Western Pa Hockey 2010 – 11 Interscholastic Preview

   The Class AAA Hockey was wide open for the Penguins Cup in 2010 and Canon McMillan emerged from the 8^th Seed to go all the way to the State Finals before losing to Cardinal O’Hara in overtime. The Big Macs should be in the thick of things in 2011 as stalwart defenseman Alexander Baskerov and consistant forward Brett Oldaker along with a nice core of returning players will lead Canon Mac into the season as defending Penguins Cup champions. Upper St Clair was a team a year ago that looked as if they were on the verge of something special and the duo of C.J. Murray and Justin Selep will be tough to defend as the leading scoring tandem in Class AAA. To make the division title even tougher will again be Bethel Park, which had a very good rebuilding year and Michael Shipley will lead the Hawks in their school’s quest for a 6^th Pennsylvania Title.

State College defeated several top flight AAA schools a year ago and again will be a force in Class AAA led by Ryan Pate. Plum was another school  that many felt was one of the better teams in Class AAA and will return a majority of a very good squad led by Hunter Breit. Finally, North Allegheny has a young nucleus of talent and was one of the one goal losses along to Canon Mac along with Seneca Valley and State College, so expect the Tigers will be in the mix come March.       

CLASS AA

  Latrobe has won three consecutive Pennsylvania Class AA titles and will make a bid in 2010-2011 to become the first Class AA school to win four straight titles. The Wildcats are led in goal by State Final hero Shane Brudnock and offensive returnees Zach LaDuke and Josh Singley amongst a very deep program, which should be at the top of Class AA. West Allegheny has been knocking at the Class AA Penguins Cup door for a few years and if they can overcome Latrobe,may be able to unseat them with the goaltending of Jason Kumpfmiller. Perennial bridesmaid Canevin is a team looking to go one step further led by Frankie Vance. Peters Twp is a program rich in numbers and talent and is always a contender in the playoffs. Erie Cathedral Prep is a strong nucleus of Juniors and Seniors that has been together a few years led by Jimmy Buffalino and Chris Coombs and could make noise in Class AA. 

   CLASS A

 Mars won its first Pennsylvania State Championship and 2^nd straight Penguins Cup in 2010 and is a heavy favorite to do it again in 2011 led by goaltender Tyler Stepke and scoring machine Elliott Tisdale. The closest competition will again come from Kittanning led by Jordan Ford, Troy Schall and Willy Koster and the Cats will be a force this year. Serra Catholic made it to the Penguins Cup again last year and Jarrett Rutchka and goaltender Garrett Hudson lead the Eagles quest to return to Consol Energy Center. An interesting darkhorse this season will be the mighty Hilltoppers of Westmont Hilltop and with the exodus of Bishop McCort’s program leaves only Westmont from Johnstown to compete for the Penguins Cup for the first time since 1982. The Hiltoppers will be led by Noah McQuillan, Corey Schaefer and Zac Kindya. Knoch and Hampton round out the top 5 in Class A and both schools had very good seasons a year ago and could be in the final 4 mix into 2011.

Western Pa Hockey 2010 – 11 Interscholastic Preview

   The Class AAA Hockey was wide open for the Penguins Cup in 2010 and Canon McMillan emerged from the 8^th Seed to go all the way to the State Finals before losing to Cardinal O’Hara in overtime. The Big Macs should be in the thick of things in 2011 as stalwart defenseman Alexander Baskerov and consistant forward Brett Oldaker along with a nice core of returning players will lead Canon Mac into the season as defending Penguins Cup champions. Upper St Clair was a team a year ago that looked as if they were on the verge of something special and the duo of C.J. Murray and Justin Selep will be tough to defend as the leading scoring tandem in Class AAA. To make the division title even tougher will again be Bethel Park, which had a very good rebuilding year and Michael Shipley will lead the Hawks in their school’s quest for a 6^th Pennsylvania Title.

State College defeated several top flight AAA schools a year ago and again will be a force in Class AAA led by Ryan Pate. Plum was another school  that many felt was one of the better teams in Class AAA and will return a majority of a very good squad led by Hunter Breit. Finally, North Allegheny has a young nucleus of talent and was one of the one goal losses along to Canon Mac along with Seneca Valley and State College, so expect the Tigers will be in the mix come March.       

CLASS AA

  Latrobe has won three consecutive Pennsylvania Class AA titles and will make a bid in 2010-2011 to become the first Class AA school to win four straight titles. The Wildcats are led in goal by State Final hero Shane Brudnock and offensive returnees Zach LaDuke and Josh Singley amongst a very deep program, which should be at the top of Class AA. West Allegheny has been knocking at the Class AA Penguins Cup door for a few years and if they can overcome Latrobe,may be able to unseat them with the goaltending of Jason Kumpfmiller. Perennial bridesmaid Canevin is a team looking to go one step further led by Frankie Vance. Peters Twp is a program rich in numbers and talent and is always a contender in the playoffs. Erie Cathedral Prep is a strong nucleus of Juniors and Seniors that has been together a few years led by Jimmy Buffalino and Chris Coombs and could make noise in Class AA. 

