High School Hockey On TV
With youtube.com and places like digitalsports.com why isn't this all online? Sure things are occasionally on local high school cable channels or perhaps CN8, and that isn't done enough as it is, but leagues are not taking advantage of the internet. Surely a hockey dad or mom could be counted on to tape a game with some level of proficiency. Surely the league or the teams themselves could manage to upload that film to a website. Moreover, it is all free. No charge. Not only would every player get a kick out of being able to watch their own games, not only would every coach use it as a coaching tool, and yes a scouting tool, but it would be the best free advertising a team or league could ask for. The number of free websites to host these games is practically endless. Other communities, leagues, and teams across the country are taking advantage of this so why isn't Philadelphia?
Germantown Academy Ties Big
It seems odd that a tie would be such a big deal but in this case it is. Down on their luck Germantown Academy tied early season favorite Roman Catholic High School by a score of 2-2 in a contest festooned with penalties. GA has had such a bad year if you look at their schedule they stopped putting in the scores seven games into the season. (Although this tie made it on.) Roman on the other hand slammed defending Flyers Cup AAA champions HGP 7-1 to start the season, although their string of victories has tapered off. The tie with GA puts RC at an even 3-3-3, and is Germantown Academy's first non-loss of the season.
Delbarton Defeats Hill School 8-2
The Delbarton School just beat The Hill School by a wide margin of 8-2. Delbarton, traditionally a strong program, took the lead in the first period and never let it go leading 2-1 in the first, 7-1 in the second, and 8-2 in the third. The Hill School is having a terrible year, despite having their very own arena, but Delbarton's blowout against the prep school Hillers was bigger than any other local team's this year. La Salle College High School defeated them 3-2, Wyoming Seminary lost 1-0 and tied 2-2, the Lawrenceville School lost 2-1 and tied 2-2, while Germantown Academy lost twice by the score of 7-0. A resounding Delbarton victory and the general fall of the Hill School says volumes about the changing face of local high school hockey.
LBCSHL All-Star Game
The LBCSHL held its all-star game this past week with representatives from every team across the varsity level rostered. Team MVPs Colin Fafara of Pennsbury High School and Kevin Weller of Archbishop Ryan lead the Varsity White squad to a 5-4 victory over a Varsity Blue team featuring Father Judge standout Ryan Patsch.
High School Hockey Personified
The Post-Tribune of Indiana recently published an article about high school hockey. It has the familiar sound of every article you have ever read on what it is like to play hockey at any level. They all cover early mornings, cold drives, and the money spent on gas. But this article really does get it right.
LVSHL Has High Scoring Games
The Lehigh Valley Scholastic Hockey has some really high scoring contests. In the varsity Pure Division fifteen out of the forty-one games played have gone into double digits. Thirty-six of those forty-one games saw at least one team score five goals or more. There are six teams in the Pure Division with four out of those six having more goals for than goals against. In fact Northampton has an incredible 86 goals for and a virtually nonexistent 18 goals against.
Predicting Penalties
According to a study done at the University of Iowa coaches can accurately predict the number of penalties high school players will commit by giving a questionnaire at the beginning of a season. The study was called "Trait Aggressiveness and Hockey Players: Predicting Hot Tempers on the Ice," and can not only predict the numbers of penalties but also the type. They broke up the types of penalties as aggressive (slashing, roughing, tripping, et cetera) and non aggressive (too many men, no mouth guard, delay of game, et cetera) however, what they discovered was that players who tended to get aggressive penalties overall also tended to cause/get non aggressive penalties as well. Which leads one to suspect that players who are intent on getting someones number, are frustrated and distracted, and will hurt their team with both aggressive penalties and non aggressive penalties. This is what every coach is referring too when they say "we can't afford to take these stupid penalties..."
Perkiomen Valley Wins As A Team
Perkiomen Valley is strong amongst ICSHL varsities because, like many teams who lead in the standings, they win as a team. Schools like Perkiomen Valley, Conestoga, and Strath Haven are ahead in the standings because their players have bought into a team game. If one looks at the point leaders you will find none of the top teams are dominating. In fact most of the point leaders are playing for teams stuck in the middle of the pack. Playing as a team means that no one player stands out, but with even offensive production across four lines coupled with solid goaltending these teams are on top.
