2-1 game. The PPE played very well for their talent level. They hustled all over because that was their path to victory. But the V were hardly “out-muscled” or “shell shocked”. They just didn’t play well and didn’t match the intensity of the Pens  

The PPE head coach also scouted the V for two periods against the Sabres earlier in the day, taking copious notes. Clearly he developed a good plan and had his teams buy in. When your paycheck is dependent on results at PPE, I guess scouting 13 and 14 year olds is a must do. Congrats on the big wins all weekend. The wrath of losing to the “other guys” would’ve been substantial I’m sure. 
 

Funny thing……I’ve also seen this same PPE team, with their #1 goalie in the net, lose quite convincingly to teams ranked nowhere near the top 20. Where they couldn’t execute a 6 foot pass. So if they did indeed blow the doors off the V in this single game, and only had essentially a 2-1 win not counting the empty netter, they probably aren’t this super skilled juggernaut that you describe. Let’s not cream in our jeans over one game buddy. 

To be fair, I did not claim they were “super skilled” just said that they out skilled and out muscled the V who this board and the original post I responded to claimed superiority over the PPE 08s who were “getting their asses handed to them”.  

The PPE coach scouted the opposing team for 2 periods and took copious notes & developed a plan his team bought into?  Thats not a good thing? That sounds like good leadership to me and completely explains my question on my initial post about the Vs being out coached.  

I checked last years & this years schedule. What teams out of the top 20 have the PPE lost to?  

I unfortunately don’t have a dog in the fight anymore.   Just paid my $45 and enjoyed a few games over the weekend.  I am just callin’ it like I see it and what I saw in no way reflected the overwhelming theme on this board that the Vs have the best kids and the PPE are a bunch of spoiled, compromised, rich kids.  

It was a well played game by two teams who have lots of talent.  Hopefully we’ll see another game b4 midams.  


 

 

 

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3 minutes ago, Salsemotionalfriend said:

I checked last years & this years schedule. What teams out of the top 20 have the PPE lost to?  




 

 

 

You must not have looked hard enough at last year's schedule for the PPE, they lost to #48 Colorado Thunderbirds, #23 twice Oakland Grizzlies and #31 Valley Forge.

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21 minutes ago, Salsemotionalfriend said:

Your right I didn’t cross reference 55 games.  Thats why I asked.   

No need to check 55 games if you only look at losses?. Also this year's rankings are not listed yet. You sound like a PPE parent trying to play dumb and stir the pot. What random person that has no kid playing at all and is not a scout just goes and buy a pass for $45 to watch kids play hockey. You sound about as creepy as that grandfather upset that he can't watch his grandkids practices on Livebarn.

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9 minutes ago, Pucks11 said:

No need to check 55 games if you only look at losses?. Also this year's rankings are not listed yet. You sound like a PPE parent trying to play dumb and stir the pot. What random person that has no kid playing at all and is not a scout just goes and buy a pass for $45 to watch kids play hockey. You sound about as creepy as that grandfather upset that he can't watch his grandkids practices on Livebarn.

And you sir sound like an 80 proof, angry, disenfranchised parent who attacks the messenger instead of the legit points that were raised.  I bet you were a real treat to be around on the car ride home from the V/PPE game.  Maybe  now you could go back to attacking the leak in the UPMC roof or the cracks in the steps. ?
 

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23 minutes ago, Salsemotionalfriend said:

And you sir sound like an 80 proof, angry, disenfranchised parent who attacks the messenger instead of the legit points that were raised.  I bet you were a real treat to be around on the car ride home from the V/PPE game.  Maybe  now you could go back to attacking the leak in the UPMC roof or the cracks in the steps. ?
 

Wasn't at the game, not wasting $45 to watch kids play that are not mine but nice try creeper. What legit points have you made? The few posts I've seen after yours seem to blow up your whole theory of the game and now you are back stepping saying that you didn't say something and that it was actually a good game and not 1 team dominating the other???.

 

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17 minutes ago, Pucks11 said:

Wasn't at the game, not wasting $45 to watch kids play that are not mine but nice try creeper. What legit points have you made? The few posts I've seen after yours seem to blow up your whole theory of the game and now you are back stepping saying that you didn't say something and that it was actually a good game and not 1 team dominating the other???.

 

Why do i have to make the same points twice?  Go have another IC light and think about what could of been for your il’ johnny.  ? ??.  

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1 minute ago, Salsemotionalfriend said:

Why do i have to make the same points twice?  Go have another IC light and think about what could of been for your il’ johnny.  ? ??.  

You contradicted your original point which makes anything you say after that ?????. Sorry to burst your bubble my guy but no alcohol goes into this body and my little is doing just fine on his own without me helping but pay his fees.

You sound very offended and upset, what's with all of the name calling?

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11 minutes ago, Pucks11 said:

You contradicted your original point which makes anything you say after that ?????. Sorry to burst your bubble my guy but no alcohol goes into this body and my little is doing just fine on his own without me helping but pay his fees.

You sound very offended and upset, what's with all of the name calling?

I’m not upset nor offended. Amused actually.  Saying something positive about PPE is akin to throwing chum into a fish tank filled with idiots.  Tappin’ out.  

 

 

 

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1 minute ago, Salsemotionalfriend said:

I’m not upset nor offended. Amused actually.  Saying something positive about PPE is akin to throwing chum into a fish tank filled with idiots.  Tappin’ out.  

 

 

 

So you just naturally name call and call people alcoholics that don't agree with you and call out your contradictions. ✔️✔️✔️

No one was mad about you saying anything positive about the PPE, it was more of the exaggeration of their dominance in every aspect of the game and from what the others above said it was a 2-1 besides an empty net scored late. That doesn't scream dominance by any means.

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