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2016 Penguins Cup AAA Preview
Posted by Jeff Mauro at Feb 23, 2016 4:00PM PST
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CLASS AAA Penguin Cup Preview ~ 2015-2016 | |||||||||||||
PA HOCKEY www.pahockey.net | |||||||||||||
2016 PA HOCKEY CLASS 'AAA' PLAYOFF PREVIEW | |||||||||||||
When you look at Class AAA with 11 schools, every team who madde the playoffs has been pretty battle tested to face the competition | |||||||||||||
on a night in night out basis. It's anyone's ballgame in AAA and if you don't believe me, I will bet that at least one upset will happen | |||||||||||||
if not more. NA is playing very well and looks to be the favorite, but Central has played very well in the 2nd half. Cathedral Prep could | |||||||||||||
sneak in a steal the show and Butler is a nice team looking to go one step further than a year ago. Peters, Seneca, Canon Mac and Bethel | |||||||||||||
are all on the road and represent programs with recent history of Penguins Cup success over the past five years. Let the games begin | |||||||||||||
and may the best team win a represent West Pa in the Pennsylvania High School Hockey Championship in its 41st year . | |||||||||||||
> | IT IS ANYONE'S BALLGAME IN AAA | ||||||||||||
1 | NORTH ALLEGHENY TIGERS | ||||||||||||
HEAD COACH: MIKE BAGNATO | |||||||||||||
TOP PLAYERS: ERIK CHIDESTER - JOE ZAPPIA - JOE HUBERT - | |||||||||||||
OUTLOOK:North Allegheny is a team who got embarrased a year ago and has been playing with a chip on its shoulder in the 2nd half of this season to prove otherwise | |||||||||||||
2 | CENTRAL CATHOLIC VIKINGS | ||||||||||||
HEAD COACH: BILLY CONNELLY | |||||||||||||
TOP PLAYERS RETURNING: SAM DELUCIA - JAKE TEPE - RYAN HAAG - NATE CAVA | |||||||||||||
OUTLOOK: Central has played desperate hockey in the 2nd half of the 2015-16 season and has gotten timely goaltending which is a great recipe for playoff success | |||||||||||||
3 | CATHEDRAL PREP RAMBLERS | ||||||||||||
HEAD COACH: CRAIG BARNETT | |||||||||||||
TOP PLAYERS: JACK BECKER - JOE KELLY - JAKE KUCHARSKI - DILLON ELLIOTT | |||||||||||||
OUTLOOK: Cathedral Prep won the Class AA title a year ago and has continued its run in Class AAA. This is a dangerous team of veterans and youth and could | |||||||||||||
take the AAA title by storm | |||||||||||||
4 | BUTLER GOLDEN TORONADOES | ||||||||||||
HEAD COACH: PAT HAMMONDS | |||||||||||||
TOP PLAYERS RETURNING: JON FAIR - CONNOR SCOTT - TREVOR GILLIAND - BEN RODGERS | |||||||||||||
OUTLOOK: Butler made the dance a year ago and has experience and some top end talent to take this team to the promised land in 2016 | |||||||||||||
5 | PETER TWP INDIANS | ||||||||||||
HEAD COACH: RICK TINGLE | |||||||||||||
TOP PLAYERS: WILL BARNES - CONNOR GIELEROWSKI - MATT AMELIO - ZACH GIELEROWSKI | |||||||||||||
OUTLOOK: Peters Twp has the deepest hockey program in all Class AAA and will need goaltending and to pick up scoring to move forward in the Penguins Cup AAA chase | |||||||||||||
6 | SENECA VALLEY RAIDERS | ||||||||||||
HEAD COACH: ANTHONY RACO | |||||||||||||
TOP PLAYERS RETURNING: CHRIS LIPNICKY - ALEX CRILLEY - SHANE GALIS - ALYSSA PETERSON | |||||||||||||
OUTLOOK: Seneca Valley is a very good team with depth who will need to rise to the occasion to pull upsets in the Penguins Cup field | |||||||||||||
7 | CANON MCMILLAN BIG MACS | ||||||||||||
HEAD COACH: JOE RODELLA | |||||||||||||
TOP PLAYERS RETURNING: LUC LAVELLA - JAKE MCLELLAND - JACK CLENDENIAL - CONNOR HARTNETT | |||||||||||||
OUTLOOK: The Big Macs ran the table with one goal games through the 2015 playoffs before falling short to Holy Ghost a year ago and has its work cut out in 2016 | |||||||||||||
8 | BETHEL PARK BLACKHAWKS | ||||||||||||
HEAD COACH: JIM 'MORT' MCVAY | |||||||||||||
TOP PLAYERS: ANTONIO ESPOSITO - TYLER KRUSZEWSKI - EVAN OAKLEY - TRE LOWE | |||||||||||||
OUTLOOK: Bethel Park may be one of Class AAA's most dangerous teams and if Tre Lowe gets hot, the Hawks could be in for a magical run | |||||||||||||
2016 Penguins Cup AA Preview
Posted by Jeff Mauro at Feb 23, 2016 4:00PM PST
