The THF, AHF, and AGHF each strive to provide the best youth hockey experience in the country. In response to an inquiry from an AHF family, on Friday February 3rd senior management responsible for scheduling began reviewing the data feed from GameSheet to the KRACH program and continued investigating this throughout the weekend. By Sunday February 5th, they discovered that the score report used to calculate the weekly rankings had a faulty data feed. Rather than recording the win/loss result from shootouts, KRACH recorded a tie for both the winning and losing team. Therefore, the KRACH ratings and rankings that were posted throughout the season were wrong, particularly impacting teams that had a relatively high percentage of shootouts. Black Bear Sports Group, which controls the Federations, apologies for not identifying this flaw earlier in the season and recognizes the disappointment faced by those players, families and coaches who were most impacted by learning so late that their relative ranking was not reliable, especially as relates to playoff placement.
On Tuesday February 7th, we communicated this issue with the boards of the three Federations and had calls with the Hockey Directors of the participating clubs. We chose to make the necessary adjustment to the calculation and then published the correct KRACH ratings the next day on Wednesday February 8th. Please be assured that the rankings are now accurate, and the correct teams are in the right playoff brackets. Yesterday morning, we explored with various Hockey Directors the idea of making changes to the Championship brackets, including expanding the size and/or changing the format. The consensus was that this would create significant logistical challenges for a greater number of families given the ripple effects of changing bracket sizes and playoff locations.
We have followed closely the feedback on social media, in particular the AHF discussion group on Facebook. Below are a few points to highlight:
- Again, we wish we had learned of this glitch in the data feed earlier and are sorry for the
confusion it caused. Moreover, we should have sent to the families this notification clarifying
what happened when the new rankings were published on Wednesday. - We want to be responsive to our families and players. Based upon your recent feedback
relating to this issue, we plan to revisit the championship bracket size and format going
forward. - We will revisit the treatment of tie games, including specifically the appropriateness of
shootouts. - We believe the presence of partial season teams in our leagues makes us stronger, allowing
for better competition and higher MyHockeyRankings for our teams. This is especially
important for our AAA and AA teams. - Many questions have been raised about the reliability of KRACH. We want to reassure you
that the formula, which was created by a third-party Python programmer is accurate. We will
be publishing the KRACH formula later this week. Again, the error was in the data feed from
GameSheet and not in the formula itself. - We offered to the Hockey Directors our willingness to get on a call with any team that has
been impacted or with anyone who has any further questions.
The mission of the Federations was to create an unbalanced schedule that maximizes competition for those interested in the highest levels of hockey and minimizes travel for those looking for a balance of competition and travel. We believe the short season teams help us form the best hockey leagues in America. The unbalanced schedule along with our spring parity event minimize blowout games. Our results speak for themselves as our blowout games are a fraction of those experienced in other local leagues. We hope this provides context to help you understand that the ranking issue was simply a data feed error, not a flaw in our league operating model.
We truly appreciate the passion of our families and coaches. You commit so much to this great sport, and it is our duty to listen to your concerns. Your feedback makes us better and we are truly grateful for your support.
Saturday is THF Game of the Week Game Day, a Live-Stream game broadcast series on the Federations Hockey Channel. Each week throughout the season, family, friends, coaches and scouts will log on to watch exciting U18 THF match-ups on the Federation Hockey Channel via the THF Mobile App or Website. This week’s game features Team Maryland U18 visiting Philadelphia Flyers Elite U18, Saturday at 3:45 pm ET from Pennsauken Skate Zone in Pennsauken Township, NJ.
The THF has partnered with Play-by-Play Productions of Princeton, NJ to produce the HD telecasts. Play-by-Play is an industry leader in Live-Streaming elite youth and amateur sporting events, serving dozens of clients from throughout the U.S. and overseas.
The THF announces the Players of the Week for the week ending February 5th, 2023. The Players of the Week is a weekly feature during the 2022-23 season that honors players in all divisions. Only players that are nominated by their respective teams are considered.
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Age Level / Division: 9U
Team: CP Dynamo
Player: Reagan Barcomb (D) – Games: 4, Goals: 1, Assists: 6
“The only girl on the team, Reagan continues to be one of the grittiest players on the ice. This past week, she picked up seven points over four games as a defenseman and led the team with a +11 rating.” said Coach Tim Barcomb.