   CLASS A

 Mars won its first Pennsylvania State Championship and 2^nd straight Penguins Cup in 2010 and is a heavy favorite to do it again in 2011 led by goaltender Tyler Stepke and scoring machine Elliott Tisdale. The closest competition will again come from Kittanning led by Jordan Ford, Troy Schall and Willy Koster and the Cats will be a force this year. Serra Catholic made it to the Penguins Cup again last year and Jarrett Rutchka and goaltender Garrett Hudson lead the Eagles quest to return to Consol Energy Center. An interesting darkhorse this season will be the mighty Hilltoppers of Westmont Hilltop and with the exodus of Bishop McCort’s program leaves only Westmont from Johnstown to compete for the Penguins Cup for the first time since 1982. The Hiltoppers will be led by Noah McQuillan, Corey Schaefer and Zac Kindya. Knoch and Hampton round out the top 5 in Class A and both schools had very good seasons a year ago and could be in the final 4 mix into 2011.

       I have been involved in promoting Interscholastic Hockey since it inception in 1971 at the Alpine Ice Chalet which marks the 40^th Anniversary of High School Hockey in Western Pennsylvania. The year 2010 should be a celebration of those programs, like Shaler, Upper St Clair and Mt Lebanon, who were 3 of the 6 Original High School Hockey programs.

       In addition, the Pittsburgh Penguins are moving into the state of the art Consol Energy Center and have been generous to display the Interscholastic and Amateur Hockey Organizations Jerseys and have computerization, which at some point will be linked to PointStreak and give live updates to all games in Western Pennsylvania. This is a great way of promoting the sport and after 10 years the PIHL may have gotten something right, although the Pittsburgh Penguins have a huge part in that promotion, because they understand where their future ticket base is.

        To lose storied programs like 8-time State Champions Meadville and 5-time State Champions Bishop McCort should not go unnoticed, but this has been a gradual process beginning when the PIHL was formed in 1999-2000. Under the current leadership, the PIHL has gone from well over 90 schools and 250 + teams to somewhere around 45 schools competing for the Penguins Cup. Yeah, the economy can be blamed or yeah the numbers in hockey can be blamed or travel hockey, oh yeah that’s a convenient excuse as well.

        The big number is the cost of High School Hockey and the lack of value that is given to this sport. For a child to play Freshman Hockey in the PIHL, it costs over $ 1500 for a 6^th grader to suit up for a Freshman team. Being a parent, I have a 6^th grader now eligible to play Freshman Hockey and why in the world would I pay over $ 1500 to play 16 games, when in Amateur Hockey, you can pay $ 1000 to play more games and if you want to play 3 times as many games for $ 2000. That is a huge issue for people and the PIHL is now sending surveys out to ask their membership to help them, with the question ‘Do you think all High School Teams should HAVE TO play in the PIHL?’. Folks, Monopoly is a board game and monopolies in business were banished in the 1980’s with government regulation.

        The plain and simple truth is that the Laurel Mountain Hockey League [Volunteers and Less Cost], the Lake Shore Hockey League [Volunteers and Less Cost] and the PAHL [Volunteers and Less Cost] are attractive options for potential High School Hockey Players and this is why Meadville and Bishop McCort are no longer participating in the PIHL. Not like there where not any warning signs of this happening as long time programs Indiana, Penn Hills, Seton LaSalle, North Catholic and others are amongst the refuse of 40 + ‘Teams that are not here Anymore’ Wall of Shame of the PIHL Administration.

        I walked away from the PIHL Administration in 2001 and saw at the time that it was a power and money grab at the time and it continues with the stale people who still are running the league. The original By-Laws had term limitations bccause many of the people involved felt that you always needed to have new blood coming in and as one so called hockey expert stated at the time “you need to have hockey people running hockey”. That person was involved with one of the two hockey programs that earned the 13 State Championships that left the PIHL in one year. Is it time for change to get rid of people who have overstayed their welcome in Interscholastic Hockey? No, I think you should fill out that survey and get on the Long Range Planning Committee!

          The greatest quote I heard came out of the focus groups that the Pittsburgh Penguins put together for High School, Amateur and Dek and Inline Hockey, when someone told me that one of the illustrious board members of the PIHL stated that in their meetings ‘that we told the Penguins all of these ideas, and they just don’t get it !’

          Excuse me…this was a franchise in bankruptcy and was saved by Mario Lemieux and rose from the ashes to win a Stanley Cup in 2009 and build a $ 400 Million Building, which will be a fortress for Hockey for the next 50 years. Maybe the Penguins should kick some people to the curb and take over High School Hockey and Amateur Hockey? If you think that is a stretch……Why did they form a Non-Profit Foundation? It’s around the corner folks and maybe when they get involved, they can go to the PIAA and have the sport become a part of the National High School Federation and Sanction the Sport through the schools. Then it won’t cost me the equivalent of a college education to have my son play High School Hockey?

           Nobody ever dream that Penn State would be a Division 1 Hockey Program except of course Joe Battista and it became a reality when $ 88 Million was donated to build a new arena and fund the scholarships. Don’t think for a minute the Pittsburgh Penguins and the University of Pittsburgh aren’t watching this and they already have a new arena. Times will be changing in High School Hockey and so will the administration ….stay tuned!   

