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Black Bear Starting to move in on Youth Hockey??


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6 hours ago, hockeyisgreat said:

Badgers are listed as a "Controlled Club"  whatever that means!  No one has cared to share that info!

My assumption is that because the scheduler for Allegheny is employed by BB and does the scheduling for both Palmer and PIA that it has something to do with the “Control” part of the “Controlled Club”.
 

I do recall reading on the AHF site before that one of their main benefits is ease of scheduling through a very specific method and having complete control over the ice availability at their rinks. 

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On 11/18/2022 at 3:04 PM, forbin said:

Haven’t heard that one before from Preds friends. Pretty sure the BY and AAA teams are on the ice 2-3x a week for practices.

I think the lower teams at Preds are the ones complaining. Also, the other point about how everything goes through the rink is valid - jerseys, bags, warmups, etc all are purchased at the rink pro shop.

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On 11/18/2022 at 10:21 AM, pickle said:

I was under impression this was just their model and thought Southpointe went under their umbrella as well and why they rebranded as Rebellion in the first place, but I guess not as the Southpoint board must still be in contol there? 

 

SPHC runs entirely independent from BB.  We work with a contract with the rink manager who then answers to BB. 

https://www.southpittsburghhockey.org/about-us/

The decision to rebrand as South Pittsburgh Rebellion was entirely a board decision. It was done for two reasons, to use "South Pittsburgh" in the name and give us more visibility from outside organizations when they are looking for match ups...  then since we were doing that to also do "Rebellion" for the Whiskey Rebellion in Washington, PA... also it was a feeling that "Rink Rats" did not appeal to older kids as much.  I do have a lot of appreciation for the old Rink Rats name and logo.   We did have a vote sent to our memberships to have a few options and we settled on "Rebellion".  I helped out with the rebrand keeping existing color palette and new jerseys.  So far the response has been really good imho.

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23 hours ago, bb2j3z said:

SPHC runs entirely independent from BB.  We work with a contract with the rink manager who then answers to BB. 

https://www.southpittsburghhockey.org/about-us/

The decision to rebrand as South Pittsburgh Rebellion was entirely a board decision. It was done for two reasons, to use "South Pittsburgh" in the name and give us more visibility from outside organizations when they are looking for match ups...  then since we were doing that to also do "Rebellion" for the Whiskey Rebellion in Washington, PA... also it was a feeling that "Rink Rats" did not appeal to older kids as much.  I do have a lot of appreciation for the old Rink Rats name and logo.   We did have a vote sent to our memberships to have a few options and we settled on "Rebellion".  I helped out with the rebrand keeping existing color palette and new jerseys.  So far the response has been really good imho.

Very interesting. Glad to hear that BB has been hands off with you guys. Great job on the rebrand as well. Cool connection with the Whiskey Rebellion. I think a few other organizations could use a refresh as well and get away from the 90s looking logos, jersey's, etc.

What's the deal with the AHF? I've been in Printscape this past summer and this fall, and they have huge banners advertising AHF, right inside a rink whose primary customer is a PAHL organization (Rebellion). Does Black Bear want Rebellion to move teams to the AHF?

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6 minutes ago, RJUSHL said:

Very interesting. Glad to hear that BB has been hands off with you guys. Great job on the rebrand as well. Cool connection with the Whiskey Rebellion. I think a few other organizations could use a refresh as well and get away from the 90s looking logos, jersey's, etc.

This is a great topic in and of itself.  Badgers, SHAHA, Preds all come to mind.  

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31 minutes ago, aaaahockey said:

This is a great topic in and of itself.  Badgers, SHAHA, Preds all come to mind.  

Yes, Badgers have had pretty much the same branding since they played out of the old Airport Ice Arena across from Scally's.  I'm pretty sure that SHAHA, and Preds have begun to go with different jerseys for their "AAA" BY teams, but I'm not 100% sure of that.  

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24 minutes ago, Corsi said:

Yes, Badgers have had pretty much the same branding since they played out of the old Airport Ice Arena across from Scally's.  I'm pretty sure that SHAHA, and Preds have begun to go with different jerseys for their "AAA" BY teams, but I'm not 100% sure of that.  

Lebo has different socks and red helmets for their AAA teams. Not sure how many of those teams are left after the Lebo 08 AAA moved to SHAHA this season.

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2 hours ago, Corsi said:

Yes, Badgers have had pretty much the same branding since they played out of the old Airport Ice Arena across from Scally's.  I'm pretty sure that SHAHA, and Preds have begun to go with different jerseys for their "AAA" BY teams, but I'm not 100% sure of that.  

Which Badgers played out of the Airport? Beaver has always played out of Brady’s run. And I assume that Allegheny started in Delmont.

The Foxes started at the Airport before moving to RMU

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1 hour ago, Ron Shock said:

Which Badgers played out of the Airport? Beaver has always played out of Brady’s run. And I assume that Allegheny started in Delmont.

