It’s been a while since there’s been an update!

In late December and early January, Central took to the ice against the younger and better conditioned Chatham University. While Chatham is still not a powerhouse team in the NCAA, they have improved greatly since their beginning days and play a smart game. Central proved that they can stick with this caliber team, even though the scores may not reflect. The first game, Central was down 1-2 at the end of the first and down 2-4 at the end of the second. The third period and playing 2- 20 min stop time periods proved too much and saw Central on the losing end of the tilt 3-10.

The second match-up didn’t prove much better. After being down only 1-3 at the end of the second, Central fell flat again in the third losing 1-11.

The following weekend showcased Central against the visiting Rebels out of Maryland. Although Central didn’t show the speed they had in the first two periods of the Chatham games, the game was very well balanced. Ultimately, Central was able to put the biscuit in the basket 3 times and only allowed one for a much needed victory.

This weekend, Central takes on the visiting Buffalo Hornets. These teams met last year up in Buffalo in two very close hard fought games; the same is expected again this weekend. For game times and locations, see out schedule & results page.

What a weekend!

Central has been in Strongville, OH, a little south of Cleveland for the annual Strongville Winter Classic.  The tournament features some old foes and one vein of new blood in the Indy Speed.  The first face off featured Central and Indy for the first time this season.  In the past, Indy has competed in both the USA Hockey National Tournament Senior C and Over-30 divisions, so Central was expecting tough competition.  In the end, Central came out with a 6-0 shutout victory.

The second face off came a mear 7 hours after the first with a game against Columbus, who Central will be playing again in a few weeks.  Central and Columbus are very familiar with each other, having been in the POWHA upper division for many years.  Columbus appeared to have picked up a few new and feisty skaters resulting in some close calls, but in the end Central was able to pull out a 3-0 win.

Saturday night was a tournament showcase of sorts, paring Central against Kent for the 3rd time this season.  The puck dropped in front of one of the larger crowds at the tournament in which players and fans from both divisions were present.  The two teams had a split thus far and this game was no different.  Central took a 1-0 lead late in the first and was able to hold this skinny lead till the middle of third when a wobbling shot tipped off the defense in front and barely escaped the right pad of the goalie.  The game would end in a hard fought 1-1 tie.

Central faces off against Kent again this morning for the tournment championship.  If you’re in the Strongsville area the puck drops at 10:40 am at Hoover Arena– you won’t want to miss this!

In other news, yes this stite is undergoing some changes.  Please use the navigation to the right to contact Central Pittsburgh or learn more about our team.

Central Pitsburgh has had an eventful, yet slightly less than successful, beginning to the season.  In our last post, we were gearing up for a season opener against Mid-Am district rival Kent Twisters.  The team gave avaliant effort but in the end, the early season jitters combined with a lack of practice (we had 3 up to that point?!) showed in the end with a 0-7 loss.

The team then headed north to Toronto area for the Etobicoke Pink the Rink Tournament.  This was a learning experience for the team, dropping three of four games.  Every team wants to win, but in the end the team identified some of it’s areas for improvement and was able to come away on a relatively positive note.  Also, we were able to, by way of tournament fees, contribut to helping find a cure.  The tournament was a charity tournament afterall!

After a weekend off, Central was back on the ice this past Saturday against Kent again, with a much different result– 4-1 win.  The team was moving and passing well and goaltender Missy Walters came up with some key saves to pull a critical win and bring the season series to a tie.  Last season Central was able to win the 2-1 series and are hoping for a similar outcome this season!

Central resumes play at the Winter Classic in Strongsville, OH this weekend and returns for a home game against Columbus on 12/3.

With Football season finally getting underway that means only one thing: it’s almost hockey season!  Sure, most of Central is cheering for the Steelers but we’re all hockey fans deep down and can’t wait to take the ice this fall!

The 2011-2012 Season is going to be one of change for Central.  After much contemplation and several successful seasons in POWHA (Pennsylvania-Ohio Women’s Hockey Association), the team has opted to expand outward in search of more challenging competition.  Central will compete on an independent schedule while picking up games as a probationary member of the Mid-Atlantic Women’s Hockey League.  The team is eagerly anticipating an early season tournament in Toronto as well.  With that being said, we are looking to schedule games.  If you/your team is a a Senior B level team and are interested in traveling to the city of Pittsburgh, please contact us!

