1993 L.V. Hockey League Looks to Flyers Cup in 1993-94

This year, the Lehigh Valley Scholastic Hockey League is on probation, but it’s not the kind of probation National Hockey League regulars like Bob Probert or Tie Domi earn. The LVSHL is on a one-year probation toward prestige. If the 3-year-old league’s 11 teams play competitively and cleanly (read as no gooning allowed) in cross-league games for the remainder of the year, they will have reached the pinnacle of Philadelphia-area hockey prestige for 1993-94. League teams will be eligible for Flyers Cup competition. “We are definitely eligible for next year,” said Larry Wheatley, coach of Pennridge and one of the organizers of the LVSHL. “Like anything else you join, you’re on probation for a year. “We’ve already been accepted for next season. We just have to go through our probation year without a hitch, an altercation, or other problems.” The local league, which plays out of the Ice Palace in Allentown, is very proud of being accepted into the most prestigious hockey circle in Eastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey. The LVSHL has more than tripled in size since its initial season as a three-team alignment featuring Pennridge, Emmaus, and now-defunct Catasauqua. Teams currently involved in the league include Allentown Central Catholic, Emmaus, Liberty, Northampton, Parkland, Pennridge, Philipsburg, Salisbury, Southern Lehigh, Whitehall, and Wyoming Seminary of Kingston. While the Ice Palace is the home arena for all 11 teams, Pennridge plays 10 home games at newly enlarged Melody Brook in Colmar, while Wyoming Seminary plays 10 home games at the Ice-A-Rama in Wilkes-Barre. The league has grown not only in size but in the number of players involved. Four years ago, when Pennridge first started its program, Wheatley had trouble fielding 18 players. The Pennridge roster currently numbers 52. In fact, Pennridge, Northampton, and Wyoming Seminary have junior varsity programs. The Flyers Cup competition is based on a three-tier system of ability, so even teams who are out of the league title hunt – way out of it – could be eligible to compete in the Flyers Cup tournament. “Next year, we will convert to the three-tier system

within the league,” Wheatley explained. “The three-tier is supposed to divide teams into the top third, middle, and bottom third to make it easier for teams to qualify for the Flyers Cup. “That way, the competition is there all season. If you’re a 2-16 team this year, you’re out of it, but next year, if you’re 2-16 and in the lower third tier, you still have a chance of going to the playoffs.” The only hitch with the Flyers Cup is that it allows only “pure” teams entry into the tournament. A pure team means that all players on a certain team attend that school. Currently, just four teams are “pure” in the local league: Northampton, Pennridge, Southern Lehigh and Wyoming Seminary. “If an ‘impure’ team wins the league championship, they can not go to the Flyers Cup,” Wheatley explained. “The next team in the standings that is ‘pure’ would represent the Lehigh Valley Scholastic Hockey League. “What the Flyers Cup is trying to do is to stop teams from recruiting. Just like in the PIAA [Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association], if you’re from Pennridge, you play for Pennridge. If you’re from North Penn, you can’t play for Pennridge.” Ice hockey is not sanctioned by the PIAA or by local high schools. It is a club sport that receives minor support from the school districts. The LVSHL plays two games at the Ice Palace every Tuesday and Thursday, beginning at 6 p.m., and occasional weekend games.

Games consist of three 15-minute periods. Wheatley knows the step up to Flyers Cup play, and this season’s probationary period, aren’t going to be easy to handle. For one thing, other leagues around Philadelphia and New Jersey have been around for 20 to 25 years. For another, keeping one’s temper against some of those established teams may be a bit difficult at first, particularly if the team is competitive locally but not in cross-league games. “In other leagues, teams that are strong have 75 percent of their players from club teams,’ Wheatley said. “On our team, we have one club player. Emmaus, which has won our league two years running, has 75 percent of its players from the Lehigh Valley Comets, and it shows.” The local league also does its best to help area players get a look from college recruiters. At the league’s all-star game last year, for instance, numerous college coaches were invited and came to watch the talent on display. Such exposure undoubtedly helps not only the players but future players. As the area teams grow in size and competitiveness, college recruiters will remember the Lehigh Valley more and more. And next year, when area teams compete in the Flyers Cup for the very first time, scouts from the best college programs will be on hand. Heck, sounds like a pretty good reason to sit on probation for a year.