Rewster Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 On 1/16/2024 at 12:01 PM, Spear and Magic Helmet said: ...Meadville was once one of the best AAA schools in this area, then in the 2010s, they were relegated to the co-op division when they couldn't field a pure team anymore. Meadville had a dynasty in the mid-1990s. I remember playing up there when they had professional scouts coming for their games and they would pack their barn almost like it was Minnesota HS hockey. The Esmark (Steel City) Stars couldn’t beat that team for years. They had Canadian HS teams come down and lose…and I remember Quebec College Prep School come in and get beat by Meadville. Ryan Smart was a 4th Round NHL Draft Pick straight out of Meadville. They had something going that was incredible for Western Pennsylvania High School hockey. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pa Hockey Posted January 20 Author Share Posted January 20 (edited) Edited January 20 by Pa Hockey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pa Hockey Posted January 20 Author Share Posted January 20 3 hours ago, Rewster said: Meadville had a dynasty in the mid-1990s. I remember playing up there when they had professional scouts coming for their games and they would pack their barn almost like it was Minnesota HS hockey. The Esmark (Steel City) Stars couldn’t beat that team for years. They had Canadian HS teams come down and lose…and I remember Quebec College Prep School come in and get beat by Meadville. Ryan Smart was a 4th Round NHL Draft Pick straight out of Meadville. They had something going that was incredible for Western Pennsylvania High School hockey. Meadville had great coach Jamie Plunkett, captive audience with no kool aid, many great players Smart Westfall Phillis, Schedule including the best from Ohio, NY New Jersey Pa and Elsewhere, Oh what High School Hockey could be ? Minnesota has the model and no 18 U AA or A would be needed ? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nemesis8679 Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 Obviously, they were doing something right in Meadville. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icebucket Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 On 1/20/2024 at 7:00 AM, Pa Hockey said: Meadville had great coach Jamie Plunkett, captive audience with no kool aid, many great players Smart Westfall Phillis, Schedule including the best from Ohio, NY New Jersey Pa and Elsewhere, Oh what High School Hockey could be ? Minnesota has the model and no 18 U AA or A would be needed ? Those Minnesota HS teams are picking from hundreds of players. You couldn't have that same model here. There just aren't enough players at each school for HS hockey to be a high level here. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pa Hockey Posted January 22 Author Share Posted January 22 17 hours ago, Icebucket said: Those Minnesota HS teams are picking from hundreds of players. You couldn't have that same model here. There just aren't enough players at each school for HS hockey to be a high level here. Edina HS had 165 kids try out from a great source a few years ago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nemesis8679 Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 23 minutes ago, Pa Hockey said: Edina HS had 165 kids try out from a great source a few years ago Where is that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spear and Magic Helmet Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 (edited) 26 minutes ago, nemesis8679 said: Where is that? Edina is a Minneapolis suburb. The district has about 8500 students, which is about the size of North Allegheny School District. NA is by far the biggest suburban school district around here, and they don't have 165 kids trying out for their hockey team, which I think is the point someone else was making. Edited January 22 by Spear and Magic Helmet 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockeyisgreat Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 2 hours ago, Spear and Magic Helmet said: Edina is a Minneapolis suburb. The district has about 8500 students, which is about the size of North Allegheny School District. NA is by far the biggest suburban school district around here, and they don't have 165 kids trying out for their hockey team, which I think is the point someone else was making. Does anybody here know how many kids NA has tryout for the Varsity team? Do they have the most Players tryout? 165 kids would be good for 8 teams! Wow, that seems a little hard to believe! I wonder how many kids tryout for Edinas Football team! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pa Hockey Posted January 22 Author Share Posted January 22 (edited) Edina has 4 team Varsity + Junior Varsity teams and Junior V Gold and Junior Gold B. Junior V Gold comes to Notre Dame for Hoosier Cup. My source is coach of Junior V Gold who is in his 70's and has been around for years with program Edited January 22 by Pa Hockey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hockeyisgreat Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 16 minutes ago, Pa Hockey said: Edina has 4 team Varsity + Junior Varsity teams and Junior V Gold and Junior Gold B. Junior V Gold comes to Notre Dame for Hoosier Cup. My source is coach of Junior V Gold who is in his 70's and has been around for years with program And that is why their Hockey should always be better than ours! