PIHL Knights vs Spartans at Penguins Pond

Even after the big event of the Winter Classic outdoor event in Pittsburgh, it seems like every year, that the city tries to re-create the same wonder and feeling of an outdoor game to celebrate the resurgence of hockey interest at the early stage levels. The Pittsburgh Penguins continue to build interest in the city with the Penguins Pond project that I blogged and did a little video about last time around. This year, I made sure to take in some more of the high school PIHL action that I missed out on last year.

So, my alma-mater Norwin was scheduled to meet up with one of their neighboring arch-rivals in Hempfield on the relocated outdoor rink. Even though it was a beautiful set-up with the city in the background, it was still sitting on the new multi-purpose athletic field set to open up later this year. It was cold. Some might even say it was way too cold to be a spectator. The outdoor rink itself was kept frozen by a large mobile refrigerator unit, but I would insist that if it were to fail, the ice wouldn't been in any danger.

The stands were all filled with snow and made the metallic floor very dangerously "slippy" (as we yinzer's like to say). But the short level of risers were dwarfed by the regular seats off into the distance where I found many other PIHL fans sitting and freezing.

I made a YouTube video along with it to highlight some of the action.
You can check out the rest of the story in the Norwin Star hosted by TribTotal Media. in the link below.

Do you have some memories of the game? Why not leave a comment below.

[Via: Norwin Star] 

Hockey Fanatic on a Road Trip

Okay, so this the latest edition of my vlog - which has been in post-production for a while. Thank you for your patience. I took myself out on the road and captured some video as best I could by myself.This is highlights from the Norwin vs. State College hockey game at the Penn State ice rink on November 8th, 2007.

I would also like to salute the Vault Door Productions for their Yeoman-like efforts to upload and computer edit this video here.

Norwin Vs. Pen-Trafford: The Rivalry Continues

I would like to thank all of the Norwon Hockey fans for finding my blog here. I wish I was able to enjoy the game but I had other commitments to a day job. Congratulations to my Alma Mater Norwin H.S. for defeating the Penn Trafford Warriors in the Center Ice Arena in Delmont, PA.

"It's coming together. It's starting to work," said coach Denny Zeravica. "You can tell they've improved as a team. I can't say enough how proud I am of them."

To watch these guys play the game is a real treat. The atmosphere is a step below major juniors, but the action is not. And it is also a little cheaper than a CHL game these days.

Norwin is making a playoff push hoping that their 3-0 streak continues to roll over schools like Gateway High, Shaler, and Mt. Lebanon. You can read the full game story in the Norwin Star the local community paper.

[Norwin Star]

Norwin vs. Penn Trafford - There Goes the Neighborhood

Forget Philly vs Pitt, Ottawa vs Toronto, or even Calgary vs Edmonton. The real hockey rivalry can be found tonight in a little place in Delmont, PA called Center Ice Arena. Last season, I made a special point to go to the Norwin vs. Penn Trafford (PT) hockey game and I wrote about it in my blog. The two high schools can be found neighboring one another and naturally, they are big sports rivals. I still have fond memories of playing football against them, but very little memories of me and the Knights coming out victorious. I certainly was going to make sure to root for my alma mater this season.

The Norwin Knights still continue to use the same boring styled uniforms. The block lettering with the straight vertical stripes. But they do reflect the traditional conservative school experience that Norwin has always brought. Penn Trafford I thought have been in a bind lately trying to continue the great Warrior legacy and stave off the PC crowd. The Penn Trafford Warriors have used the Indian head logo for as long as I've lived here. Who knows for how much longer. I've seen other websites where I thought the school district was going to pull away from their Indian logo and feature a more fierce sword and shield warrior. The game jerseys use the Indian head with a hockey stick adorned with war feathers. But it's still the same Penn Trafford Warriors. The jerseys are uniquely styled in a wavy top half green and a bottom half yellow. The photo I took with my new camera is a better illustration of what these teams look like.

The game for the Norwin Knights slid right by as the puck crossed their goal line twice. The Warriors jumped ahead 2-0 with two soft goals in the very beginning of the game. The first period was one sided with the PT players mezmerizing the Knights with their smooth skating and puck handling abilities. This prompted the Knight's faithful fans to scream, "if you want to watch the game too, come up here!"

In the second period, played without an intermission or a zamboni ice cleaning, the Knights refused to give in and fought their way back to tie the game 3-3. The hitting became more prevalent as a frustrated team sought to bring the Warriors play to a grinding halt. The Knights too had a few players who felt like they needed to take control of the game. Norwin used their talented skates to coast across the blueline and shoot a few chances of their own.

The third period was now or never for the Norwin Knights as they fought for every rebound. They managed to keep pace with the Warriors and tied the game at 4-4. But the game would end in the same fashion as it began. The Knights goalie gave up two more soft goals and gave up an empty net goal to let the PT Warriors win the game 7-4.