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Age Level / Division: 10U
Team: Woodbridge Wolfpack 2012
Player: Freddie Rennie (G) – Games: 1, Goals Against: 0, Goals Saved: 19
“Freddie has been battling every practice rep and game. He never gives up on a puck and has been a solid foundation all season for us between the pipes.” said Coach Mark Rivera.
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Age Level / Division: 11U
Team: Wolfpack Hockey Club
Player: Alan Xu (D) – Games: 1, Goals: 1, Assists: 1
“Alan has been progressing all year and got rewarded this past weekend!” said Coach Donny Kane.
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Age Level / Division: 12U
Team: Jersey Hitmen
Player: Jersey Hitmen Team (F) – Games: 2, Goals: 8
“The Hitmen 2010 team was on the road and in a hotel for the fourth straight weekend. A big 2 game THF tilt vs. a very good Team Maryland. Hard-work togetherness and determination produced 2 great shootout wins (5-4,3-2)! Every player played a big part in a must win weekend.” said Coach Steve Lovell.
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Age Level / Division: 14U
Team: PAL Jr Islanders
Player: Luca Coschignano (F) – Games: 2, Goals: 5, Assists: 2
“Luca was a game breaker this weekend in a two game sweep of the NJ Hitmen.” said Coach Mark Dubeau.
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Age Level / Division: 15U
Team: NY Aviators
Player: Nicholas Johnson (F) – Games: 1, Goals: 2, Assists: 0
“Two exceptional goals in a must win game!” said Coach Pat Braglia.
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Age Level / Division: 16U
Team: Mercer Chiefs Elite
Player: David Lakatos (F) – Games: 1, Goals: 4, Assists: 0
“David came back from an injury and had his best game of the season this week, scoring 4 times in our lone game and pushing our win streak to three games.” said Coach Dan Pressl.
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Age Level / Division: 18U
Team: Esmark Stars 18U AAA
Player: Nikita Volski (G) – Games: 2, Goals Against: 2, Saves: 49
“Nikita picked up a pair of wins this past weekend, (4-2 over the Madison Capitols and 1-0 over the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite) including a 30-save performance in regulation and overtime a 1-0 OT/SO shut-out win against the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite 18U club in front of a standing room only crowd at the UPMC Lemieux Center in Pittsburgh. The game against the PPE was a high-end action-packed see-saw affair and both Nikita and the PPE goalie were awesome. Nikita took our team on his back and shut the door on a very good PPE team and gave us a chance for the W.” said Coach Dave Kosick.
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HONORABLE MENTIONS
11U
Keagan Rypkema (G) – Jersey Hitmen
Nolan Guiterman (D) – Jersey Hitmen
Sammy Sobel (G) – PAL Jr Islanders
12U
Shawn Gertler (F) – NY Aviators
Michael Kandrach (F) – PAL Jr Islanders
Daphne Hu (F) – Rockets
Johnny O’Brien (F) – CP Dynamo
Robert Dekleine (F) – Rockets
Xypher Zamias (F) – Esmark Stars
14U
Chase Kishler (G) – Mercer Chiefs
15U
Rasmus Bergman (G) – Rockets
Jake McCloud (F) – NJ Jets
16U
William Micholas (D) – Mercer Chiefs
Cody Arnold (G) – NJ Jets
Tier 1 Hockey Federation is pleased to announce Academic Honor Roll, with a total of 425 THF athletes being recognized. To earn a spot on the THF Honor Roll, the student-athlete must have a 3.5 GPA or higher. Congratulations to all our scholar-athletes for this academic achievement! It is a reflection to their commitment in both the classroom and our league.
Click here to view the complete list of honorees
Tier 1 Hockey Federation is excited to announce the next webinar in the Federation Educational Series. The Pathway to Junior Hockey will dive into the different routes that players have to play junior hockey.
Commissioner Tony Zasowski will cover the Junior Leagues that are available in North America and what each league has to offer. Tony will be joined by USHL Youngstown Phantoms Assistant Coach Brandon Gotkin, NAHL Maryland Black Bears Head Coach and General Manager Clint Mylymok, and NCDC Mercer Chiefs Head Coach Rob Broderick.