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Gatz Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 Comparing Minnesota high school hockey to other states is like comparing most states to Texas high school football or Kentucky basketball. Culturally, some sports take priority in certain areas and attract depth and talent. There is a mystique to being a high school athlete in those sports and those places. It also doesn't hurt that in the land of 10,000 lakes and really cold winters, kids can skate for free from a young age for much of the year. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nemesis8679 Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 2 hours ago, James Gatz said: Comparing Minnesota high school hockey to other states is like comparing most states to Texas high school football or Kentucky basketball. Culturally, some sports take priority in certain areas and attract depth and talent. There is a mystique to being a high school athlete in those sports and those places. It also doesn't hurt that in the land of 10,000 lakes and really cold winters, kids can skate for free from a young age for much of the year. That part about skating outdoors on the lakes is an understated part. There's something to be said about playing for fun with friends in a non-adult ruled competition just for the fun of it. It develops creativity without fear of mistakes and a love for the game more than structured skills lessons and AAAA mite leagues. And I'm sure there are a multitude more of public rinks available which create more opportunities for those that otherwise might not have them. 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rewster Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 On 1/16/2024 at 12:01 PM, Spear and Magic Helmet said: The biggest issue in hockey is a goalie. If you have 20 AAA players and none of them is a goalie, you're going to struggle...and if you struggle, then you get attrition, and the cycle continues. I'm not sure that there is a way to solve that, honestly. Problem #2 is that there is always talk of "development", but let's be realistic, a 9th grader who has never skated before is not likely to be a good varsity player in 10th grade. There is a whole slew of other factors like economics, distance from the rink, etc. that matter too...Meadville was once one of the best AAA schools in this area, then in the 2010s, they were relegated to the co-op division when they couldn't field a pure team anymore. The High School Goalie situation is definitely a wildcard enigma that gets re-dealt each year. It’s literally the luck of the draw and can change drastically from year-to-year and with each graduating class. The position is pretty much predetermined and must be committed to at such a young age. I’m assuming that most organizations are similar to SHAHA in that they want a dedicated, goalie-only player to fill that position from the first year of Squirts. That’s a big commitment and ask by a kid (and his/her family) to make up his/her mind about the position at 8-9 years old. A lot of variables can influence changes each year; and skaters occasionally reevaluate themselves and make the switch to goalie later in minor hockey. It can become quickly apparent what the number of goalies each PIHL high school will reasonably project to have by their 6th grade. That number can whittle down by high school…but it normally only goes down in number as high school progresses. Rarely do you see a progressive increase in the grade-to-grade goalie depth chart number. Meaning, if your school has two 9th grade goalies one year, that number is most likely not going to jump up to three (+) goalies for their 10th grade year. If anything, that early 8-9th grade goalie depth chart will decrease once their senior year is realized. The majority of Western Pennsylvania’s HS hockey programs are legitimately re-stocked with their own, locally produced in-school district student athletes…therefore, it can unfortunately go from “feast” to “famine” rather abruptly. Peters Twp went from having 4 Senior goalies (plus several other underclassman goalies) just three short seasons ago on the varsity squad…they literally could not produce enough ice time for their goalies due to the gluttony of the position in the high school system…to now swinging closer to the polar opposite. The high school goalie wildcard is the one position that can influence everything. