Gateway Division Tryout Results

[Dave Garland]

The Gateway Division completed tryouts this past week. Next Friday (November 17th) is our draft party at 6:30 PM at Midwest Sport Hockey. The party features a live band, a casino night, appetizers, and drinks and of course the draft itself. It will be an amazing event that has taken a ton of coordination.
The talent in the Gateway Division is unbelievable. For example:
5 Players from Team USA Men's Team
5 Players from Team USA Junior Team
25 Players who have won the Collegiate National Championship (Division 1, 2, 3, and B)
Over 50 NARCh Platinum Gold Medals in all divisions ranging from Pro all the way to Bantam.
In addition, numerous NARCh platinum All Stars, State Wars Champions, State Wars Team America.

Which teams are our players from? Mission Empire Snipers (NY), Team Tour (MO), Tour Bandits (MO), St. Louis Blast (MO), Mission Pama Cyclones (CA), Silicon Valley Quakes (CA), Team Smoothie King (LA), Lindenwood University, Washington University, St. Charles County Community College, Meramac Community College, St. Louis University, University of Missouri-Rolla, University of Missouri-St. Louis, University of Missouri-Columbia, and numerous other high school, select, and traveling teams!

Which states do our players come from? Missouri, Illinois, California, New York, Louisiana, Florida,
As far as the crossover with ice hockey: Players have played for professional ice hockey teams (UHL), Collegiate Ice Hockey teamas (Division 1/3 NCAA), Junior A Ice Hockey (USHL/NAHL), and some were members of the Junior B National Champions.

The youngest player in the league is 16 (minors) ranging all the way up to 38 years old with most players falling into the 20-25 range.




David Garland
Director of Marketing and Public Relations
Pro Inline Hockey Association (PIHA)
Gateway Division [email protected] ([email protected])

[TheSnake22]

Dave, that looks awesome. Exactly what the league needs, having the best players all playing against each other. If the talent level keeps increasing at the rate it has been over the past couple of seasons, and there's good reason to believe it will, this league might grow in popularity faster than most of us thought possible. Make sure you post the draft results ASAP next weekend! I can't wait to see who goes where. Good luck with everything.

Snake

[ISFN]

How excatly is the draft going to be taking place, I've heard different rumors as to the teams are already set and this and that but I'm curious if thats the case how were the teams picked, if not then its going to be a "real" draft which sounds awesome .

[kicksave60]

That is great that STL is in the PIHA, just wished the schedule allowed us to play those teams, or just any team in the PIHA. Playing teams just in your division? Thought we would see the growl and minutemen atleast once, even maybe the grizz. The Lunatics play the fury and team from marple, and isn't that around philly? Driving to Boston is like driving to Richmond. 52 games and we play EVERYONE! just thinking out loud

[Dave Garland]

I'll make sure to post the draft results after the draft...the talent level is amazing. The only thing players know right now is whether they are 'pro' or 'minor' they do not know anything else.

If you want to see which players are playing in the league check out www.myspace.com/pihagateway (http://www.myspace.com/pihagateway). You can see the site even without a myspace account.

[ISFN]

Alright I was just cursious to see if the draft was a "real-live" draft which I'm assuming now its not, with the rosters already been decided?

Interested in the coaching staff as well, will this be released at the time of the "draft"?

[Dave Garland]

Coaching information will be released soon...lots of solid names on that list as well.

[growl89]

Some amazing talent coming out of the st louis area...

costanza, thompson, daleo, matteo, fudge and the list could go on forever...

this year will be the most competative year by far in the PIHA.... it's too bad we can't get the growl down there to st louis for some regular season games and see what they have to offer!!

[Dave Garland]

Hopefully we can get a team maybe to come up and play an exhibition game!

[ISFN]

How are they going to do play offs with all the new divisions? Will it just be a confrence playoffs then the winner goes to nationals against the rest of the confrence winners or whats the plan for this.