La Salle College High School Still Undefeated
One wonders what is better, going undefeated in the regular season or not having a "they have to lose sometime" mentality dogging you in the post-season. With recent 8-0 and 9-1 wins over Monsignor Bonner and Cardinal O'Hara the Explorers are continuing their undefeated season. Twenty-four games into a thirty-four game schedule La Salle has yet to lose despite tough competition in two tournaments and playing what is debatably the toughest non-league schedule in Eastern Pennsylvania. With games coming up against New Jersey strongmen Christian Brothers Academy, The Lawrenceville School, Bergen Catholic High School, and Malvern Prep the tail end of the season may in fact be the toughest part. No doubt Head Coach Walter Muehlbronner is trying to keep the team focused on hockey and not on the games, but going into the Flyers Cup and perhaps the state tournament undefeated has to add an almost palpable pressure. They may be better off suffering a loss to one of the very good teams they have coming up just to get it out of the way when it does not matter.
SHSHL Continental Division Battle
It looks like Council Rock-North and the Pennsbury Falcons are forming an old time hockey rivalry. Council Rock-North Head Coach Eric Tye was recently quoted in the Courier Times as saying "This is our last chance. If we don't get them, we might not get another chance again," with Pennsbury Heach Coach John Bria responding “It's been a great rivalry,” and then Council Rock-North retorting “I love that Pennsbury is in our league...” Pennsbury is now a very strong program and a favorite for states. The two teams are going to face of this Friday February 1st, 8:20 at Warwick.
Outdoor Games
According to the Republican Herald AHL leadership and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are discussing an outdoor game similar to the Winter Classic held by their NHL affiliate. Penguins CEO Jeff Barrett has reportedly stated that Northeastern Pennsylvania is where they want to have it. This begs the question; who they would play against? Hopefully the answer would be the Philadelphia Phantoms. As far as high school hockey goes there is an opportunity here for teams to play before the AHL match-up to test the ice.
Haverford High School Best AA Threat
EHSHL AA Haverford High School is still far and away the leader of the league with an 11-3-0 record in a league where three out of five of the teams are below .500 and second place belongs to a 6-5 Ridley High School. Scoring leader Thomas Haeberle and assist man Steve Karpinski are fueling an offense that has more than twice the goals of any other team. The 42 goals against is meaningless if your team has 91 goals for. But it seems obvious that to beat Haverford you have to beat Haeberle. The Fords only have three losses. In two of the three losses, one to AAA Cardinal O'Hara and one to AA Ridley High Shool, Haeberle was pointless. In the third loss the Fords were drowned in goals by A Marple-Newtown 7-5. Despite their dependence on Haeberle, Haverford remains the biggest threat to the AA state title from Eastern Pennsylvnia. In the Flyers Cup and the state tournament the Fords may find they will have to spread the puck around more.
Delbarton School vs. Hill-Murray
Beyond the scoresheet on njhockey.org reported on an unofficial scrimmage between top of the New Jersey standings Delbarton School and Minnesota's traditionally strong Hill-Murray School. According to second hand reports Delbarton went neck and neck tying Hill-Murray 2-2 before play was mangled by turning the contest into an actual scrimmage with artificial whistles and what looked like an agreed practice of the power play and penalty kill for each team. One wonders if Hill-Murray pushed that idea after realizing Delbarton was not going to roll over. Prior to the scrimmage with HM Delbarton shocked Minnesota's the Breck School 5-2 and Holy Family Academy 6-0.
Odd Malvern Prep Scores
Malvern Prep is a great team but they have been putting up some odd scores all year. It is not clear if they have been missing players or if they have chemistry issues but their schedule has produced some conflicting results. An early season loss to Father Judge started them on the wrong skate. The Friars then chugged along racking up win after win until their holiday tournament where they lost three out of four games. Granted two of those games were against out-of-state powerhouse the University School, but the Unis buried them 15 goals to 2 in two games. Then Prep had back to back ties against lower seed West Chester Henderson and a weak Princeton Day School team, followed by a low scoring win against a poorly performing Germantown Academy team. They rebounded with a 6-1 win over Salesianum and no doubt will rattle of a string of victories leading up to their second battle with La Salle on February 22nd. Malvern Prep will be back in the Flyers Cup there is no doubt on that. They will have a great regular season record and will definitely go to the Flyers Cup. But their last game of the year is against rival powerhouse La Salle, and the result of that game will dictate how they go into the Flyers Cup.
2008 ICSHL All-Star Game
The trend with the ICSHL all-star game is a circular one. After essentially negating the chance for AAA all-stars in the past, most likely because elite teams did not want to chance injuries, the ICSHL has moved forward with these games. However, the only AAA teams to participate this year are Malvern Prep, which has five players on the National Division Blue roster, and Salesianum with four players on the American Division White roster. Both the Friars and Salesianum players will be participating against AA players, although they are playing in different all-star games against different teams, despite both playing in the Philadelphia AAA ICSHL. What is strikingly bizarre is that Salesianum all-stars will be playing with La Salle II, Malvern Prep II, and Roman Catholic II players. Perhaps Malvern Prep and Salesianum are trying to normalize the all-star game experience again for their teams, league, and players by participating. But with the intermingling of players from what are essentially different leagues across different levels of play it seems more like a showcase than a league's all-star game.