Hurricanes: 11 – Central: 1

Sometimes, where you’re faced with talents above what you’re capable of you need to look deeper into yourself and find what will work best.  Sometimes what works best still isn’t enough.  Central learned this in the past weekend’s competition.  Central, while being a great solid hockey team top to bottom, is at a somewhat disadvantage playing against select teams filled with former standout NCAA Division I & III players, a few Patty Kazmier finalists and teams from deep talent pools.  In the end it came down to the little victories.  Heart.  Soul.  Pride.  It’s working hard to do as much right as you possibly could in 45 seconds and hoping that your teammates are also doing the same on each of their shifts.  Occasionally, your best isn’t enough.  Occasionally, you just don’t have your full game no matter how much you give and it results in an 1-11 loss to the team that was a favorite to win.  The little victory?  Central scored.  The team proved that they weren’t an impenetrable force.  Maybe, if few more bounces go the other way, it wouldn’t be such an outcome.   

SoCal: 4 – Central: 0

In an interesting twist, the team came up against a team that was no better or worse than any other teams they face in their normal league– a phenomenal change from the previous routing– proved that the disparity in skill level is huge in the B division and proved that, while being out played in the previous game, Central is actually a B level team.  After having played the previous game and pushing yourself so far while still coming up short, the fear is that you don’t have enough left in the tank.  That may have been the case as the team seemed flat after giving up a fluke goal off a tip and unlucky bounce.  Again, it’s the little victories.  This game?  Getting shots on net and controlling the flow, especially during special teams play.

In the end, there are always what ifs’ and should of-would of-could of moments.  Goals you want back,  better gap controls, or pucks you should have buried but the important thing is if you tried.  Did you win the little victories?  Did you give everything you had whenever you could, even if the odds weren’t in your favor?  Did you learn something that you can take with you into the next game, where ever that is?  For Central, the answer is yes.

STATS:

The Central Pittsburgh is slowly drawing to a close. March 19 and 20 saw the end of the POWHA regular season with a weekend home series against the Cincinnati Rising Stars. Central was able to come out on top with a 4-1 win on Saturday evening. Sunday, in an early morning effort, the team was able to shake off the sleep and pull out another big shut out popping the twine 5 times.

The weekend Central has traveled to the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan to participate in the USA Hockey National Championships– possibly the biggest women’s tournament in the country. The teams first draw in pool play paired them against the Green Mountain Girls out of Vermont. It was a well fough effort but, unfortuantley, goalie Amanda Carlson struggled in the first and early second allowing 4 goals. The team was not able to recover from the deficeit but hanging in the game is a positive step for the team.

Central Faces off against the Pal Beach Hurricanes at 3:40pm.

For full tournament information go here

For live and archived webcasts of tournament games go here

This past weekend Central took on the visiting Kent Twisters. In an epic match-up Central found themselves in the rare position of underdog facing a Kent team that had beaten them the previous three match ups. this time, however, Central showed what it was made of and came out on top.

In Saturday’s game Central out shot Kent 27-23 and squeaked away with a 4-3 victory.

Sunday’s game was a bit more decicive, with a few goal post helpers and a timely crease violation. Central was able to keep the Twisters scoreless leaving the Ice Garden with a 3-0 shutout.

Central is back in action for its last home stand of the 2010-2011 season March 20-21. They will take on the Rising Stars out of Cincinnati, OH in POWHA league play. This is also their last games before heading to Nationals the first weekend of April.

After a disappointing performance against rival Kent (losing 0-3), Central traveled deeper into Ohio for mor POWHA action.

On Saturday, January Central took on the Cincinnati Rising Stars upper team in an early afternoon contest. With an extremely short bench, Central was still able to dominate and pull a 5-1 win. Tereza S skated away with a hat trick and Missy stopped 14 of 15 shots.

Saturday night Pitted Central agains the Columbus Capital and Central squeeked out another one for the win column. Missy was in net for the shut out and Central out shot the Capitals 33-6.

Sunday brought some uncertainty as goalie Amanda was playing with a possible concussion suffered int he cincinnati game. The balance of the team was able to step up and minimize shots as the team was able to take another shut out for the weekend.

In the end, Central out shot their opponents 101-27 for the weekend sweep.

Central concluded it’s first half of the season with a road trip split dropping a close contest against Buffalo and picking up a much needed win against Niagara.

The holiday season brought two open scrimmages to help keep the feet moving. The team returned to practice on Thursday focusing on systems as they look to take on POWHA rival Kent Sunday at 11:30.

The Central Pittsburgh Hockey Team competed int he Strongsville Winter Classic held November 12-14 at the Hoover Ice Arena in Strongsville, OH.

Their first game was a face off of POWHA rival Kent.  Central struggled with their transition game and Kent was able to pull out a 3-0 win and 4.5 tournament points.

The second game put Central oposite the Pittsburgh Piranhas. These two teams haven’t faced off since late in the 08-09 season.  Central was back to their old trick dominating in all 3 zones but struggled to put the put the biscuit in the basket managing only 3-0 win and only pulling 4.5 tournament points.

In a must win situation to advance to the championship game, Central fell flat and suffered a 0-2 los at the hands of the Illinois Stars. 