[missionhockey19]

what is this league all about and why havent i heard about this? sounds like something big in the making...and i might be interested...thanks

[GROWL]

As for the playoffs:

Four teams will make the playoffs from every division. Two rounds of playoffs will take place to determine a division winner, which will be sent to the two conference championships. I am not exactly sure how the eastern conf championship will be determined with three teams coming in. Obviously the winner of each conference championship will go to disney on memorial day weekend for the PIHA league championship series.

[growl89]

maybe all 5 of the division winners could go to disney and play a round robin type series with the top 2 teams playing for the final...

OR...

have the best eastern conference team ( determined by regular season record ) get a bye, and the other two teams play each other in disney, with the winner getting to play the top team in the eastern conference finals.

[Troho9]

Somebody wants to go to Disney pretty bad!

Relax Arizona is very soon. When you get a sec give me a ring.

[alex]

what is this league all about and why havent i heard about this? sounds like something big in the making...and i might be interested...thanks

PIHA has been basically an east coast pro league for like 5 years now. But they're starting to expand a lot. In 2006, they added a Colorado divison with 5 teams. And now for the upcoming 2007 season, they're adding a Midwest division (4 St. Louis teams, 1 in Cincinnati) and a Western Canada division with 6 teams based out of Alberta, Canada. Plus, they've still got the 15 teams in the east in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Jersey.
The next logical step is, hopefully, an expansion to the west coast soon, since that's where the base of NARCh/TORHS Pro players are.

[GROWL]

All 5 teams defintely wont be going to disney. As it is the league fee is high because it includes costs of two teams going to disney. I also know that they are likely not to seed one division team higher then the other two. I suspect there will be some sort of double round robin play.

[kicksave60]

however it happens, the CUP will STAY in the EAST once AGAIN

[growl89]

yeah troho i do wanna go to disney pretty bad... i thought that all of the division winners went, my bad... the east is going to be ridiculous then .... as for the cup staying in the east, i would of course love it to stay with us.... BUT if cj and brian team up out there, we could be shipping to the Tour Arena....

[TheSnake22]

Don't worry Jimmy, i'll be sure to bring you back some mickey mouse ears from our trip...

[GROWL]

Oh you guys going to the Disney Ultimate Inline Tournament next year? You could consider coming down memorial day weekend, they have lots of spectator seating...haha

[TheSnake22]

Zing! nice one flynner... Not really sure how i feel about the gateway division being in our conference... This season there will be 20 teams in the "east" and 10 in the west... i think it would make more sense if the gateway division was part of the west for just this season, as next season a california division would probably balance things more... but like i said twice as many teams in the east this year, and it the gateway division appears like the east was the tougher division to start with. not to take away from the west, but the growl seemed to handle the canadian "all-star team" and did okay at the finals, and this year besides the growl, we have 2 more powerhouse teams in the lunatics and the roller rats... i know that i'm more than biased being from the east, but even if the divisions are all equal in talent, i'd go back to the numbers... if 4 teams from every division make the playoffs it would make more sense if the conferences were balanced... only 2 teams from the west would miss the playoffs and 8 would be left out in the east... i dunno maybe there isn't a good way to do it this season, but having twice as many teams in one conference doesn't seem to be the best solution..

[GROWL]

I'm sure it was done strictly for traveling purposes. Cincinnati is part of that division and to ask any of these people in St Louis or Cin to travel some place to play a Western Conference Final would be insane.

As for next year I know that Florida and California are likely expansion areas and there should be additional expansion in Virginia, Mary;and, and hopefully the Carolinas. So I imagine that maybe there will be a realignment of the divisions, putting the Robins in a division with those new teams and perhaps moving the Pitt teams with Cincinnati. Who knows what will hapopen tho as it is time to focus on this season, now just a few short weeks away.

[TheSnake22]

I understand your point, but i guaruntee that st. louis is closer to denver than edmonton is, so to say it's unreasonable for them to travel to denver isn't fair to those in canada who have to go even farther. if conference finals were in both philly and denver, it would be closer for st. louis to go to denver...

mapquest:

denver to edmonton : 20 hours

denver to st louis : 12 hours

denver to cincinnati: 18 hours

st. louis to pittsburgh : 9 hours

st. louis to philly : 14 hours


it's going to be a hike for most every team this season to make conference finals, i just think it would make sense to balance the divisions seeing as the travel times aren't really as different as you would think... for us in pittsburgh, harrisburg and york are about an hour closer than cincinnati, and way way closer than st. louis... i think the divisions are set up really well this season, and like you said, playoffs are quite a ways away... i just think there has to be a better way than having such unbalanced conferences... it will be hard enough to get out of the east as it is... best of luck to everyone this season, even you flynner!