Goalies Seeing Too Much Ice Time
The minutes logged by some goalies this year seem really high. Unbelievably high. Paul Sjostrom of St. Joseph's Preparatory has been in net for 450 minutes of league play, both Roman's James Fynes, and HGP's Steven Berardi have seen over 300 minutes. According to the LBCSHL website one goalie has reached 500, 600, and 700 while two goalies have exceeded 800 minutes so far this year. The SHSHL website is showing high numbers across the board with 17 players having logged more than 400 minutes. These numbers are tantamount to an offensive or defensive player seeing 30 minutes a game.
Prudential Center High School Jerseys
One of the coolest things around tri-state hockey has to be the New Jersey Devil's display on the Prudential Center's lower concourse. Every jersey of every high school hockey team in the state of New Jersey has their sweater on display. Video is available here.
How To Get Recruited
There are only two reasons to play high school hockey, to have fun and to prepare for college hockey. You do not need to be a star to play college hockey although it obviously is helpful. Most players will have to search for a college program that fits them as athletes, but even if you are not a star player odds are teams are going to come looking for you. College coaches go to games, or send someone in their place, all across the United States and Canada to watch high school, prep school, and junior teams play. If you are just that good, or play for a standout program, odds are you have been looked at by some team at some point. Colleges know who the scoring leaders are in high school and prep school leagues, especially if they have exponentially higher numbers than normal. So who are they interested in? They prefer players who score goals. They prefer players who are team captains. And they prefer players with skating ability. Skating ability may be a well duh comment but if given a choice between two players of relative equal skills a coach will take the better skater every time. If you are not a star player that does not mean you might not get scouted. Playing with other talented athletes or for a traditionally strong team is one way of getting exposure. Another way is to seek out tournaments to showcase your talents or to attend camps or clinics held by the colleges at which you wish to play. Another thing to consider is where you want to play. There is no need to assume that you have to play for a team everyone knows. Not everyone can make it to division one hockey. There simply are not enough spots. However, good college hockey is everywhere and you may find that you get more ice time and in many ways become a better player on a team playing at a lower level. When people talk about how hard it is to make a college team they most likely have only the best division one teams in mind, but there are almost twice as many division two and division three hockey leagues. Moreover, college club hockey is growing at an incredible rate and in many ways the ACHA is competing with the NCAA for players. Many ACHA teams scout just as a NCAA team would complete with recruits, tryouts, and cuts. They have three divisions of play. They travel and have national championships. Club hockey players have incredibly similar experiences in the ACHA as NCAA athletes, the only difference really is how much money a college is willing to spend to develope a program. Skill levels vary across both the NCAA and the ACHA so there is a spot out there on a team for you if you are willing to look and to work hard enough. Regardless of the team you wish to play for you will need to get recommendations from coaches, collect stats and newspaper clippings about you and your current team, it would be a good idea to make highlight video, and lastly you will in most cases need to contact a team one to two seasons in advance as a potential athlete. Most teams will have a link or email address on their website for prospective players or you can simply call that college's athletics office and ask how to contact the hockey team. Be on time for any meetings and exhibit more work ethic than other players in any tryouts. Last and most important, do not forget that you should choose your college based on academics and not athletics. Playing hockey is not what lets you to go to college, rather going to college enables you to play hockey.
Marple-Newtown Dominates EHSHL A
With Marple-Newtown High School continuing to dominate EHSHL A play they are a true favorite to go to states this year. Currently four Tigers occupy spots in the top six in scoring, they have six players averaging more than a point a game, and Evan Taxin is putting up a respectable 90.34 save percentage between the pipes. Their only lose of the season has come at the hands of a strong Perkiomen Valley hockey team. The Tigers are doing so well that there is discussion of moving from a club sport to at least some level of school sponsorship.
600 Wins For Brick High School Hockey
Bob Auriemma recently won his 600th game as the Brick Township High School hockey head coach making him New Jersey's all time coaching win leader. Auriemma currently has a record of 600-303-76 and has won six state titles and five public school titles. Quoted in the Asbury Park Press Auriemma claimed those victories reflected the work of others and not just him as he thanked the players, parents, school and league officials, and team volunteers. Video is available here.
PIHL Commissioner Calls For PIAA Hockey
The commissioner of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League, Ed Sam, recently called for hockey to be included as part of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association. In a question and answer session with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazzette the western league commissioner said he believed this could be achieved after a regime change at the PIAA and would occur in the next five to ten years. Although internet chatter seems to find many parts of the question and answer session somewhat dubious the idea of PIAA inclusion would be a boon for local hockey.