Pathway to Junior Hockey
Date: Monday, February 13th
Time: 6:00 pm EST
RSVP: CLICK HERE
All players and their families are welcome to attend this webinar presentation.
Tier 1 Hockey Federation is excited to announce PHA Icemen as a member for the 2023-2024 season. PHA Icemen play out of Valencia, Pennsylvania with five teams joining: U12 (2011), U14 (2009), U15, U16, and U18. This past season was their seventh season and they field teams that play a competitive AA and AAA schedule through tournaments/showcases, and home and away games. Some of the featured coaches within the PHA Icemen are Dave Grimm (U18), Brian Gierczynski (U16), Dean Whittingham (U15), and Mav Goepfert (U14).
Dave is a Class of 2008 Graduate of Slippery Rock University where he played for four seasons on the men’s ACHA Division 1 team. Since graduating from SRU, Dave worked at both the University of Pitt and RMU in their Sports Performance and Strength and Conditioning groups working with collegiate athletes and coaching staff. In 2016, Dave returned to SRU and served as a member of the SRU Men’s Hockey Team Coaching Staff. In 2017, Dave was named Director of Hockey Operations and Head Coach which are two roles he held from 2017 to 2020. Coach Dave is the Head Coach for the U18 PHA Icemen and assistant coach of the PHA Icemen U16 team. Dave is also a former officer in the United States Army and lives in Sewickley with his wife and two children.
Brian Gierczynski is a Pittsburgh native and a USA Hockey Level 4 coach. He grew up playing in the Pittsburgh Hornets organization before lacing up for Baldwin High School, where he was a 4-year Varsity letterman and a 2 time SHIHL AAA All Star. He has played hockey all over North America as well as a stint in Omsk, Russia. For the past two seasons, Brian has been the Head Coach of PHA’s 2007 Icemen team. He has previously coached at the U14/U16/U18 levels of both AA & AAA hockey. He has coached players that have moved on to Junior, Prep School, NCAA, and ACHA programs. Brian is co-founder of International Dryland Academy, which is a non-profit organization concentrating on off-ice hockey training where he specializes in Russian dryland training. International Dryland Academy serves as the off-ice trainers of all PHA Icemen teams and is based out of Frozen Pond Arena. He resides in Allison Park with his wife Anastasiya, son Alexander, dog Lucy, and cat Lilly.
Dean has provided private Power Skating and Skills instruction, and for various Youth Hockey Programs for over 10 years. Coach Dean’s love for the game of hockey began at an early age growing up in Toronto, Canada. Dean played amateur hockey from Mite to Junior there, including five years in the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL) at the AA/AAA levels. Dean has also coached amateur hockey teams from Mite through U18 for the past 17 years and currently serves as the Head Coach of the PHA U14 (08) team. Dean has also coached Freshman, JV & Varsity at the high school level for Pine Richland, and was a major contributor in forming the Pine Richland Development Hockey Program. He has coached players that have moved on to Junior, Prep School, NCAA, and ACHA programs. Dean has served as the Director of Hockey Operations for over 13 years. During his tenure, several of Dean’s initiatives included the formation, development, and oversight of western PA’s first ADM program, the re-design, implementation, and oversight of the tryout process, coaching development as well as the development of in-season player evaluations to name a few. Coach Dean is also part of the ownership of the Frozen Pond Arena where he serves as VP of Operations, President of PHA Icemen, and Director of Hockey Operation for the Pittsburgh Yetis. Dean and his wife Ellen currently reside in Pine Township with their two dogs Pita and Yuki.
Coach Mavrik Goepfert, born and raised in Butler, PA, found his love for hockey at an early age. Mav started playing dek hockey at the age of three and eventually moved on to play ice hockey. Mav grew up playing amateur hockey in Western PA and suiting up for his Butler High School team, where he was a PIHL AAA All-Star his senior year. Following high school, Coach Mav moved on to play two seasons with the Pittsburgh Jr Penguins. During his time with the Jr Penguins, they went on to the USA Junior Nationals twice. Mav concluded his hockey playing career with four years of ACHA Div 1 Hockey at Slippery Rock University. In his freshman and sophomore season, the team qualified and participated in nationals, and in his sophomore season, they won their conference championship. During his time at Slippery Rock, he gained valuable experience while providing private lessons. He has coached Butler High School Varsity as well as experience at Middle School, Junior Varsity, U16, and U18 levels at the AA & AAA level. Mav resides in Butler with his girlfriend Kaitlynn and their dog, Kovey.
