Pennsylvania high school hockey

Ice Hockey is a popular and growing sport in the state of Pennsylvania. Teams from 150 high schools competed as varsity ice hockey teams in Western and Eastern Pennsylvania [http://www.ushsho.com/staterankings.htm] . Unlike every other high school sport in Pennsylvania, hockey is not run under Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association umbrella. However, Pennsylvania's high school ice hockey is sanctioned by USA Hockey and varsity-level programs are marginally overseen by the NHLFact|date=November 2007 Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers organizations through the Penguins Cup and the Flyers Cup.

Format

Varsity teams are divided into four divisions, AAA, AA, A, and Open. Western divisional champions earn a bid to the Penguins Cup playoff tournament. Eastern divisional champions earn a bid to the Flyers Cup playoff tournament. All teams are eligible except non-pureNonspecific|date=November 2007 and second varsity teams.

State Championship

The Pennsylvania State High School Ice Hockey Championship is awarded through a state tournament. The tournament pits the champions from the Penguins Cup and Flyers Cup with the winners receiving the AAA, AA, or A Pennsylvania Cup. The location changes every year rotating between Western and Eastern cities. Attempts to mirror the PIAA state championships by hosting the games in Hershey, PA lasted a single season, with only the 2005 series being held at the historic Hersheypark Arena.

Alumni

Ray Staszak, R.J. Umberger, Ryan Malone, Bill Thomas,Tony Voce, Mike Richter, Tyler Kolarik, Nate Guenin, Mike Weber and Ryan Gunderson are among the professional players that have participated in Pennsylvania high school hockey.

Historical timeline

* 1969 - Inter-County Scholastic Hockey League forms
* 1970 - Western Pennsylvania High School Hockey League forms in April at the Alpine Ice Chalet. Teams include Allderdice, Churchill, Mt Lebanon, Penn Hills, Upper St Clair and West Mifflin North
* 1971-1972 - Western Pennsylvania High School Hockey League completes first season of play at the Alpine Ice Chalet as Allderdice, Churchill, Mt Lebanon, Penn Hills, Shaler, South Hills Catholic, Upper St Clair and West Mifflin North. Mt Lebanon defeats Penn Hills to capture the first WPHSHL Championship.
* 1972-73 - Western Pennsylvania High School Hockey League expands to 19 schools as Richland, Chartiers Valley, Central Catholic, Bethel Park, Peabody, Fox Chapel, Lawrenceville Catholic, General Braddock, Armstrong, Gateway and Canevin participate. Churchill wins the WPHSHL crown over Richland in 4-3 in overtime.
* 1972-73 - Ohio Valley League forms out of the Sewickley Ice Arena and South Penn High School Hockey League forms out of the Rostraver Ice Garden
* 1975 - WPHSHL becomes Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League
* 1975 - Lake Shore Hockey League forms
* 1975 - Lower Bucks County Scholastic Hockey League forms
* 1975 - Inaugural Pennsylvania High School Hockey Championships in Erie, Pa at the Glenwood Ice Arena
* 1980 - First Flyers Cup tournament
* 1981 - First Pennsylvania Cup, State High School Ice Hockey Championship
* 1991 - Lehigh Valley Scholastic Hockey League forms
* 1994 - CPIHL forms
* 1996 - PA Hockey Scholastic Showcase begins play
* 1999 - WPIHL, LKSHL and SHIHL merge to form PIHL
* 2000 - Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League forms
* 2004 - Eastern High School Hockey League forms
* 2005 - AAA League forms for Flyers Cup
* 2007 - Inter County Scholastic Hockey League splits into three divisions, ICSHL Central, ICSHL Chester County and ICSHL Independants, to copy the divisions PIAA uses to organize schools in other sports

Divisions

While the western part of the state has been divided into fairly equal levels at the AAA, AA, and A levels, the eastern part has mostly been run by the independent leagues that compete for Flyers Cup. A change was made recently in an effort to provide more uniformity throughout the eastern portion of the state. Whereas the levels were previously determined by where a team finished in its respective leagues, the Flyers Cup recently restructured the system were AAA is all open enrollment schools, AA is the larger public schools, and A is the smaller public schools. The open enrollment schools are not forced to play AAA, but if they do not they cannot qualify for the Flyers Cup. Changes are still being proposed for the 2008-2009 season that could create a second varsity level for open enrollment schools that do not wish to play at the AAA level.

Leagues

Eastern PA

* [http://www.bsihl.com/index.htm Berks Scholastic Ice Hockey League (BSIHL)]
* [http://www.cpihl.com/ Central Pennsylvania interscholastic Hockey League (CPIHL)]
* [http://www.icshl.org/servlet/gameServlet?method=displvlidx&jspURL=/levelindex.jsp&level=3 Eastern High School Hockey League (EHSHL)]
* [http://www.icshl.org/ Inter-County Scholastic Hockey League (ICSHL)]
* [http://www.lvshl.org/index.html Lehigh Valley Scholastic Hockey League (LVSHL)]
* [http://www.shshl.org/ Suburban High School Hockey league (SHSHL)]
* [http://www.lbcshl.org/ Lower Bucks County Scholastic Hockey League (LBCSHL)]

Western PA

* [http://www.lakeshorehockeyleague.com/index.php Lake Shore Hockey league (LKSHL)]
* [http://www.pihlweb.com/index.php?pr=Home_Page Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League (PIHL)] "(note: teams from WV also play in PIHL. see [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Virginia_high_school_hockey] )"

Pennsylvania teams (partial list)

Folded programs

References

* [http://pahockey.net/ PA Hockey]
* [http://pahockey.org PA Hockey History]
* [http://www.pihlweb.com/ Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League]
* [http://www.cpihl.com/Standings.cfm?LevelID=1&TierID=1&Type=All Central Penn. Interscholastic Hockey League]

External links

* [http://pahockey.net/ PA Hockey]
* [http://pahockey.org PA Hockey History]