Father Judge In The Flyers Cup
Father Judge has a good chance to move up in the AAA standings and could be a Flyers Cup dark horse. With two offensive lines that can put the puck in the net the Crusaders can survive some high scoring contests and have battled through to victories against Holy Ghost Prep and Malvern Prep. Currently Father Judge is sporting four players who average about a point a game or more. In support Leo Smith and Matt Feeney are adding strong gritty play in the defensive end to punish opposing teams. So far this season Judge has beaten up on weaker teams and eeked a few victories amongst top Flyers Cup contenders. This is not enough to make them a favorite but could put them up as something to consider.
Ches-Mont League
DailyLocal.com recently declared Downingtown East an explosive offensive machine after an 11-1 shellacking of basement dweller Great Valley. Particular praise was given to Couger offenseman Greg Auciello who powered his way to a hat trick. In turn Auciello praised his coach, “Coach tells us to crash the net, so I followed the shooters, and put myself in the right positions.” Teammates quoted in the article turned it back to Auciello saying he was great leader, while Head Coach Mark Bobko reinforced this notion by pointing out the effect he has on younger players. However, Auciello does not seem to let these things go to his head as he defined his type of play as a garbageman, "picking up the loose garbage."
Delaware Scholastic Hockey Association
Mirroring the idea behind Pennsylvania high school ice hockey joining the PIAA as a state organized sport the lower end of tri-state hockey is courting their own sanctioning body for high school sports. The News Journal reported that state recognition is the number one goal of the Delaware Scholastic Hockey Association quoting league president Neil Tagle as saying, ""I think eventually it will be. We're in constant contact with the DIAA. We realize it's a process we have to follow. We're continuing to iron out issues related to the league to get to that point. It's not frustrating. We realize it's a process and we're working toward that goal." One wonders if the Pennsylvania high school hockey powers that be feel the same way towards the PIAA.
Grimes In The Times
The Bucks County Currier Times is echoing what philadelphiahighschoolhockey.blogspot.com wondered about earlier this month, namely that Archbishop Wood goalie Frank Grimes must be some sort of machine. The Viking's goalie has played every minute for Wood this season and faced an astounding 526 shots in 16 games. Most goalies would never publicly complain about their workload, especially since many have to split games, and Grimes is young and no doubt can physically handle the time on the ice. But it is the mental aspect that becomes precarious for goaltenders. Vikings Head Coach March Rago, formerly the Head Coach of Council Rock South, believes that Grimes is part of a core group of of young players that will move Archbishop Wood to the top of the standings in upcoming years.
La Salle College High School Wins Meadville Tournament
La Salle College High School won the the Meadville Tournament for the third time in four years downing St. Edward 4-1. St Edward's lone goal was the only tournament goal scored against Explorers goalie Dan Pyne who was named to his third straight all-tournament team. Netting 31 goals over the course of the tournament La Salle become the all-time highest scoring team in tournament history shattering the previous record by five goals. Quoted in the Meadville Tribune St. Edward Head Coach Rob Whidden was gracious in defeat stating that there "...might be one team in all of Ohio like LaSalle,” and that they were “...excited to have scored a goal on them.” La Salle is currently ranked number one in eastern Pennsylvania, but having recently, and resoundingly, bested the best of western Pennsylvania perhaps that ranking should be for all of Pennsylvania.
Meadville Tournament Playoffs
La Salle College High School will meet St. Ignatius, as Sylvania Northview faces St. Edward High School, to determine the Meadville Tournament championship match-up. The Explorers defeated North Allegheny 11-0, St. Edward 1-0, and McDowell 6-0 to reach the semifinals. The other favorite to make the championship, Sylvania Northview, tied Mt. Lebanon 2-2, defeated Meadville 6-3, and St. Ignatius 4-2.
La Salle Advances in Meadville Tourny
According to pahockey.net La Salle College High School defeated St. Edwards 1-0 in the Explorers second tournament match-up. St. Edwards is highly ranked amongst Ohio teams so this is another big win for La Salle.
Princeton Day School Ties Malvern Prep 1-1
Princeton Day School recently tied Malvern Prep at Ice Line 1-1. Princeton Day plays mostly a Prep School schedule against such teams as The Hun School and Rye Country Day School although it is interesting note that they scheduled games with the La Salle College High School AA team instead of the AAA team, Germantown Academy, and, to start the season, Holy Ghost Prep. Princeton Day has played strong against local teams with victories against La Salle AA and Germantown Academy, a tie with Malvern Prep, and a loss to HGP.