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pa Hockey Posted February 2 Author Share Posted February 2 PA HOCKEY 2023-2024 "AAA AA & A" DIVISION FINAL - WEEK 16 CLASS DIVISION TEAM W L T PTS AAA 1 SENECA VALLEY 14 3 0 28 AAA 2 MT LEBANON 9 5 1 19 AAA 3 PETERS TWP 10 4 2 22 AAA 4 UPPER ST CLAIR 8 4 3 19 AAA 5 BETHEL PARK 9 5 1 19 AAA 5 NORTH ALLEGHENY 10 4 2 22 AAA 5 PINE RICHLAND 11 4 1 23 AA 1 SOUTH FAYETTE 11 1 2 24 AA 2 THOMAS JEFFERSON 14 2 0 28 AA 3 LATROBE 13 5 0 26 AA 4 FRANKLIN REGIONAL 9 5 2 20 AA 5 NORWIN 9 6 2 20 A 1 QUAKER VALLEY 14 0 1 29 A 2 MARS 13 4 0 26 A 3 NORTH CATHOLIC 12 4 2 26 A 4 INDIANA 12 2 2 26 A 5 SHALER 12 3 2 26 A 5 CHARTIERS VALLEY 16 0 0 32 B 1 CANEVIN 16 0 0 32 B 2 BURRELL 13 3 0 26 B 3 NESHANNOCK 13 2 1 27 B 4 CARRICK 9 4 2 20 B 5 DEER LAKES 8 6 1 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rewster Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 3 hours ago, Pa Hockey said: PA HOCKEY 2023-2024 "AAA AA & A" DIVISION FINAL - WEEK 16 CLASS DIVISION TEAM W L T PTS AAA 1 SENECA VALLEY 14 3 0 28 AAA 2 MT LEBANON 9 5 1 19 AAA 3 PETERS TWP 10 4 2 22 AAA 4 UPPER ST CLAIR 8 4 3 19 AAA 5 BETHEL PARK 9 5 1 19 AAA 5 NORTH ALLEGHENY 10 4 2 22 AAA 5 PINE RICHLAND 11 4 1 23 AA 1 SOUTH FAYETTE 11 1 2 24 AA 2 THOMAS JEFFERSON 14 2 0 28 AA 3 LATROBE 13 5 0 26 AA 4 FRANKLIN REGIONAL 9 5 2 20 AA 5 NORWIN 9 6 2 20 A 1 QUAKER VALLEY 14 0 1 29 A 2 MARS 13 4 0 26 A 3 NORTH CATHOLIC 12 4 2 26 A 4 INDIANA 12 2 2 26 A 5 SHALER 12 3 2 26 A 5 CHARTIERS VALLEY 16 0 0 32 B 1 CANEVIN 16 0 0 32 B 2 BURRELL 13 3 0 26 B 3 NESHANNOCK 13 2 1 27 B 4 CARRICK 9 4 2 20 B 5 DEER LAKES 8 6 1 17 I’m not surprised that you include 7 schools in 3A. Seneca Valley is separating themselves a bit from the pack. You could almost do a 6-way tie for 2nd place. It’s too bad Canon Mac doesn’t have a competitive squad this year. Did anyone see that Big Macs vs Peters Twp game this week? I thought that the benches were going to jump on the ice. It’s great that the rivalry games get amped up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nemesis8679 Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 Shaler seems to have fell a bit. What's with Chartiers having such a good record but being on the bottom? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spear and Magic Helmet Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 22 minutes ago, nemesis8679 said: Shaler seems to have fell a bit. What's with Chartiers having such a good record but being on the bottom? Probably a copy/paste error Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ihearthockey Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 2 hours ago, nemesis8679 said: Shaler seems to have fell a bit. What's with Chartiers having such a good record but being on the bottom? They are in the division that apparently doesn't matter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icebucket Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 6 hours ago, Rewster said: I’m not surprised that you include 7 schools in 3A. Seneca Valley is separating themselves a bit from the pack. You could almost do a 6-way tie for 2nd place. It’s too bad Canon Mac doesn’t have a competitive squad this year. Did anyone see that Big Macs vs Peters Twp game this week? I thought that the benches were going to jump on the ice. It’s great that the rivalry games get amped up. I think Canon Mac will likely get dropped to AA next year. It's been a train wreck this season, and I'm pretty sure they were well under .500 the last few seasons also. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pucks11 Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 20 hours ago, Ihearthockey said: They are in the division that apparently doesn't matter Because he thinks their division is single A---B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Hockey Fan Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 1 hour ago, Pucks11 said: Because he thinks their division is single A---B He is probably right. We shall find out soon enough with playoffs fast approaching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AAAAleaguestarter Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 I know it was early in the season or pre season but I believe shaler beat avonworth 9-1. They seem to haven fallen off for sure haven't beaten a top team in in a while looking at the pihl website Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icebucket Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 (edited) For the people who are confused about why CV isn't at he top of single A. It would be like saying QV should be at the top of AA, or that SF should be ranked as the top AAA team because they have a better record than the top team in the division above them. That blue division was built to be a level completely under the A gold division. No idea why they did it that way, but can't do anything about it now. Edited February 3 by Icebucket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rewster Posted February 4 Share Posted February 4 On 2/2/2024 at 4:53 PM, Icebucket said: I think Canon Mac will likely get dropped to AA next year. It's been a train wreck this season, and I'm pretty sure they were well under .500 the last few seasons also. You’re mostly right. There was the 2020-2021 season that Canon Mac won the regular season AAA. But, that must have been their culmination; as it’s been the opposite (record-wise) since then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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