National championships ahead
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- March
- 25
I purposely stayed away from travel hockey during the high school season, but now that it’s over it’s time to congratulate some local players.
Alex Hagen and Brian McNamara of ETB, Ryan McGee of White Plains and Brad Pesce of Sleepy Hollow/Irvington will be playing in the Midget Tier 1 Hockey National Championships with the Long Island Gulls next weekend in St. Louis. This could be the second national championship for Hagen and McNamara, who won Peewees with the New Jersey Avalance in 2005 in Fairbanks, Alaska. And McGee and Pesce were on the Westchester Vipers team that made nationals last year.
Hopefully someone can update the blog with next weekend’s results. Also, please let me know if any other local hockey players are heading to nationals.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, March 25th, 2009 at 4:01 pm by Harold Gutmann. 
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Harold
What’s with the Hagan Mamone interview on Varsity Central?
Will it be placed on-demand?
Another player that is going back to nationals is Joe Reagan,last year his team L.I. Royals Junior B team won the national junior b championship. This year his New York Bobcats Junior A team is traveling to Marlboro, Mass in pursuit of a Junior A championship.
What happened to the Colonials led by Willows and Shuman, thought they were a favorite to go to nationals?
Westchester players making impacts in D2 Club Hockey
Congrat’s to David Delsonno (Iona Prep) for leading his team (Siena College)into the D2 Club Hockey Nationals in Michigan. His team went 3 and 1 and finished 3rd in the nation.
Also, congrat’s to Cody King (Iona Prep) for leading his team (Boston College) into the D2 Club Hockey Nationals. His team went 2 and 1 and finished 6th in the nation.
Pretty impressive considering the level of Competition!
Top 10 D2 teams
Davenport Uninversity
Florida Gulf States
Siena College
Colorado State University
Michigan State University
Boston College
Miami (Ohio)
Depaul University
University of Conn
Ohio State University
Congrat’s to David and Cody. Both were great Junior Players for the Brewster Organization!
The Colonials lost in the regional finals to Philadelphia. They got swept.
the only section 1 kids on the national championship avelanche team were Hagen, Mcnamara, Ciotti and Miano. Kevin Clare was on it too.
Last years viper team had many more. Glaviano, Feliu, Halpin, Mcgee, Grispin, Abramo, Oliverio, Lopez, Mastrocola, Miele, Sherding, Pesce and a few former section 1 players (Dorgan, McHugh, Lawrence).
The viper team that made it as the host team the year before had six players from that team (Lawrence, Pesce, Mastrocola, Oliverio, Mcgee and Glaviano) but i cant name the rest.
I’m sure there are more players who have gone. I think Prunesti and younger Reagan went last year with the avelanche and Shuman with the devils. If anybody knows anybody i’m forgetting i’d be happy to hear it.
the rest of the viper team from 3 years ago that went to nationals were also in section one. The roster was:
Ryan Mcgee (white plains)
aaron klimchuck (white plains) RCDS transfer
alex klein (scarsdale) RCDS transfer
john pilla (ardsley)
brad pesce (irvington) RCDS transfer
luke lynett (iona prep)
matty oliverio (scarsdale)
mard glaviano (carmel)
jordan gaudio
jeremy lindh (white plains)
chris mastracola (mahopac)
Remy Liberman (yorktown) backup goalie
brian kovac
they wen with only 11 skaters
Does anyone know if Reagan is going to college next year?
ETB sounds like it will be extremely competitive next season in the new division with McNamara, Hagen, Ciotti, and Bellotti as seniors plus Brian McNamara, McClean, and Palfrey as sophomores plus Ruppel and Donato fighting it out for the starting goaltending position. Should be a great season.
hagen should leave section 1 and go to a prep school if he wants any chance of going anywhere
The youger Reagan has been to Nationals twice with his 1993 avalanche team both times making it to the quarters, before losing.This is the older Reagan’s third trip to Nationals.
Ahhh..some travel talk.
How many of these players named in this posting now play for the Midget Mariners and they could not win a tier III state championship?
it just shows you that there is more to hockey than puting together an all-star roster.
Coaching, team play and motivation is what wins hockey games.
There is no difference from tier II to tier III at the state level. bottom line is HS ruins travel teams.
The only travel that matters is the junior level. Travel ruins High school and people. People get all jacked up about their kids potential and the only ones who move on to the highest level are the very best and percentage for success is low. Playing travel is a lot of fun no question but it ruins the high school experience which many times lasts for a lifetime. Mamaroneck played Massena in front of a packed house and won a thriller in OT. Those guys will remember that for the rest of their lives. Who knows if even one of them ever gets to play in that type of enviorment ever again. Its truly a once in a life time thing that travel cannot produce
You will find that the kids that play for the good high school teams that do get the chance to play in games like that will quit or play weaker travel. But look at the list of players above. Kids that go to schools like carmel, scarsdale, irvington, new ro, mt pleasant and even etb are probably not going to play in front of those types of crowds. Instead, those players had the chance to represent their state against champions from other states or regions from around the country (its different, but equally memoriable). I understand that only a lucky few get that opportunity in travel, but the same is true for high school.