Meadville Tournament Blitz
The Meadville Tournament plays big in western Pennsylvania to the point of coverage most eastern teams only dream about. Beyond media coverage in multiple formats, including broadcast and internet radio on the Allegheny News Talk Sports Network, the North Allegheny Sports Network, and the MSA Sports Network there are things such as clothing and product merchandising, Bulldog Dvds, heated debate and intense fan participation, and a team draw far and wide from Ohio to Philadelphia.
PHILA AAA Standings
With the vagaries of hockey schedules taken into account it seems unlikely that Malvern Prep will hold onto their lead spot in the current ICSHL AAA standings. The Friars only have two games left to play against solid O'Hara and HGP squads. Currently Malvern leads the league with twelve points but La Salle is only two points behind with five games in hand, Father Judge is four points behind with four games in hand, and Cardinal O'Hara is six points behind with six games in hand. It is certainly possible that Malvern Prep could end the season in second or even third place.
Meadville Tournament Is The Story
This tournament is going to be the only story this weekend and will dominant local hockey news for weeks. It is that big of a deal. One days worth of scores does not win a tournament but they can tell a story. First off much vaunted Sylvania Northview, the number one and undefeated team from Ohio, tied, that is right, tied Mt Lebanon with a score of 2-2. At 12-2-1 Mt. Lebanon was not udefeated but they stood up to the undefeated tournament favorite Northview. What makes this interesting is if you take these scores to heart, and you take into account that Mt. Lebanon only beat North Allegheny by one goal earlier this season, La Salle's 11-0 victory last night over North Allegheny should really say something.
LBCSHL Rumored To Be Folding
A lack of volunteers for coaches or managers, dwindling financial support, and the wider recruitment of private schools versus public schools is being blamed for troubles in the Lower Bucks County Scholastic Hockey League. The Bucks County Currier Times is reporting that the LBCSHL is functioning but in trouble noting that in recent years the league has lost three varsity programs. Highlighting all this is the breaking news that the Pennsbury Falcons, perhaps the best team currently playing in the LBCSHL is moving to the SHSHL, and that apparently Neshaminy High School is considering doing the same. Moreover, the LBCSHL has to confront continued rumers that a pure AAA team league is being discussed which could turn Lower Bucks into a JV and middle school league.
La Salle Wins In Meadville Tournament
La Salle College High School did in fact win their first match-up in the Meadville Bulldog Invitational Tournament, and at 11-0 won big, against North Allegheny. They scored more goals in one game than all the other teams combined, 11 La Salle versus 9 for the other teams, and enginered a shut out in their opening bid. Thing is this tournament will last all weekend and you have to wonder what are the odds they can keep it going? La Salle has to lose some time right? But then again maybe not. Maybe they are just that good.
Conwell-Egan Making A Comeback?
According to phillyburbs.com Conwell-Egan is planning a return to varsity play at the start of the 2008-2009 season. Conwell-Egan is currently running two junior varsity programs. With two JV teams battling around the middle of LBCSHL standings and a middle school team able to provide young talent it looks like this could really happen for Eagles.
Jayson Ritchey Scores Goals
Wissahickon High School star forward Jayson Ritchey has more goals at the halfway point than most players have all year. At 41 his goal total is four times that of any of his teamates. With a 9-2 record in the SHSHL American Division the Trojans are in second place and nipping at the heals of first place Upper Dublin. Ritchey's ability to find the net has created some high scoring contests including an 11-4 blowout of Lansdale Catholic High School. One would think with a player scoring 47% of a teams goals opponents have been doing whatever it takes to slow him down. Apparently it has not worked.
Middle School Teams
There are a plethora of hockey teams today. And more and more of them are now middle school teams. Interestingly most of these middle school teams are SHSHL teams. One would think with a feeder program like that these teams are going to change the shape of hockey in the area. With schools like Council Rock, Pennridge, and North Penn taking full advantage of their youth programs you may see a rise in how and who they play in the near future.
Bishop McDevitt Drowned in Penalties
Bishop McDevitt leads all of local hockey. In penalties. This is not a good thing. Somehow the game has gotten out of the coaches hand. Several players are likely to break a hundred PIMs this year. There are only three things that could be discerned from this. The team could be so bad they simply get in the way and fall down a lot. They could be trying to make up for a lack of talent through gritty play. Or they could be running wild with no oversight. No matter the reason it has not produced anything other than a 1-12-1 season. There is nothing wrong with doing your best and losing. But amassing penalties is not doing your best. Nor is it how you win games, play hockey, or have fun.
Malvern Prep Could Use Some Freshman
This year there are seven seniors on the Malvern Prep AAA team. When those seniors graduate at the end of this season 30% of the Friar's team will be gone. When the current set of juniors graduate in 09 that will be another 30%. There are currently only three sophomores and no freshman on the AAA team. The second varsity squad only has six underclassman. The vast majority of this team is going to disapear soon, and 60% of their roster spots are going to be open. It is unlikely that they are going to promote what would be tantamount to the entire second varsity when the time comes. It seems inevitable that Malvern Prep is going to become a very young team within the next two years.