It may not be like following the CHL, but I would recommend that my readers stop by to PA Hockey.net and surf around. It's a large gathering of Pennsylvania hockey schools and programs. Watch it grow again with the help Sidney Crosby has given this area in a renewed interest in hockey.

Norwin vs. State College - When worlds collide

As I returned to the Center Ice Arena I found a different Norwin team than the one I saw earlier in the month. I was excited and interested in this high school PIHL match-up having called both State College, PA and Norwin home.

I even walked through the pro shop and got to meet both coaches making equipment improvements for their respective teams. I wished them both good luck and expressed how personally excited I was for the game. It came down to which side I had to take. I chose to sit on the visitor side with the other 7 people despite my lettermen jacket and cap.

I remembered to bring a camera, but somehow overlooked the point to check the battery life on my media equipment. I did manage to get a few minutes of both teams' warm-ups. Norwin was the designated home team decked out in their white jerseys with blue and "Vegas gold" stripes at the waist with the block lettering name emblazon across the chest. The traveling State College team also used the similar style jersey, but with their school colors of burgundy (or maroon), white, and silver.

It was a totally different Norwin team than the one I saw play Penn Trafford. About a few minutes into the game, Norwin jumped out in front 1-0 and then 2-0 a few minutes after that. The State College Little Lions goalie, a tall and lanky young kid, had looked ill prepared for the beginning of the game. The total turn around of Norwin's play made State College look like they were on the uphill struggle of what I label a "permanent penalty kill". When one team dominates the flow of the game and maintains a large attack zone time, then it was clear which team was ready to play.

After it became 4-1 and State College outshot by the same ratio, I wondered if there were some way that they would enforce a "mercy rule" as they do in the pony leagues.

Both teams were a little bit undisciplined to where there were a lot of warnings from the referees to the kids not keeping their mouthpieces in and some landing on the ice.

Norwin played physical the longer the game went on. After the midway point of the 3rd period, there was a surge of offense to State College. Perhaps the 3 hour bus ride from Centre County was too much of a drain on the Little Lions.

The final score was Knights 8 and Little Lions 2. 24 shots to 21 shots respectfully.

Norwin vs. Penn Trafford - The rivalry on ice

USA v. Canada, Penguins v. Flyers, and Maple Leafs v. Senators are some of the best traditional rivalries in sports. However, if you live around where I do, there is one more rivalry that stands on this list. Norwin vs. Penn Trafford.

Through a stroke of luck, I was searching through the PIHL website and I found the monthly schedule of Western PA hockey. I was glad to see that my High School Alma Mater was playing their rival Penn Trafford today. With the help of some other message board members I found out that Norwin's home rink is in nearby Delmont, PA and Center Ice Arena.

After driving around just to find the place, I got there with about 10 minutes to spare eagerly awaiting my first chance to see Norwin play my favorite sport. Like the idiot that I am, I forgot to bring a camera.

When I was in school, we never ever beat Penn Trafford (PT). I was a football player, so I never really had the chance to get out and see my classmates. It was like

I was eager to get a first look at what exactly the two school's jerseys looked like. The home white PT jersey looked somewhat impressive in it's design. Their colors were Green and Yellow like always with the familiar Indian head. It was a solid green on the shoulders, but with a green and yellow striped triangle at the hips that's gotten to be popular on some designs. On the chest was a circular yellow logo with the PT Warrior head. Then Norwin took the ice, and I was somewhat unimpressed with their jersey design. All they had was solid navy blue jerseys with gold and white stripes at the waist and wrists with the name in block lettering across the chest. Nothing fancy. No knight head or lance or anything knightly was used. Also, neither team used names on the back.

Norwin's play was about as uninspiring as the jersey. PT won the opening face off and took control of the game from that moment on. When I was doing commentary for the Penn State Icers, I had said that Townson U. was playing like they were on a permanent penalty kill. The same could be said for Norwin. With a young team, they chose a defensive style with PT spending most of the first period in the zone.

Soon afterwards, I learned some of the rules. There was no touch up icing. It seemed to help with the flow of the game. There was no time wasted. However, the first period ended with only one good scoring chance for the Norwin Knights as they were outshot 21-6 and losing 1-0. Each teams huddled up at the bench area and didn't go off to the locker rooms. The zamboni didn't clean the ice, but PT was sure cleaning up against Norwin in this game. I changed my position on the bleachers to the back row where I could get a better view of things. The bleachers are set up where you have to look through a chain link fence, a walkway space and then through the glass boards. I stood up and got the overhead view of what was left of the game.

Norwin lost 3-0 and was badly outshot 45-16. No fights and I am probably guessing that it's not allowed. There were a few skirmishes leading to a 5-3 powerplay for Norwin, but it didn't help much.

Before I left, I took a look at the rest of Norwin's schedule. Delightfully, I saw that Norwin will be playing State College high school in the same Center Ice Arena on February 3rd. PT already played State College earlier in the year and took care of them soundly. I hope to see some of you at the next game!