"[log in to unmask]" writes:
>I don't mean to be an elitist - I'm actually very thankful that there are
>*three* college hockey teams in Pittsburgh - Pitt, Duquesne, and Carnegie-
>Mellon.  But the level of play is *so* much lower.  Having Golden Gopher
>season tix in Minneapolis has spoiled me for life.  I mean, *that's* college
>hockey at its finest, at least over the long term.
 
Well, I know I am lucky for the area I live in - there are no fewer than 10
DivI teams within a 1.5-2 hr drive of my home in southern NH and dozens
more DivII-III teams.  Sure, the level of play is lower in club games, but
hockey is hockey, right? :-)  High school play is almost always not at the
level of college, but folks who follow that closely will defend vehemently
the level of excitement in high school games, especially state tourney
games.  I expect I'd find myself at club games if I was in an area where
that was all there was, too.  And though they're not as well known, they're
also an integral part of US college hockey.  (And welcome for discussion on
this list!)
 
>Apparently, Duquesne actually beat a Div. I team this year, Kent State,
>according to a Duquesne player I spoke to.
 
This was probably Kent's club team; many schools that have NC$$ programs
also have club programs.  The ACHA (association of club teams) has Div I &
II classifications just like the NC$$.
 
>One thing of note:  almost all the players on both teams, with a few
>exceptions, were Pennsylvanians.  So at least hockey is growing in PA on
>the high school level.
 
Jim Gibson of Merrimack is currently the seventh leading overall scorer in
Hockey East with 14 points in 10 games; he is from Havertown, PA.  Also,
Providence's Brady Kramer has 6-3--9 in 9 games which puts him around 20th
overall, and he is from Rosemont, PA.  These are the only two players in HE
from PA.  I think both prepped in New England, however; Gibson came from
Trinity-Pawling and Kramer from the Haverford School, but I admit I am not
familiar enough with either school to know their exact locations.
---
Mike Machnik    [log in to unmask]   Color Voice of the Merrimack Warriors
(Any opinions expressed above are strictly those of the poster.)    *HMN*