The Icemen have been a key developer of talent when it comes to alumni and where they are now. Mikey Fritz is with the New Hampshire Avalanche in the Eastern Hockey League. Alex Erlain and Riley Mastowski are with Team Maryland (EHL), Tay Melis and Drake Tomak with the Boston Jr. Rangers (EHL), Mario Smith with the Texas Brahamas (North American Tier 3 Hockey League), Aiden Waters with the Hershey Cubs (United States Premier Hockey League), Matthew Bobko with Islanders Hockey Club (USPHL), Damien Busch with Trinity-Pawling Prep (United States High School Prep), Ben Baskinger with Shady Side Academy (USHS Prep) and Daniel Venture with Westminster Prep (USHS Prep).
Be sure to follow PHA Icemen on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Tier 1 Hockey Federation (“THF”) is a USA Hockey Sanctioned Elite Tier-1 Youth Hockey League. The THF provides elite-level competition through an unbalanced schedule among Tier 1 and elite clubs across the U.S. The THF is managed by full-time professional staff and has over 200 elite or AAA teams from 9U-18U. The THF brings together clubs from multiple leagues and states and is the only organization whose members operate franchises in the top junior hockey leagues in the US for NCAA Division I commitments: USHL, NAHL, NCDC, and the top junior hockey leagues for NCAA Division III commitments, the USPHL Premier Division and the Eastern Hockey League.
For the week ending on January 29th, the Tier 1 Hockey Federation rankings are in. This week’s rankings also include THF West. KRACH is a team’s win/loss ratio multiplied by strength of schedule. You can view all rankings here.
The teams that are in first in each division are Pal Jr. Islanders (10U Major), Jersey Hitmen (10U Minor), Rockets (12U Major), Mercer Chiefs (12U Minor), Rockets (14U Major), Pal Jr. Islanders (14U Minor), Rockets (15U Pure), Atlantic Coast Academy (16U) and Esmark Stars (18U). The teams that are in first for THF West are the Wasatch Renegades (14U), Vegas Jr. Golden Knights (15U), Golden State Elite (16U), and Colorado Springs Tigers (18U).
THF South teams can move subdivisions until the final regular season game is played. The final subdivision will include the teams in competition for a playoff spot.
Tier 1 Hockey Federation and Atlantic Hockey Federation are excited to announce the addition of the Red Bank Generals to the THF for the 2023-2024 season. The Generals will also compete in the AHF starting in the 2024-25 season. The Red Bank Generals are based out of Red Bank, New Jersey consisting of 20 teams and 315 players.
The Generals were recently granted Tier I status at the 10U and 12U levels for the 2023-2024 season and will continue to field teams at the Tier II (AA – A – B) levels from 6U – 18U. Yves Heroux, Jack Callahan, Peter Herms, Brendan van Riemsdyk and Terry Jarkowsky are all coaches for Generals teams. Joakim Ryan is a standout General alum who plays in the Swedish Hockey League. He was selected in the seventh round of the 2012 NHL Draft and played five years with the Sharks, Kings and Hurricanes.
The Muskegon Lumberjacks, a member of the United States Hockey League, was sold to Peter Herms, a former Lumberjack player in December of 2022. Herms, is a former college hockey player at New Hampshire . With that purchase, Herms now owns the Lumberjacks, the Red Bank Generals and the Red Bank Armory Ice Complex.
Be sure to follow the Generals on Facebook and Instagram.
Tier 1 Hockey Federation (“THF”) is a USA Hockey Sanctioned Elite Tier-1 Youth Hockey League. The THF provides elite-level competition through an unbalanced schedule among Tier 1 and elite clubs across the U.S. The THF is managed by full-time professional staff and has over 200 elite or AAA teams from 9U-18U. The THF brings together clubs from multiple leagues and states and is the only organization whose members operate franchises in the top junior hockey leagues in the US for NCAA Division I commitments: USHL, NAHL, NCDC and the top junior hockey leagues for NCAA Division III commitments, the USPHL Premier Division and the Eastern Hockey League.