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2016 Penguins Cup A Preview
Posted by Jeff Mauro at Feb 23, 2016 4:00PM PST
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Pa Hockey Top 25 - 2015-2016
Posted by Jeff Mauro at Jan 14, 2016 4:00PM PST
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Pa Hockey's - Western Pa Top 25 Players of 2015-2016 | |||
AA | Luke Gross | Armstrong | Smooth Skater who is a playmaker and a scorer and will lead the Riverhawk charge to the Penguins Cup |
AA | Paul Knerr | Baldwin | Pure goal scorer with size and speed to pace the Highlanders |
AAA | Tre Lowe | Bethel Park | This kid is athletic and can flat out play goaltender and gives the Hawks a chance to win every night |
A | Chris Miller | Bishop McCort | Tall wirey defenseman with very good puck skills and strong defensive play for Crushers |
A | John Bradley | Bishop McCort | Goaltending is where it starts for the Crimson Crushers and Badley is a very strong keeper |
AAA | Jonathon Fair | Butler | Very good athlete for the Golden Toranadoes and one of Western Pa's best defenseman |
AAA | Trevor Gilliland | Butler | The potential for this kid is that he has size, playmaking ability and his team scores and they win |
D2 | Nathan Norkevicus | Carrick | I could not let this kid slip through the cracks and he just stops pucks and is very good at doing so |
AAA | Sam Delucia | Central Catholic | This player has come a long way in a short time and his size, his spirit and will to win will make CC a tough out in the playoffs |
AA | Chad Veltri | Fox Chapel | When he shows up to play Fox Chapel can beat anyone in Class AA and he is one of the better goaltenders to come around in the past few years |
A | Robbie Reichenbaugh | Freeport | They should let Robbie know he is not running track but his improved playmaking gives the Yellow Jackets a chance to win consistantly |
AA | Justin Weinbrenner | Hampton | Size and scoring ability are a major asset for Justin and this kid could move on a play hockey at the next level |
AA | Brendan Johns | Latrobe | Latrobe has been a nice surprise in 2015-2016 and Brendan has led the puch to the top of Class AA |
AA | Noah Raymundo | Mars | Offensive defenseman in High School Hockey are a rarity and one with 16 goals midway through the season has paced the Planets |
AA | Ryan Durkin | Moon | Moon is a contender for the Penguins Cup and Durkin gives them a chance to win and put the Tigers on the map for the first time ever |
AAA | Erik Chidester | North Allegheny | Chidester lacks the size of the prototypical forward but his edge control of his skating is beautiful to watch and when he scores which is a lot the Tigers are winners |
AAA | Zack Gielarowski | Peters Twp | Booming shot, great leader and probably the top defensman in Western Pennsylvania is why Peters is at the top of AAA |
AA | Connor Quinn | Quaker Valley | Staggering stats were a norm in Class A ………this kid has raised his play to another level in Class AA and Quakers are a dangerous team when playoff bell rings |
AAA | Christopher Lipnicky | Seneca Valley | Skating ability and sniper shot make Chris a very strong player in a AAA circles and Raiders will need it to advance in playoffs |
A | Roman Kramer | Serra Catholic | Not sure if anyone in Western Pa can shot the puck like Kramer who adds nice size and has improved his defensive play for Serra |
A | Jordan Timmons | South Fayette | The apple does not fall far from the tree as Timmons scores in bunches and make South Fayette an interesting playoff team in March |
A | Matt Kreiger | Thomas Jefferson | Smooth and powerdul skater who every time he touches the puck can score for TJ |
A | Sean Weber | West Allegheny | Indians have risen to the top of Class A and Weber is their undisputed leader who can skate and score and will have to distribute the puck to make West A Champions |
A | Nick Skowron | West Allegheny | This player has size and plays very efficient defense for West Allegheny and is a reason their team is at the top of Class A |
