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Alpha Tournament Company MLK Classic 2021


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So lets finish up this thread. The 18u AA bracket was Indiana, Allegheny, Armstrong, SSA(missing top 5 players), Little Ceasars(Farmington) AA , and Ashburn. All of the games were very competitive. Ashburn did win the Championship. Not getting into Wes' evaluation of what is "waste of money" is however, none of the teams entered felt that way. On to Presidents Day. There will not be a thread started by us on this one. You can find info at our website.

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5 hours ago, Wes said:

Glad we didn't waste our money on this one. 

One local AA team, a high School prep team, an 18uAAA team and a top 5 18uAA team in the 18uAA final 4.  

Wow, what a shocker!

Having officiated several games in this tournament--including two in the 18UAA division, the games were competitive, and no team was outclassed by another in terms of skill level. The player and coaches that I spoke with were very pleased with the competition--even when a team lost.

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14 hours ago, PUCKCOVID19 said:

I hope the kids are going there for the education then,

Isn't that what a Prep School is for? The education?

You see, in this instance, the Preparatory part is to prepare you for college and you have the opportunity to play some hockey. This is as opposed to the Excel Academy which prepares you for college hockey and you have the opportunity to attend some schooling.

Now, you tell me which of these is doing a better job of providing what they are supposed to provide and in turn which is the waste of a shit ton of money?

Edited by dazedandconfused
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This all goes to show that Pittsburgh is a AA hockey town as it should be.  AAA lost in transition from Hornets to PPE and the addition of gold and black teams. A lot of parents felt their kids were better than some of the players on the black teams and hence the never ending pursuit of the third A.

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Call your cards what they are, that whole pile of manure was the doing of one person. He took two respectable AAA organizations and bullied them into submission. The original intent was to provide his own little playground for his kid and all his buddies but that plan quickly morphed into something much more detrimental for Western PA hockey.

 

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2 hours ago, sadday4hockey said:

Call your cards what they are, that whole pile of manure was the doing of one person. He took two respectable AAA organizations and bullied them into submission. The original intent was to provide his own little playground for his kid and all his buddies but that plan quickly morphed into something much more detrimental for Western PA hockey.

 

How long is it going to be before this is put in the past and has no bearing on Hockey in this area?  Or will it never end and your whining about it never end?

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SSA is a very young team this year (at least 6 freshman playing significant minutes, including the entire 2nd fwd line) AND they were missing a few of their top players.  Nowhere near as competitive as last years' roster, which was dominated by a strong senior class.  Even very good '05s and '06s are going to struggle at times playing against '02s.  They should be strong again in a year or two.

 

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On 1/19/2021 at 8:22 PM, TheRightCall said:

Having officiated several games in this tournament--including two in the 18UAA division, the games were competitive, and no team was outclassed by another in terms of skill level. The player and coaches that I spoke with were very pleased with the competition--even when a team lost.

I predicted before the first puck was dropped Ashburn would be in the final with Little Caesars.  It's a waste of time when the champ game is a forgone conclusion like this.  You can shine it whatever way you want, but when you have teams that are vastly superior in MYR to the bulk of the teams in the tourney, you know which way the tourney is going.

I am glad you got paid to ref the tourney.  I am glad we didn't waste our time at the tourney.  Have a nice day!

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23 hours ago, champeen said:

SSA is a very young team this year (at least 6 freshman playing significant minutes, including the entire 2nd fwd line) AND they were missing a few of their top players.  Nowhere near as competitive as last years' roster, which was dominated by a strong senior class.  Even very good '05s and '06s are going to struggle at times playing against '02s.  They should be strong again in a year or two.

 

In the last tourney that Alpha did at 18uAA, they had an "SSA" team that was loaded with high end players and they were all wearing random jerseys, not SSA jerseys.  It was NOT the same "SSA PREP" team that was at this MLK tourney.   Half the kids were 6-3 or taller on the prior tourney and that team was vastly superior to any other AA team in the bracket and it was coached by a guy (Darren) who had coached PPE before (might still be with PPE for all I know).

Edited by Wes
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45 minutes ago, Wes said:

I predicted before the first puck was dropped Ashburn would be in the final with Little Caesars.  It's a waste of time when the champ game is a forgone conclusion like this.  You can shine it whatever way you want, but when you have teams that are vastly superior in MYR to the bulk of the teams in the tourney, you know which way the tourney is going.

I am glad you got paid to ref the tourney.  I am glad we didn't waste our time at the tourney.  Have a nice day!

to clarify-- the little caesars team that was there is the farmington hills LC 18uAA team, not their tier I AAA team.   they really weren't any better than any of the pgh AA teams. (i think their numerical rating in MHR was like an 88.something going into the tournament.  so their spot in the final was not a forgone conclusion.  pretty sure they tied Armstrong (iirc), and they didn't blow anyone out.  Ashburn was the only team that was clearly stronger than the rest of the pack.

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Most teams enjoy playing a highly ranked team that they wouldn’t have the opportunity to otherwise. Hopefully by 18U that in itself would be considered a “win” instead of going home with a meaningless trophy and title.

Nice job ATC on attracting some really good teams. The 16U bracket looks like it was especially impressive.

Edited by Ynot02
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On 1/29/2021 at 11:20 AM, dazedandconfused said:

Wes, ever consider an Avatar change? I mean you changed screen names. I'm thinking something like this sums up what you want which is teams that you will give your team decent competition but you will never be in danger of losing to?

 

No, I haven't considered an Avatar change.  Yes, I requested to change screen names months ago.

I find it pointless to enter a tourney with a team in the top 5 when the balance of the teams are 60-100+. 

Others are welcome to have their own opinion on how they evaluate tourney competition, and I've clearly stated mine.

I believe that in 25 games where teams in the 60-100 range plays a top 5, they may TIE or perhaps win once.  So like I said it's 99% forgone conclusion who will win a tourney when a 5 goes against a 60 or 90.

 

Edited by Wes
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Good coaches enter tournaments that have teams that are higher ranked than they are. Teams and players improve from playing stronger teams. They get an up close look at what things they need to do better. Their weaknesses are exposed and the coaches know what to work on. 

Other coaches only enter tournaments they think they're going to win.

So what's the goal? To improve your team and players, or to get your picture on the organization website holding some banner that will get stuffed in a closet somewhere.

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On 1/31/2021 at 11:23 AM, RoyalTraveller said:

Good coaches enter tournaments that have teams that are higher ranked than they are. Teams and players improve from playing stronger teams. They get an up close look at what things they need to do better. Their weaknesses are exposed and the coaches know what to work on. 

Other coaches only enter tournaments they think they're going to win.

So what's the goal? To improve your team and players, or to get your picture on the organization website holding some banner that will get stuffed in a closet somewhere.

What's the big damn deal?  Playing teams in the top 5 is different than in the top 30-40, when your team is in the 70-100 range. 

We all have our own opinions, if my team was ready to compete with a team in the top 5 I'd play them.  We're not, so I won't.  BFD.

 

 

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