Archbishop Ryan Loses Their Coach
Archbishop Ryan recently posted notice that they are looking for a new head coach. One wonders if they are indeed going to pass over the coaching staff from their varsity, JV white, JV black, JV gold, and middle school teams in favor of someone from off the reservation.
Pennsbury Falcons Are Getting Good Press
It is not really a surprise but the Bucks County Currier Times recently announced this season as perhaps the best in the Falcons 33 year history. Pointing out the triple threat of Gannon, Barnes, and Sweetland as a dominant force in both the SHSHL and the LBCSHL is blatently true. No surprises there. League leading goalie Colin Fafara is 10-2 but being a senior means this is his swan song. Of greater interest is that their second goalie is a sophomore who is currently undeafeted. Chapin as a backup has 4 wins with a 1.50 goals against average. And with two of Pennridge's triple threat returning next season as seniors, they will definitely continue to be fan favorites.
Can Archbishop Wood Keep Frank Grimes?
Archbishop Wood has had some problems over the years and rumors of their demise have not been greatly exaggerated. But considering the press Frank Grimes has gotten lately, one is left to wonder what is up in the AW. Grimes is a freshman. Grimes is on a cellar dwelling team. Grimes keeps the net for both the varsity and junior varsity squads. Grimes has currently played an astounding 630.0 minutes of hockey. Grimes has faced an astounding 469 shots so far. And with all that weighing him down Grimes still makes the save 85% of the time. What would he be like on a more talented team? Unstoppable? Maybe. One has to wonder what will happen if Archbishop Wood does not supply that. Grimes is already being looked at, but he may also be looking elsewhere.
The Ice Is Gray
Hockey is a game of gray areas, which is how the clutch and grab style of play is possible. Unfortunately too many hockey coaches think this is how you coach. But at the high school level these teams are incomplete, and as always it is the skill and knowledge of the game that will matter most to a player's future in the game. The goal of a high school player, and that players coach, should be to become a college player. As such skill level is more important for a team rather than playing systems. In this regard playing the trap is the trap. As a player, or the parent of a player, we should all be upfront with coaches who use the gray areas in the hockey rule book to clutch and grab at a few victories.
Bad Referees Are Not Really Bad News
There has always been an assumption that bad referees can throw a game through poor performance. But this may be more on the side of excited spectators than players. A study at the University of Illinois found that referees were not susceptible to intimidation or favoritism by fans. Officials get scapegoated for honest mistakes and attempts to guide a game along but no one ever points out that it is the players who commit the penalty. Moreover, it is the teams, leagues, and USA Hockey that train and hire any referee. In the end it is up to the players and coaching staff to play the game, and both teams get the same referee when they play. Contact your league if you have an issue with a referee, after all, the refs are just doing a job.
Malvern Prep Goalie Nearly Perfect
Corey Hughes at Malvern Prep is making a difference in the Friars season as he holds down a goals against of 5 and a 94.25 save percentage. Allowing only 1.67 goals per game makes it much easier for a Prep team which currently features zero players in the scoring top ten.
Where Is Conwell-Egan's Varsity Team?
Why does Conwell-Egan Catholic High School not have a varsity level team? Their website lists a middle school team, JV minor, and JV major teams but no varsity level squad. With three teams to draw from how can they not field a varsity team? With a JV major squad that has a winning record and a firm base of players coming up how could they not do as well as say Neshaminy at 3-12, Lansdale Catholic at 0-11, or Abington at 1-10, or Bishop McDevitt at 1-12.
Quaker Valley High School
Quaker Valley High School may have the best hockey team you've never heard of. It is a wonder no Philadelphia A level team has scheduled them. In the past two seasons Quaker Valley is 50-3-1. In the 05-06 season they won a PIHL championship, and are currently 14-2-0 with 112 goals for and 28 goals against. It seems a forgone conclusion that someone from eastern Pennsylvania will have to play them eventually, as they are destined to make it to the A level state championship.
The Measure Of Success in New Programs
What is the measure of success for a new program? Is it their record? Is it the quality of teams they play? Is it the league or level they play in? If you combine those tangible things you get an intangible. The direction of the program is what determines success. Are they on the rise or about to disappear? That is the determination of success. Success is the creation of tradition. St. Joe's Prep is already playing alumni games, Salesianum has seen constant improvement despite extra travel times for joining the ICSHL. Both these teams could have wallowed in obscurity as other new teams have done. Instead they have taken the place of former powerhouses who have lost sight of their tradition. And it is tradition that is the embodiment of success because tradition is what lives on, and without it a team would cease to exist.