The travel experience is definitely not as life enriching as the high school experience. No one but the parents follow travel. In high school hockey, you get to be the hero at your school, get written up in local papers, interviewed by radio stations and papers, and possibly get to play in front of thousands of fans. You won’t get that from a travel experience, no matter how far your team gets. Since it’s so hard to move to the next level after graduation (D-1, NHL) and so few kids do it, all of this is for the life lessons and experiences. I think the high school hockey experience will take you further in life.
I was on one of those viper teams that went to nationals. Nobody in my school cares about the hockey team, the biggest crowd i ever played against in high school was maybe 500 once (i actually have had bigger crowds in travel), we get those little articals in the hockey round up but we get a full story maybe twice a year (and we dont get our pictures on the cover), and i’ve gotten to read about former teammates of mine who are suddenly way better then everybody else that used to play with them cause they are on a better team then the rest of us.
I will never get to experience what the Pelham, Mamo, Suffern and Rye guys from the last few years have, but i am not jealous. I was on the best team in new york. i played against the best team on the west coast and the eventual best team in the COUNTRY (and even at teir 2 that is still an amazing feeling). I can only imagine what those four felt when they actually won nationals. If crowds and attention are the only things that exite you, hopefully you play on a great high school team, but hopefully playing against the best teams at your level in the country gives a personal feeling of accomplishment that you will remember for the rest of your life. But what do I know. On this blog im just some slightly above average lower league guy.
I would love to know how that is determined. Best team in the country? Based on what? A USA hockey tournament? How many games did you have to play to get to play the “best” team in the country? I love the travel hockey experience and many times the competition is better than high school as travel draws from an unlimited pool of talent. These travel teams rarely stay together more than a year as they all look to run to the next best team to play on. I am a pro travel person but I think theres something to be said for playing in front of family and friends and school. To play a few years with the same guys who you grew up with is something you will always remember. Travel puts labels on things. Labels like best team in the country and all those tier and A classifications. Its fun and competitive but the high school stuff is really something that you cherish forever
Interesting point Best team in the country?
Arguably some of the best youth hockey is played in Massachusetts. They have some competing “Tier 1” leagues in Mass Hockey. The EHF (Eastern Federation) league is not part of USA Hockey so they are not part of Nationals. So the winner of the EHF league never represents Mass at the USA Nationals level. And there are some wicked good teams in the EHF. Trust me on that one.
(and as an aside Mass Hockey at the midget level is mandatory split season so that the best players can also play HS – The Super 8 in Mass HS hockey is top class)
I also think parts of Minnesota are the same as Massachusetss. Shattuck St Marys (which recruits nationally) always represenst Minnesota at Nationals. I think a lot of the other Minnesota youth programs stay clear of USA Hockey and the whole nationals thing.
So while the winners are certainly very good teams are they really “the best” ? A question without an answer I guess….
Viper,
That was one of the most intelligent posts written on here. People whose kids don’t play travel will never get it. Congratulations to you and everyone else from this area that has made it to nationals. That’s an unbelievable accomplishment “playing against the best teams in the country and no doubt will be cherished forever”.
“Viper” i agree with you… and “Best team in the country”- you dont know what you are talking about.
I also played for a viper team that went to nationals but as a 14 U tier 2 team. The experiences you get playing travel hockey far exceed what one gets in High school hockey. For one the level of competition is much higher and there are no such things as “one man shows”. To be a successful team it must be a TEAM effort, not the effort of 4 individuals. Secondly, what you said about kids running to the next best team the following year is completely off. When i went to nationals, i was playing with the same bulk of players on that team for 5-6 years. I believe you can ask “viper”also but the experiences you are part of with a team that goes that far into the National tournament or that you spend that much time with is engraved in your mind much more solidly than is a high school hockey team/win. It is more of a family experience not in the sense of your actual family but that your team becomes your family, your brothers. You would kill for the guy next to you during a game.
By the way our teams that made nationals usually have to win around 35 games… then receive a bid for a state tournament… next you must win a round of playdown games with other top hudson valley teams to go to states… then at states you play the top 8 teams… only once you have won that do you go on to play the other top teams in the country that won their state tournaments. The teams at that tournament earn the name as a top team in the country. It is not just some stupid label. It is very hard to reach that tournament and once you do you can truly define yourself in that way.
Also yea playing in front of friends and wearing your school jersey is very fun, but i know from many guys that played on my nationals team that they would give up that experience in 2 seconds to play for a national title outside of school.
o and by the way “EHF”, just to kinda explain why you might be mislead in your thinking…Shattuck sends teams at the 14u 16 u and 18u levels to nationals and never “run the table”. Sure teams in Mass. are very good, but the high level hockey in Mass. does not far surpass hockey in other states by a long shot when you are talking about each states top programs.