[CoachClipboard]

Jake? Mapquest? take the driving times, multiply them by .333 and subtract that number from what mapquest gave you. Consider in all side streets and alley-ways that are listed, and the half mile of nonsense from your own driveway, and detours they havent removed since mapquest's internet inception years ago, and you have your true driving time! :p

But your points are valid. Perhaps, depending on how things are looking during the season, and how and what teams are finishing where, some kind of compromise can be made determined by the league itself and the teams involved. Like Flynn said, its a long season and its about to begin, some things we have to let time decide. One possible solution would be to find a neutral ground site to host the gateway winner and the mason/dixon and Northeast division winners. Like in your home rink of Harnersville, in Pittsburgh, where you have a huge rink and a great floor. A midway point so to speak. Im not adverse to that.

Divisional playoff competition on the home rink of the teams with the best records.
Conference playoff competition on a mid-point neutral site.

Whatever happens, good luck to you guys Jake, I look forward to the Pittsburgh trip! I think Ying, Biff, and Jay have a whole weekender trip of fun planned for it. God, I cant wait to get things started!!

[GROWL]

[QUOTE=CoachClipboard;29427]Perhaps, depending on how things are looking during the season, and how and what teams are finishing where, some kind of compromise can be made determined by the league itself and the teams involved. QUOTE]

I agree with everything said in the posts on this topic, except for this above. We need to be professional and determine these things before the season starts. If we don't and decisions are made based on circumstance, then someone is eventually going to be screaming foul. Two many years people start asking questions about the playoffs around mid-season and there is never an immediete answer. Let's get this 100% decided and post it before the season starts.

I must admit I never gave a thought to the balance of teams in the two conferences. Perhaps it is something that someone should bring up to the league. I know they are aware of it, because they modified the All-Star Game into a North vs South Format accordingly.

On another note, I would like to see the site for the Conference Finals be in either Pittsburgh or Philadelphia at either harmerville, sportsplex, or marple. A sport court surface, with a decent sized rink, and drawing capacity and a place to sit them. Pottstown wouldn't be a bad idea either, but if anyone wanted to fly in, philly and pitt are logiacal choices.

[TheSnake22]

about the mapquest, ya i know they're always exaggerated, but for the most part, if it's more time, then it's still more time, but maybe not as much more i guess... thats why i cited mapquest before i said i knew how long it really took to get to some place as i really have no idea...

as for the rest, ill have to finish reading your post now...

[TheSnake22]

I totally agree with a neutral site, BUT... only as long as there is some publicity and marketing wherever the neutral site may be... it would suck, and i think some people can vouch for this, to play an important game in front of no fans... a neutral site is a great way to make it fair and also spread some interest in the league to a new market... as for when it needs to be decided, i would probably have to agree that it needs to be taken care of before the season starts, if only to avoid people making excuses later on in the season...

by the way flynn... what exactly is north vs. south in piha? canada and northeast vs. mason dixon, gateway and colorado? pretty confusing if you ask me... none of the teams can really be called "south"... in my rarely humble opinion, other than the expenses, i think every division is capable of having an all-star team the way the talent level in the league is growing... i don't think any of us were expecting the depth of talent that came in from colorado last year, and they smoked us pretty bad for the most part... if it was practical, i would definately suggest having a team from every division and play a round robin tourney... it would definately mean something in terms of divisional pride, and it would show off how many good players there are in the league... and also i might actually have a chance of making the team again lol... at the very least, the teams should be larger this year... 3 full lines and 2 goalies at least... especially when they try to make me play defense with plaugher... what a joke lol...