The Atlantic Hockey Federation (“AHF”) is a USA Hockey Sanctioned Elite Tier-II Youth Hockey League that facilitates games throughout the U.S. for its club members and families. The AHF provides high-quality league games and showcases for over 600 teams in the Mid-Atlantic uniquely catering to its member-owned clubs. The AHF currently fields youth hockey programs at AA, A, and B divisions for the following age groups: the 8U AAA Full Ice, 8U Half Ice, 10U, 12U, 14U, 15U/16U, and 18U age levels. The AHF is truly a unique opportunity as each of the Founders and Member clubs operate at all levels of the youth and junior hockey spectrum from Mite to Midget at the youth level and from Tier III juniors all the way up to Tier I juniors in the USHL. If you are looking for value and exposure to play college hockey, the AHF is also for you.
The THF announces the Players of the Week for the week ending January 29th, 2023. The Players of the Week is a weekly feature during the 2022-23 season that honors players in all divisions. Only players that are nominated by their respective teams are considered.
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Age Level / Division: 10U
Team: NY Aviators
Player: Rocco Sampogna (F) – Games: 3, Goals: 9, Assists: 2
“Dominant with the puck!” said Coach James Karp.
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Age Level / Division: 12U
Team: NJ Rockets
Player: Marcus Cassidy (F) – Games: 2, Goals: 4, Assists: 2
“Marcus has worked hard all season and was rewarded with a very strong offensive and defensive game!” said Coach Wes Dorey.
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Age Level / Division: 13U
Team: Woodbridge Wolfpack
Player: James Lynott (D) – Games: 2, Goals: 1, Assists: 1
“James has continued to put up points all season for the Wolfpack and is currently the highest scoring defenseman at 14U Minor. James has worked hard off and on the ice all season long.” said Coach Jeff Angert.
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Age Level / Division: 14U
Team: Team Maryland
Player: R.J. Radtke (D) – Games: 4, Goals: 1, Assists: 3
“RJ had a strong weekend for us in Tampa Bay for the Elite Prospects Cup Series scoring once and adding 3 assists, for a point-a-game for the weekend. RJ was very strong in his puck retrievals, board battles, and controlling the play in the large amount of minutes that he plays.” said Coach Shawn Grant.
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Age Level / Division: 15U
Team: Rockets Hockey Club Elite
Player: Hunter Mabee (F) – Games: 2, Goals: 4, Assists: 3
“Hunter was dominant in the offensive zone!” said Coach Daniel Kennedy.
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Age Level / Division: 16U
Team: Mercer Chiefs Elite
Player: Kyle Pechalski (F) – Games: 4, Goals: 1, Assists: 3
“Kyle was instrumental in our 4-2 win over the Rockets this weekend, notching a hat trick while also helping kill off some important penalties late in the game.” said Coach Dan Pressl.
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Age Level / Division: 18U
Team: Esmark Stars U18 AAA
Player: Ian Norkevicus (D) – Games: 5, Goals: 2, Assists: 6
“Ian was a force in our Florida Tournament. Eight points was only the tip of the iceberg to his game.” said Coach Dave Kosick.
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HONORABLE MENTIONS
12U
Sam Thorpe (F) – Rockets
Thomas Fox (G) – Mercer Chiefs
15U
Anthony Brereton (D) – Rockets
Kyle Mclauglin (G) – Esmark Stars
Tyler Haley (G) – Esmark Stars
16U
Callahan Schultz (G) – Mercer Chiefs
Sunday is THF Game of the Week Game Day, a Live-Stream game broadcast series on the Federations Hockey Channel. Each week throughout the season, family, friends, coaches and scouts will log on to watch exciting U18 THF match-ups on the Federation Hockey Channel via the THF Mobile App or Website. This week’s game features PAL Jr Islanders U18 visiting Philadelphia Flyers Elite U18, Sunday at 11:00 am ET from Pennsauken Skate Zone in Pennsauken Township, NJ.
The THF has partnered with Play-by-Play Productions of Princeton, NJ to produce the HD telecasts. Play-by-Play is an industry leader in Live-Streaming elite youth and amateur sporting events, serving dozens of clients from throughout the U.S. and overseas.