When you play high school you get that feeling that your entire community is cheering for you and pulling for you. Deli’s give you free food, teachers congratulate you, and random people on the street encourage you, after seeing you on TV or reading about you in the paper. Walking down the hallway and seeing an entire wall of articles about your team is awesome. Having all the kids in your math class pat you on the back when you come into class is something that never could happen if I just played travel.
Playing in front of your parents and a few random onlookers is fun, but playing in front of thousands of rowdy fans is even better. Some of the best moments of my life have been in high school hockey. I will forever remember mobbing the kid who scored the game winning goal in OT, bomb rushing our goalie after winning a playoff game, and holding that plaque as I looked into the faces of my friends, family, school and community sitting in the stands; these are moments that define high school, and define being a 17 year old.
There is an energy, a passion and an excitement in high school hockey, which for me is something I never could have gotten in a travel game. Not only would I not trade my high school hockey experience for a travel national championship, I’m not sure there’s anything in this world that I would rather have than the years I’ve spent a part of this program.
Lets not exagerate
Stop drinking the Kool-Aid travel hockey. Lets get one thing strait, first off all Vipers is not even the highest level of travel hockey. Second of all, your little Mikey is not going pro, he should do what he has fun with. Playing high school hockey is indeed much more fun than playing travel. As a player who has played the top level at each of those, I can tell you from experience. Read Hockey, above. That is a unique piece of writing. Before thinking your son is so above everybody because he plays travel hockey, look at the level he is playing. If your son were to play tier I, okay maybe that’s understandable, but do not come here to say Vipers is soooo good.
In essence stop drinking the Kool-aid, and tell your son to buckle down in school work, travel hockey is taking him no where, sucess in school is more important.
I meant to say I agree with Hockey, no where else can you get that experience.
Yeah you play “local” teams to get to the “next” level. There is no way you played the “best” teams in the country. You beat some local teams then played “states” which is the wrong word for it. Its a tournament that does not totally inclusive. After that you go to Nationals where the home team usually gets an auto bid for hosting. Like EHF said there are so many teams that do not play USA travel and are incredible. You can say best teams in USA hockey in the state. How about a history lesson. Ten years ago everyone went to Ramapo or Sport O Rama for Saints. After that it was the Connecticut teams that were “hot”. Then it was Brewster for a while. Then Vipers then Jersey and of course Long Island was always in the action too. Rarely do kids stay with their travel teams year after year. Always looking to the next best organization. Thats ok but do not compare it
From the lively posts above, there seems to be strong arguments for both travel and HS hockey. Thank god there are both options. If your HS team isn’t one that gets the big crowds, upstate trips and media attention, you can still find a local travel program that can give you statewide or even occaisonal national exposure. America is a great country.
I fall in the camp that the HS experience is hard to give up. Especially if the player is fortunate to play home games on Tuesday nite at the Ice Hutch, Wednesday nite at Playland, Thursday nite at Ebersole, Friday nite at SOR and Saturday nite at the Jungle. Those are special venues and crowds not easily replicated in travel hockey. Heck, even if a lucky few HS players from the programs mentioned above go on to play DIII hockey, they will have a hard time finding that kind of fan support in college, unless they play at a hockey crazy DIII school like Middlebury with a high fan capacity rink on campus. Of course, anyone working themselves all the way up to a DI program will get the wild experience of playing in front of thousands of rabid fans. But, how often does that happen?
Still, playing on a team of similary skilled players against even competiton in travel is also pretty cool.
Any team playing in Sectionals even the early rounds the league 3 and 4 teams vs. League 1 and 2 first rounders get nice crowds. Unfortunately it goes by so fast. Almost everyone of those players may never do anything like it again in their lives. move to the next rounds or finals
WOW
I thought this was a dead issue but apparently not. Just to clarify what any smart person would have figured out when they read it the first time, best team in the country meant the best team at our level (teir 2, which i said), and for the person who talked about getting free food at a deli and praised by there school i say again, NOBODY AT MY SCHOOL CARES WHAT WE DO. if you havent figured it out i dont live in mamaroneck. Emerson used to play vipers and stopped when he started playing high school and thats fine because for him high school hockey means more than the rest of us. And while i am more likely to hang out with kids from my high school team, my viper teammates where some of my best friends and we were much more of a team then my high school team was.
High school hockey has a lot of positives that travel does not, but only about 6 or 7 teams have any chance to benefit from those perks. And while high school was not horrible for me, I would gladly trade in all 4 of my years on varsity for 1 season as the best team in NY and a trip to nationals.
I guess this shows the positive of travel teams. Especially interesting that the kids on the best high school teams put much less emphasis on the midget travel teams since they’re playing on a high profile team already.
But what of the great majority of kids from the mediocre to downtrodden schools, their best players join forces to make very good travel teams.
It’s obvious real great if you play for Mamaroneck, or Suffern or Pelham. But if you toil for John Jay, or New Rochelle, or Carmel, you’ll probably have greater team success on a travel level.
Congratulations to Alex Hagen for winning the Puck Control Skills competition this week in St. Louis. He beat out the best from the country’s top 12 Teir 1 Districts. I believe he came 3rd in speed as well.
Better yet good luck at Choate!