A | Kyle Wensel | Wheeling CC | Here is another player who has moved up in classification and still continues to put up very good numbers now at Class A …..smart player who can shoot the puck |
Note: Well over 100 names were considered for the Top 25 and each of the Top 25 brought a little something extra to distinguish themselves | |||
Pa Hockey's - Western Pa Top 5 "Coaching Performances " -2015-16 | |||
A | John Bradley | Bishop McCort | Development and patience has the Crushers in a position to get back to the Penguins Cup and Bradley has built this ship over the past few years |
AAA | Billy Connelly | Central Catholic | Connelly continues to develop players and has the Vikings in a very good position as the playoffs near in Class AAA |
A | Mel Reichenbaugh | Freeport | It's amazing what parents can try to do to a team but Freeport is challenging for a division title despite efforts by some to implode it ….Nice Job Mel ! |
AA | Steve Meyers | Mars | Move to Class AA has not stopped the Planets and they have as good a chance as any team to win Penguins Cup |
AA | Vinnie Somma | Plum | Coaching is sometimes not like playing but Somma has his Mustamgs knocking on the door with some nice wins over contenders in AA |
Pa Hockey's - Western Pa Top 5 "Future Young Studs " -2015-2016 (Top Freshman) | |||
AA | Jace Rearic | Armstrong | For a young kid playing Varsity for the first time he has the composure and scoring ability of a more mature player…..he will put some numbers up before he is done playing |
AAA | Pat Kelly | Cathedral Prep | Ramblers move to AAA has been a very smooth transition and this kid is following in the footsteps of older brothers Jack and Joe |
A | Olda Virag | Franklin Regional | Jaromir Jagr is # 68 and so is Olda …..come watch him play and he does a lot of things that JJ does and has the Panthers in good position in Class A |
A | Billy Rapone | Greensburg Salem | Sometimes playing on one of the worst teams in the league has its benefits and Rapone can score and play defense …..very smart player |
AA | Justin Adamski | Hampton | Classy player who shows up to play every night and when he does Hampton has a good chance to win |
Pennsylvania Elite 8 Hockey Rankings
Posted by Jeff Mauro at Jan 8, 2016 4:00PM PST
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PA HOCKEY | |||||||
ELITE 8 STATEWIDE RANKINGS | |||||||
2015-2016 "AAA AA & A" DIVISION | # of Pennsylvania | ||||||
FINAL - WEEK 16 | State Crowns | ||||||
CLASS | DIVISION | TEAM | W | L | T | PTS | |
AAA | 1 | HOLY GHOST PREP | 1 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 31 |
AAA | 2 | LASALLE | 4 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 23 |
AAA | 3 | NORTH ALLEGHENY | 2 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 25 |
AAA | 4 | PETERS TOWNSHIP | 5 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 24 |
AAA | 5 | ST JOSEPH'S PREP | - | 9 | 6 | 3 | 21 |
AAA | 6 | BUTLER | - | 10 | 6 | 1 | 21 |
AAA | 7 | CENTRAL CATHOLIC | - | 10 | 5 | 2 | 22 |
AAA | 8 | MALVERN PREP | 2 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 18 |
AA | 1 | CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH | - | 13 | 0 | 0 | 26 |
AA | 2 | CENTRAL BUCKS WEST | - | 11 | 1 | 1 | 23 |
AA | 3 | LATROBE | 4 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 28 |
AA | 4 | MARS | 2 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 28 |
AA | 5 | ARMSTRONG | - | 14 | 4 | 1 | 29 |
AA | 6 | DOWNINGTOWN EAST | 2 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 25 |
AA | 7 | MOON | - | 13 | 4 | 2 | 28 |
AA | 8 | WILLIAM TENNENT | 1 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 23 |
A | 1 | MONTOUR | - | 17 | 1 | 1 | 35 |
A | 2 | WEST CHESTER EAST | 1 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 29 |
A | 3 | WEST CHESTER RUSTIN | 2 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 24 |
A | 4 | WEST ALLEGHENY | - | 16 | 2 | 0 | 32 |
A | 5 | FREEPORT | 14 | 4 | 1 | 29 | |
A | 6 | BISHOP MCCORT | 5 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 27 |
A | 7 | SPRINGFIELD | - | 14 | 2 | 0 | 28 |
A | 8 | FRANKLIN REGIONAL | - | 15 | 4 | 0 | 30 |
A | 8 | PALMYRA | - | 16 | 1 | 0 | 32 |