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.