Referees Give Hints On How To Win
In a scientific study of 15 youth hockey games reported in the Journal of Sports Behavior it was determined that referees spent a total of 40.6% of game time encouraging and or giving advice to players. The researchers drew two conclusions from their study, one that there are predictable behaviors for all referees, and second that how referees are perceived by adult players is affected by the quality of referee "hints" in the form of on ice coaching experienced during youth games.
Explorers Leave For Meadville
This weekend La Salle College High School is heading to Erie, PA for the 12th annual Meadville Bulldog Invitational Hockey Tournament. Joining the Explorers will be St. Ignatious, Sylvania Northview, Mt. Lebanon, Seton LaSalle, McDowell, St. Edwards, and North Allegheny. Of particular note is the inclusion of Sylvania Northview who, like La Salle, are currently undefeated. To place into perspective just how well the 20-0 Sylvania Northview Wildcats are doing, they beat the University School 3-2, and the University School recently beat Malvern Prep twice in an Ice Line Holiday Tournament 8-1 and 7-1. The Explorers have reached the championship round twice and taken first place once, but with tournament competition so fierce this year they may have to play better than they have all season to remain undefeated.
Recruiting For High School Hockey
What is the deal with high school recruiting? I do not mean the college recruiting we regularly hear about but rather the recruiting of grade school students by high schools specifically for athletics. Surely our coaches must be doing this. Many coaches no doubt still just accept whoever appears on the roster. But if that is how a program builds its team then they are doing something wrong. Granted strong programs can recruit for themselves. Ten years of winning seasons with athletes going on to play in college or even the pros makes for an immediate draw to would be freshmen. Formerly youth sports were run by civic or private organizations and if a coach wanted to scout he literally had to spend time at the rink. Likewise spectators could see the luck of the draw in a team that was good for a few years but when a key group of players graduated the team would fall to obscurity. However, a trend amongst a number of schools is to imitate other sports and develop feeder programs for hockey. Malvern Prep for example has utilized its middle school and its relationship with Ice Line, check out the web address for their hockey team, to create its own AAA farm system. With the development of new teams as suburban townships create new high schools or as institutions such as
Pennridge High School Surprises Archbishop Ryan
In a stunning display of the importance of crossover games Pennridge High School bested AAA Archbishop Ryan last Thursday 3-1. The Raiders had just come off of a blow-out 6-2 victory over Pennridge rival North Penn. North Penn in turn had beaten Pennridge 6-1. But, a solid defensive effort lead to a frustrated Archbishop Ryan team and gave the Prennridge scoring duo of Welch and Moyer room to operate in the third period when they netted all three Pennridge goals.
Conestoga Offers Balanced Attack
Conestoga High School is offering one of the most balanced offensive systems in years with five players netting five or more goals so far this season and twelve players who have scored at least once. With what amounts to four lines of forwards who can put the puck in the net the Pioneers have climbed to the top of ICSHL varsity standings with a 10-1 record. They have also put up some impressive game scores netting four goals or more in seven games and reaching ten goals twice. Yet no one player is ranked within the top ten in league scoring. This balanced attack coupled with wall like goaltending from Tyler Mazda is making Conestoga AA Flyers Cup favorites.
Jean O'Neal Joins Providence College
Conestoga High School's Jean O'Neal is halfway through her first season of college hockey with the NCAA Women's Division 1 Providence Friars. She was a league leading scorer during her years with The Pioneers and was also named the Princeton Tiger Lilies U19 MVP. Through 20 games this season she has 3 goals and 4 assists.
Pennsbury Non-Leaguers
The Pennsbury Falcons have one of the most interesting non-league schedules in Philadelphia high school hockey. They have 16 out of 48 games scheduled against non high school teams. Teams such as Flyers Youth U18 AA, Valley Forge Colonial U18 AA, and the Mercer Chiefs U18 AA. They have opted to play what amounts to regional all-star teams rather than schedule crossover games. And it seems to be working for them. In league games their leading trio of players own the top three scoring spots in the LBCSHL, their goalies are dominating the league, and they hold an intimidating lead in LBSCHL standings.
Mismatches Between Teams
One wonders whatever happened to crossover matches? Maybe the fear of lopsided victories or defeats has basically banished the act because few teams seem interested these days. La Salle College High School abandoned the idea years ago and has scheduled the minimum number of local teams they can play and still qualify for the Flyers Cup ever since, Malvern Prep too. Holy Ghost Prep and Cardinal O'Hara have a few token games scheduled, with O'Hara brazenly scheduling their first game of the season against Haverford High School. The Salesianum School and Monsignor Bonner are the only AAA teams left who filled out their schedule with local talent. Now this may be a good sign, in that many teams are reaching a high regional and indeed national level of play. On the other hand, what this may indicate is a true demarcation line between Philadelphia programs, and what could be the start of a real caste system in tri-state hockey.