The Foxes started at the Airport before moving to RMU

Back in the 90s and early 2000s, the Beaver Badgers had some of their teams at Airport. If I remember correctly, it was mostly the AA teams. Having the teams at Airport gave them a little more reach for higher end players. That was before the A level had 6-8 different sub-classifications and more teams were AA.

I think Allegheny has always been at Delmont, but I believe both Badgers teams are named after "Badger" Bob Johnson. Definitely an iconic coach, but maybe not as prominent a name today.

The Predators name might be a little older (I think their first jerseys were Nashville Predators jerseys), but they have definitely kept up with the times as far as jersey design.

 

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1 hour ago, Lifelongbender said:

SHAHA has new jerseys now - it started last season. They updated their logo and have new jersey patterns and socks. There are probably some players still wearing the old stuff, though.

I remember this now that you mention it but it's a minimal update.  Still looks like the 90s 

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19 hours ago, Lifelongbender said:

SHAHA has new jerseys now - it started last season. They updated their logo and have new jersey patterns and socks. There are probably some players still wearing the old stuff, though.

SHAHA did update their jerseys last year for the entire organization.  The "AAA" teams all have their own jersey designs though, they include a 3rd black jersey that is modeled after the Stars 3rd jersey with the green on black look.  They are really cool to look at, but according to some people I know in the organization, really, really difficult for the referees and the scorers to see jersey numbers (apparently the green just blends into the black).  I'm pretty sure that the '09 "AAA" team is still wearing the same white and green jersey as the rest of the organization and just added the 3rd black jersey because they had all purchased the white and green setups a season ago, but I'm not 100% sure about that.  

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18 hours ago, Spear and Magic Helmet said:

Back in the 90s and early 2000s, the Beaver Badgers had some of their teams at Airport. If I remember correctly, it was mostly the AA teams. Having the teams at Airport gave them a little more reach for higher end players. That was before the A level had 6-8 different sub-classifications and more teams were AA.

I think Allegheny has always been at Delmont, but I believe both Badgers teams are named after "Badger" Bob Johnson. Definitely an iconic coach, but maybe not as prominent a name today.

The Predators name might be a little older (I think their first jerseys were Nashville Predators jerseys), but they have definitely kept up with the times as far as jersey design.

 

That is partially true...  Beaver County kept their teams out of Brady's Run, and were using the Airport Rink to buy ice as needed.  At the time there were a bunch of high school programs in Beaver County (Beaver, Ambridge, Blackhawk, Center, Quigley, etc.) that were buying ice at Brady's Run in addition to running figure skating, and men's leagues out of one sheet of ice.  If my memory is correct, while all of this was going on, a disgruntled Beaver County parent was working at the Airport Rink and started an organization out of there that they named the Badgers.  At the time, the jerseys and logos were almost identical only with different the colors.  I'm not a 100% sure if this the same organization that is now at Delmont, but I am sure there was another organization out of that rink called Badgers for a period of time.  

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The Airport Ice Arena was my home ice from 1995-2002.  I worked there from 2000-2002.  I can't tell you how many hours I spent in that place as a hockey player, employee and customer.  At no point do I recall there being a "new program" they called the "Badgers".  I know who you are referring to as the "disgruntled Beaver Co parent", and I don't recall him putting anything like that together during my time working there. 

Did the Beaver Badgers practice there occasionally?  Yes.  But that rink's amateur program during those years was the Arctic Foxes, until they relocated to the Island.  The Aviators program began shortly after. 

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On 11/22/2022 at 10:13 AM, RJUSHL said:

Very interesting. Glad to hear that BB has been hands off with you guys. Great job on the rebrand as well. Cool connection with the Whiskey Rebellion. I think a few other organizations could use a refresh as well and get away from the 90s looking logos, jersey's, etc.

What's the deal with the AHF? I've been in Printscape this past summer and this fall, and they have huge banners advertising AHF, right inside a rink whose primary customer is a PAHL organization (Rebellion). Does Black Bear want Rebellion to move teams to the AHF?

Thank you.  It was a fun project to do as I love sports branding but don't get to do it on the job. I'm also eyeing what all of the other clubs are doing for branding and social media. It's a fun ecosystem to work in.

As of right now, we have had no inroads from Black Bear to move AHF.  We are happy with the competition in PAHL.  I know that they are gathering rinks in the area to build their league.

We do have one team - 14u Girls that plays in their AGHF girls league.  Our 19u girls team does play in PAHL.  I think the challenge is fielding enough competitive girls teams in the area for PAHL.  They played independent last year now they are playing in AGHF. It was a choice by the team which we supported.

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2 hours ago, bb2j3z said:

Thank you.  It was a fun project to do as I love sports branding but don't get to do it on the job. I'm also eyeing what all of the other clubs are doing for branding and social media. It's a fun ecosystem to work in.

