2011 TRHL Season Preview
by Matt Christine

After a long, antagonizing offseason, it will soon be time to don the helmets, skates and pads as we gear up for the 2011 TRHL season. Get your wheels ordered, your blades fixed and your competitive spirit prepared for what is promising to be the most intense season yet! The league has grown every year thus far, and this year should be no different, with 10+ teams expected to take part in this growing Tyrone summer pastime. The league currently boasts players from Tyrone, Tipton, Bellwood, Altoona, Huntingdon, Hollidaysburg, Roaring Spring, Alexandria and we even had a team travel from Bedford each Sunday to participate in 2010. As a quick side note, we are looking to put a new surface on the rink as soon as the weather permits us to do so, hopefully in time for the season. This will make for faster hockey action, which will be more fun (and less expensive) for the players and more exciting for the fans. Many area players are already out at the rink getting back in game shape and honing their skills. Many of these players are already showing a lot of improvement over last season, so you better get out there and work on your game if you want to keep pace!

From this writer’s humble perspective, it would be hard to see any team other than the defending two-time TRHL Champions, The Pioneers, hoisting the trophy at the end of this season. The Pioneers are in the midst of putting together a TRHL dynasty if they can complete the illustrious “three-peat” in sports, that is, back-to-back-to-back championships. This team has been building tremendous chemistry over the years, and they also have the individual firepower to continue to sustain their recent success as well as a deep, talented pool of youngsters and a group of veteran players who are smart and know the game. The Pioneers will be returning virtually everyone from last season and all of the players who contributed greatly to their championship run, including talented scorers Brice Barrett, Nate Antesberger, and Chad Murray, defensive stalwarts Seth Barrett and Dale Bogert and the league’s top goalie, Gary Miller. I recently spoke with Brice Barrett, who scored twice in the Pioneers’ 3-1 win in the 2010 TRHL Championship game on the approach that the Pioneers will take as they chase the three-peat. “Well we are obviously looked at as one of the top teams in the league. The competition grows more fierce each and every year, and with our core in defense, offense and goaltending returning for the 2011 season, it looks to be another great year for hockey,” Barrett said, “It's still the beginning of the season, so all of us aren't looking at the three-peat just yet, we're keeping our focus on the regular season and taking it one game at a time.”

With all of that said, if there is one team who can stop the Pioneers from accomplishing the three-peat, it is RJ’s Tavern. These guys proved last season that they indeed have what it takes to dethrone the mighty Pioneers. Not only did RJ’s Tavern play an incredibly tough game against the Pioneers in the 2010 TRHL Championship Game, they actually defeated the Pioneers in their regular season matchup, 6-4, behind a strong goaltending effort from Allen Tychinski and a workman-like effort from their juggernaut scoring line of Morris, Terza, Monahan and Wilt. This is a team that can win in a variety of ways. They can shut you down or they can score goals in bunches very quickly. Either way, they are a serious contender for the 2011 TRHL Championship and I expect them to once again make it to the Championship game against the Pioneers. Unconfirmed reports state that RJ’s Tavern is adding some new weapons this year to increase their effort in halting the Pioneers’ dynasty. I attempted to reach a member of RJ’s Tavern to get to the bottom of this story, but I was unable to get a comment from them. This will be an interesting story to follow as the season begins. The battle for the top seed heading into the playoffs will definitely be one between the Pioneers and RJ’s Tavern.

Taking a look through the rest of the field, we have the Stingers. Winners of the first ever TRHL Championship in 2008, the Stingers are a high-energy, swarming defensive team who excels at keeping the pressure out of their zone and applying their own pressure at the red line and in the other team’s zone. They pride themselves in leaving it all on the rink, and though they don’t quite have the talent to match the Pioneers or RJ’s Tavern, they have the capability to push those teams to the brink through their sheer effort and determination. These guys are definitely a team that will probably make some noise in the playoffs. A Championship game appearance is unlikely, but not out of the question by any means.

Another interesting developing story heading into the 2011 TRHL season is that Team Shredder and the Swamp Donkeys may be merging. Last year, Team Shredder suffered numerous forfeit losses due to many of their players having other obligations. This was quite unfortunate because team Shredder was one of the better teams in the league last year from a talent perspective. The Swamp Donkeys didn’t enjoy much success last season, but their players showed a lot of hustle and good sportsmanship even in spite of defeat. Perhaps combining some of the better elements of both teams will create a new team capable of competing in the league 2011. However, what would we call them then? The Swamp Shredders?

A team with more question marks than answers heading into 2011 is certainly the Thrashers. Many of their players have either moved away or gone to other teams. Perhaps we’ll see a new incarnation of the Thrashers this year, made up mostly of free agents? In any event, it should be interesting to see what unfolds with the Thrashers. TRHL newcomer Johnny Friday showed a lot of promise last year and could definitely be a player to watch for in 2011.

The Tipton Wolves were another team who fought hard all year in 2010 and played some pretty impressive hockey at times. I would put them just a small notch below the Stingers heading into 2011. They were a young team who showed a lot of potential, and if they can gel as a unit a little more than they did last year, they may be able to make some noise in 2011. If I had to pick a “dark horse” so to speak, the Tipton Wolves would be my pick to surprise some people and maybe upset the Pioneers or RJ’s tavern in the playoffs. You just never know what might happen.

Finally, how about our friends from Bedford? They provided the league with a lot of excitement last year, as 2 of their games went into shootouts. I was there to watch both of those games, and both times, the crowd really got into it as the game went through overtime and into the shootout. Bedford had a good distance to travel to play in our league, and we thank them and invite them back this year with open arms to play in our league again.