[33]

wow, i actually agree with flynn for once. this stuff needs to be ironed out before the season starts...bottom line. i don't think it's fair that the western conference only has 2 divisions vying for one spot and the eastern conference has 3 vying for the other but it is what it is. you have to beat everyone to win the thing anyways so who cares when that happens. i think harrisburg is also a good spot for conference finals, however i'll take another trip to pittsburgh and day. this league is by far the best thing out there and we should thank our lucky stars for the effort all the people involved put in. 3 weeks till game time!

[hockey4ba]

I have been in contact with Charley Yoder and a bunch of people in the Chicagoland area about getting a team together for next year. If everything falls into place and we are able to get a PIHA organization started in Chicago for the 2007-2008 season I am assuming we would be joining the gateway division. I am fairly new to the Chicago area so if anyone knows any good contacts that would be willing to help get things moving for next season please let me know. What is everyone's feelings about a PIHA team in Chicago?

Brandon

[GROWL]

Just make sure you get in touch with Charley. I know the Chicago Magic were very interested a few years back, but the contact guy out there really botched things up for them. It is very likely that the league will want two teams at least in that region before expanding there. It makes traveling worth it for teams when they can get in more then one set of games. Hey best of luck.

Snake, I'm not exactly sure about the All-star set up. I did ask about it and I do know that canada and most of the northeast are together, but to be honest I forget what side he told me the Growl was on, so apparently I'm not the best source for info on this one. On a side note, I did happen to scribble down the date and time on which Ying agreed with me.

[Dave Garland]

Brandon,

I'm sure we would love to expand to Chicago next year (Gateway Division). As I said in my email back to you, stay in contet! Two of the best players in Chicago are playing this year for St. Louis teams (Pete Messina and Dan Costanza).

-Dave

[schill32]

Glad to see the PIHA in St. Louis. Look forward to hearing more about it!

[TheSnake22]

How did the draft party go? Any results up yet?

[Dave Garland]

The draft party was INCREDIBLE to say the least! Over 300 people and everyone I've talked had an amazing time. It really came out as envisioned. The results and pictures will be up soon.

[ihockey]

The draft party was beyond belief. I honestly thought, as did some others who I spoke to, that we would be sitting up on the stands and be called down into the empty rink. But they went through a TON of work to set up tables and chairs for everyone, had anything very well organized, and the live band was very good. As far as I know everything ran smoothly, and it was just a great looking, well organized event.

[Dave Garland]

Thanks for the kind words. It took a ton of effort to pull off the event and weeks of planning. Wait till you see the end-of-the-year banquet (I don't want to get too ahead of myself) ;)

[whodere]

When are the rosters going to be out for the Gateway teams.

[Dave Garland]

Later today or tomorrow they will be posted on the myspace page and then hopefully in the next week or so onto the new website when it comes out.

[Dave Garland]

check out www.myspace.com/pihagateway (http://www.myspace.com/pihagateway) for rosters. First game is scheduled on December 15th and the entire schedule will be released soon.

[growl89]

umm yeah costanza's team is stacked... how did that draft work? they have the best player and the best goalie!! plus bielstein who is argueably the second best players there, plus studs like messina, cantrell, both daleo's, kahre... wow some serious talent coming out of St L.

[thebenchman]

Yes they are! You can see every team is loaded up. Snipers and Whalers look VERY strong!! I dont count out Tornadoes with Hewks, Barnette and Fudge simply because of Perry Turnbill influence. The Rattlers with Marchand and Gouge Henderson meade and Tunison.... any team is going to have a chance to be beat every game!!

[ISFN]

Yeah I'd be interested in how the draft worked too because I know it wasn't public. It wasn't a real draft thats for sure, the teams were selected even before the "draft night".

I think they used "draft" as a way to attract interest, it wasn't a draft.

On the other hand, names are just names and alot of you guys just know people from Narch, Torhs, etc and not everyone on thoes teams attends thoes events, so we'll see when these teams start playing and how even the matchups come out.

[Dave Garland]

The draft was held behind closed doors before the draft party. The draft party was the revealing of which teams each player was on and a celebration/night of fun.

Over 90% of the players playing were there on draft night and the ones who could not make it are playing.

No one was 'randomly' drafted meaning everyone drafted has committed to play.