As of right now, we have had no inroads from Black Bear to move AHF.  We are happy with the competition in PAHL.  I know that they are gathering rinks in the area to build their league.

We do have one team - 14u Girls that plays in their AGHF girls league.  Our 19u girls team does play in PAHL.  I think the challenge is fielding enough competitive girls teams in the area for PAHL.  They played independent last year now they are playing in AGHF. It was a choice by the team which we supported.

Interesting. Maybe BB isn't as heavy handed as I assumed. At least not yet.

Keep up the good work you're doing at South Pgh. Seems like an organization on the rise.

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3 hours ago, sample39 said:

The Airport Ice Arena was my home ice from 1995-2002.  I worked there from 2000-2002.  I can't tell you how many hours I spent in that place as a hockey player, employee and customer.  At no point do I recall there being a "new program" they called the "Badgers".  I know who you are referring to as the "disgruntled Beaver Co parent", and I don't recall him putting anything like that together during my time working there. 

Did the Beaver Badgers practice there occasionally?  Yes.  But that rink's amateur program during those years was the Arctic Foxes, until they relocated to the Island.  The Aviators program began shortly after. 

I might be remembering this wrong, but didn't a few of the Hawthorne-coached BCAHA/Beaver Badgers teams have PAHL banners displayed in the bigger rink at Airport?

Like I said, my memory was foggy, and I don't think I made this clear, but I was under the impression that some Beaver Badgers teams were using Airport a lot, not just as an occasional spillover. Maybe it was just a few years, but I do think those years overlap with the time period you cited. Maybe it was only Hawthorne teams, and once his kids aged out, they stopped doing it.
 

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1 hour ago, Spear and Magic Helmet said:

I might be remembering this wrong, but didn't a few of the Hawthorne-coached BCAHA/Beaver Badgers teams have PAHL banners displayed in the bigger rink at Airport?

Like I said, my memory was foggy, and I don't think I made this clear, but I was under the impression that some Beaver Badgers teams were using Airport a lot, not just as an occasional spillover. Maybe it was just a few years, but I do think those years overlap with the time period you cited. Maybe it was only Hawthorne teams, and once his kids aged out, they stopped doing it.
 

It's absolutely possible, I just don't have a clear recollection of those team's playing home games or having banners hanging on the Landside rink.  

Those banners do exist though.  I believe they are hanging up at Brady's Run in all their wrinkled glory.  

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Just to clarify the "badger confusion" a little, the Allegheny Badgers were created when the old Eastern org slip into two factions - AHA Badgers and IIRC Am Pens?

 

Oh, and speaking of AHA Badgers, when Center Ice Area was bought by Black Bear I was told that one of the first things they did was pull 30 years of AHA's PAHL banners down and toss them in the dumpster......

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9 hours ago, GrumpyOldPucker said:

Just to clarify the "badger confusion" a little, the Allegheny Badgers were created when the old Eastern org slip into two factions - AHA Badgers and IIRC Am Pens?

 

Oh, and speaking of AHA Badgers, when Center Ice Area was bought by Black Bear I was told that one of the first things they did was pull 30 years of AHA's PAHL banners down and toss them in the dumpster......

Should've tossed the whole org in there with them. 

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20 hours ago, GrumpyOldPucker said:

Just to clarify the "badger confusion" a little, the Allegheny Badgers were created when the old Eastern org slip into two factions - AHA Badgers and IIRC Am Pens?

 

Oh, and speaking of AHA Badgers, when Center Ice Area was bought by Black Bear I was told that one of the first things they did was pull 30 years of AHA's PAHL banners down and toss them in the dumpster......

RE: Throw them in a dumpster.

That is a tremendous shame if that is truly what happened.  Why wouldn't they have rolled them up and given them back to AHA and let AHA give them to the coaches/managers/players who wanted them?  Seems like a huge waste of history to toss them.  Ridiculous if this is true.

 

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21 hours ago, GrumpyOldPucker said:

Just to clarify the "badger confusion" a little, the Allegheny Badgers were created when the old Eastern org slip into two factions - AHA Badgers and IIRC Am Pens?

 

Oh, and speaking of AHA Badgers, when Center Ice Area was bought by Black Bear I was told that one of the first things they did was pull 30 years of AHA's PAHL banners down and toss them in the dumpster......

Per their website, AHA started in 1992 at Golden Mile:
https://www.ahabadgers.com/page/show/2101767-about-allegheny-hockey

I am not 100% sure about this, but I believe Eastern moved to Harmarville not long after the rink was built (1992 I think). Eastern merged with the Amateur Penguins a few years later. I'm not sure if the Amateur Penguins AAA teams were rebranded as the Junior Penguins at the same time or if that happened later. NHAHA also moved to Harmarville around the same time as Eastern. I think they eventually became the Pittsburgh Huskies and moved to PIA.
 

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