       I have been involved in promoting Interscholastic Hockey since it inception in 1971 at the Alpine Ice Chalet which marks the 40^th Anniversary of High School Hockey in Western Pennsylvania. The year 2010 should be a celebration of those programs, like Shaler, Upper St Clair and Mt Lebanon, who were 3 of the 6 Original High School Hockey programs.

       In addition, the Pittsburgh Penguins are moving into the state of the art Consol Energy Center and have been generous to display the Interscholastic and Amateur Hockey Organizations Jerseys and have computerization, which at some point will be linked to PointStreak and give live updates to all games in Western Pennsylvania. This is a great way of promoting the sport and after 10 years the PIHL may have gotten something right, although the Pittsburgh Penguins have a huge part in that promotion, because they understand where their future ticket base is.

        To lose storied programs like 8-time State Champions Meadville and 5-time State Champions Bishop McCort should not go unnoticed, but this has been a gradual process beginning when the PIHL was formed in 1999-2000. Under the current leadership, the PIHL has gone from well over 90 schools and 250 + teams to somewhere around 45 schools competing for the Penguins Cup. Yeah, the economy can be blamed or yeah the numbers in hockey can be blamed or travel hockey, oh yeah that’s a convenient excuse as well.

        The big number is the cost of High School Hockey and the lack of value that is given to this sport. For a child to play Freshman Hockey in the PIHL, it costs over $ 1500 for a 6^th grader to suit up for a Freshman team. Being a parent, I have a 6^th grader now eligible to play Freshman Hockey and why in the world would I pay over $ 1500 to play 16 games, when in Amateur Hockey, you can pay $ 1000 to play more games and if you want to play 3 times as many games for $ 2000. That is a huge issue for people and the PIHL is now sending surveys out to ask their membership to help them, with the question ‘Do you think all High School Teams should HAVE TO play in the PIHL?’. Folks, Monopoly is a board game and monopolies in business were banished in the 1980’s with government regulation.

        The plain and simple truth is that the Laurel Mountain Hockey League [Volunteers and Less Cost], the Lake Shore Hockey League [Volunteers and Less Cost] and the PAHL [Volunteers and Less Cost] are attractive options for potential High School Hockey Players and this is why Meadville and Bishop McCort are no longer participating in the PIHL. Not like there where not any warning signs of this happening as long time programs Indiana, Penn Hills, Seton LaSalle, North Catholic and others are amongst the refuse of 40 + ‘Teams that are not here Anymore’ Wall of Shame of the PIHL Administration.

        I walked away from the PIHL Administration in 2001 and saw at the time that it was a power and money grab at the time and it continues with the stale people who still are running the league. The original By-Laws had term limitations bccause many of the people involved felt that you always needed to have new blood coming in and as one so called hockey expert stated at the time “you need to have hockey people running hockey”. That person was involved with one of the two hockey programs that earned the 13 State Championships that left the PIHL in one year. Is it time for change to get rid of people who have overstayed their welcome in Interscholastic Hockey? No, I think you should fill out that survey and get on the Long Range Planning Committee!

          The greatest quote I heard came out of the focus groups that the Pittsburgh Penguins put together for High School, Amateur and Dek and Inline Hockey, when someone told me that one of the illustrious board members of the PIHL stated that in their meetings ‘that we told the Penguins all of these ideas, and they just don’t get it !’

          Excuse me…this was a franchise in bankruptcy and was saved by Mario Lemieux and rose from the ashes to win a Stanley Cup in 2009 and build a $ 400 Million Building, which will be a fortress for Hockey for the next 50 years. Maybe the Penguins should kick some people to the curb and take over High School Hockey and Amateur Hockey? If you think that is a stretch……Why did they form a Non-Profit Foundation? It’s around the corner folks and maybe when they get involved, they can go to the PIAA and have the sport become a part of the National High School Federation and Sanction the Sport through the schools. Then it won’t cost me the equivalent of a college education to have my son play High School Hockey?

           Nobody ever dream that Penn State would be a Division 1 Hockey Program except of course Joe Battista and it became a reality when $ 88 Million was donated to build a new arena and fund the scholarships. Don’t think for a minute the Pittsburgh Penguins and the University of Pittsburgh aren’t watching this and they already have a new arena. Times will be changing in High School Hockey and so will the administration ….stay tuned!   

    Penn State University as been a model Ice Hockey Program at the ACHA Division 1 Level for the past 30 years and won multiple National Championships with the majority led by Penn Hills native Joe Battista. The University announced on 9/17 that the University will be building a 5000-6000 seat Arena near the Bryce Jorden Center and house NCAA  Division 1 Mens and Women's Ice Hockey Programs.

     This venture was made possible with a generous gift by Terry and Kim Pegula, who donated $ 88 Million Dollars designated for the building of the Arena, Scholarships for the Mens and Women's Ice Hockey Program. This is a great day for Pa Hockey and a testimony to the hardwork, vision and perserverence of Joe Battista to make it happen ! 

    Here is the link to an article in State College