Haverford High School Wins With Haeberle
Amongst EHSHL AA teams Haverford High School is the lone standout this season, the only AA team currently above .500, they have both the one and two spots for leading scorers and a team leader in senior T.J. Haeberle. The Fords won the AA Flyers Cup last season riding a Haeberle hat trick against New Jersey's Washington Township. There was some concern that Haeberle would see his production decrease with the graduation of star player Chris Campli, 2007 AA Flyers Cup MVP, but according to The Bulletin Haeberle claims to be getting it done on his own. Haverford coach Brian Cleary said that Haeberle is creating his own chances due to his vision on the ice and a hard work ethic, but it is worth noting that when Haeberle has not registered a point Haverford has been shut out. Leading one to suspect that the key to beating the Fords is to beat Haeberle.
Local Rink Turned Into Homes
In 2000 the High Ridge Ice Arena, in Gibbsboro, NJ, opened with the promise of being a new type of ice rink. It's first game was a high school all-star game, it immediately had ice time booked with youth hockey, and was affiliated with the South Jersey Scholastic Hockey League. Yet the Philadelphia Business Journal is reporting that a mere 7 years later the rink is being converted into, of all things, condominiums. By April the 38,000 square foot rink will be converted into 3.5 million dollars worth of condo apartments.
Talent On Unionville Varsity
Despite a team that is nowhere near the top Unionville High School forward Matthew Milana is leading ICSHL scorers with 24 goals and 8 assists through 10 games. Even more impressive, he seems to be getting little help on offense. No other Unionville player appears in the top 25. In fact Milana is contributing about 50 percent of their offensive production every game.
Pittsburgh and Philadelphia
In recent years there has been a trend in Pennsylvania with western and eastern teams playing each other more and more often. La Salle College High School for example has participated in western Pennsylvania tournaments and this year both La Salle and Malvern Prep will be playing Pittsburgh Central Catholic. It seems only a matter of time before some interstate rivalries develop.
Tri-State Area Hockey Is New Powerhouse
With teams traveling farther and farther from the tri-state area to find challenging opponents it is obvious that metro-Philadelphia hockey is stronger than ever. La Salle College High School recently won the Rhode Island Mount St. Charles Tournament besting top teams from Rhode Island, New York, and Connecticut. The Delbarton School also participated in the tournament and recently travelled to Golden Valley Minnesota to play the Breck School. Malvern Prep recently played the University School from Shaker Heights Ohio, and Seton Hall Prep has the Portledge School and Fairfield College Preparatory scheduled for later this season. With the talent level at an all time high one has to wonder if some players are getting recruited to leave before graduation for new england prep schools and junior teams, such as when J.D. McCabe and Tyler Kolarik moved from La Salle to the The Taft School and Deerfield Academy, or when former Archbishop Carroll forward Eric Tangradi left for Wyoming Seminary. However, with elite teams from the area now playing true prep school schedules these moves would be lateral rather than improvements, and perhaps have come to an end.
Good Coaches Wanted
As always teams are in need of good coaches, but what high school hockey needs is less parents getting involved and more former players. While USA Hockey provides basic training nothing can overcome years of experience and a familiarity with the local hockey scene. Hopefully more athletic directors will start actually searching for coaches rather than accepting whoever walks in the door.
Marple Newton Should Play More Games
Marple Newtown High School is playing in the EHSHL A league and is having a banner year with a current record of 8-1-2. Goalie Evin Taxin has a 90.42 save percentage and the team holds four of the top eight scoring leaders in the league. It would be interesting if Marple Newtown could parlay this success into playing more teams from a higher level. For example if they can beat Cardinal O'Hara II 5-1, why not take a shot at the Cardinal O'Hara AAA team? Traditionally this has been done either as a scrimmage, as La Salle College High School's first games against the Hill School were, or as offering the ice time as an early start-up game to the higher level team, as St. Joseph's Preparatory School did with Moorestown and Archbishop Wood this year. It would be interesting to see what they could do.
Archbishop Ryan Addresses Rowdy Fans
Archbishop Ryan has published a notice to all LBCSHL parent's rebuking them for inappropriate behavior at games. Located under the "News/Events" section of the the hockey team's website, and signed by Bob Kalbacher LBCSHL President, it refers to obscenities being yelled at referees and players by parents, and invokes the leagues right to eject anyone who acts inappropriately. It continues on to state that this behavior will induce players to act in the same manner. In recent years youth and high school hockey has gotten a black eye due to the behavior of its spectators, despite the detriments such behavior brings to the game.
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