In the end, Central finished 3rd in their division of the tournament.  The team looks forward to a break in game action as they prepare for the beginning of their POWHA season in early January.

It’s June and there is already a sense of anticipation for the 2010-2011 season. With that comes a brand new website. Three new layouts in 3 seasons seems like a lot, but we may have stumbled upon the most user friendly version to date!

Use the navigation at the top to learn more about the team or peruse our season re-caps.

Since this layout is new, there may still be some bugs to be worked out. If you find a bug or something that is not working, please contact Amanda at AC_Imaging@live.com or info@cphockey.com with the problem, your best description of how you arrived at the bug, computer platform (PC/Mac) and browser.

November 13th and 14th proved to be a long weekend for the Central Pittsburgh squad as the team traveled to the city of Strongsville, Ohio for the Strongsville Winter Classic held at Hoover Arena.

In their first game, the team faced a strong opponent in the Wheatfield Blades. In a previous meeting (February 2007) the two teams battled through 2 over times and a shoot out, with Central coming out on top. This game’s outcome was much different. Central struggled to find its passing game as they fell in a 0-6 loss.

The next afternoon, the team faced POWHA rival Cincinnati. The game played fast in the short 12 minute periods and Central was able to find the back of the net 3 times to come away with the win and a critical 4 points for the tournament. Looking like they had their game back, Central anticipated the late 9:40 game.

While still a long shot, Central went into their third game with high hopes and a long history of close games versus the Kent Twisters. The game was tied at zero after the first; tied at one after the second. In an exciting and hard fought third, the late game and long weekend proved too much and Kent was able to pull away with 2 more un-answered goals making the final score 1-3.

Central Pulled out two wins over the Columbus Capitals to open their POWHA league play on January 9th and 10th.

The first game was a fast paced, hard fought game, testing both goalies early. In the end, Central came out on top 3-0, but goalie Marianne Graham of Columbus stood on her head to keep the game close, stopping 37 of Central’s 40 shots.

The next morning’s game, held at Central’s alternate home arena Ice Castle, was a more lopsided victory. Central came out firing early and never looked back in route to an 8-0 win.

This coming weekend, January 30-31, Central hosts division rival Kent. The two teams met earlier this season in the Strongville tournament, where Central was handed a 3-1 loss in a very tight game. These games hsould be no different in competition, but Central hopes the outcome is very different.

As the season winds to a close, Central faced a grueling end to it’s regualr season play pulling a split in it’s final road trip.

Central was able to muster a 2-0 win against the fiesty Capitols out of Columbus. A game that tested both mental and physical endurance, as one of their top defenders racked up 20 minutes in penalties and an unfortunate 2 game suspension.

The next day brought POWHA rival Kent in another closely matched game. The eventual outcome was a 1-2 loss, giving Kent a defined hold on first place in the league.

Central prepared hard in practices, working on the finer things such as passing and shooting and have shown up to playoffs prepared for what the weekend my bring. So far, it’s success with a convincing 6-1 win over Cincinnati.

The puck drops for the POWHA Championship at 11:10 am Sunday, April 11 at Chiller North in Columbus, OH.

Fun Fact: Central has been in the POWHA championship game 5 of the last 6 seasons.

Central Pittsburgh’s preliminary 2010-2011 schedule has been posted. As the season continues to approach, we will be adding more games, scrimmages and details to the schedule, so be sure to check back frequently.
Click Here to view schedule.

Central Pittsburgh has recently schedule 2 exhibition games against Chatham University. Chatham is an NCAA Div. III program participating in the ECAC West conference.

Although Chatham has a history of being a struggling program, their talent has greatly increased over the programs history and could prove a tough foe for Central early in the season.

A few Central players will go into this game with some extra emotion, as the team features two Chatham alumna: Amanda Carlson (’02) and Christina Kunz (’06).

Please check out our schedule for game details.

Central Pittsburgh took on the Cougars of Chatham University Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Chatham was the first NCAA women’s collegiate hockey team in the state of Pennsylvania and has struggled over the years. The last few years, however, have proven their growth and maturity, which was displayed in these two games.

The first game was fast and physical, with Chatham taking a 3 goal lead midway through the first. Central fought back allowing only one goal in the second and shutting the Cougars out in the third, despite their best effort. Unfortunately, Central was not able to put the biscuit in the basket and was shut out 0-4.

Saturday was a slower game for both teams, but youth and ice time may have proved beneficial to the Chatham squad. After a lengthy delay because of ice condition issues, the game got underway with Chatham jumping to an early lead as Central struggled to find their legs and passing game. The team began to pull it together and found the back of the net twice. In the end though, the cougars early lead was too much to over come and Central dropped the game 2-8.

As a side note, Central has two Chatham College Alumna on their roster: Amanda Carlson and Christina Kunz.