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And so it began...
The year, 1999. The season, 1999-2000. It was the first taste of in-line hockey for Seneca Valley.
When the in-line hockey craze came to Western Pennsylvania, all teams were at the varsity level. The teams originally involved were Seneca Valley Black, Seneca Valley Blue, Perry Traditional Academy, Avonworth/Northgate (a combined team), Hampton, and Vincentian. The first season was split into two sessions, much like our Elementary Program is today.
Things were much different ten years ago when in-line came to Seneca. There were team moms and even team managers, but no banquet. The cost of playing for the season was $90.00 per player and that included a jersey.
Seneca Valley's Black roster consisted of Bruce Aker, Adam Bayliche, Josh Dispennett, Ryan Gaus, Adam Gross, Greg Laffetry, and Drew Parker. Jeff Tindall was the coach. They enjoyed undefeated 10-0 seasons for both sessions, beating Perry Traditional Academy both times for the championships.
Adam Bayliche, Josh Dispennett, and Drew Parker are given credit for starting the original SV In-line program.
There is less remembered about Seneca Valley Blue's roster and their first year. Those remembered on the roster are Jim Hughes, Jason Lancey, and Steve Lewis. Mike Quail was Blue's coach. SV Blue went 8-2 the first session, losing only to SV Black and Perry Traditional.
The second season yielded little change in the format of in-line hockey in Western Pennsylvania. However, one notable change was growth. Seneca Valley added a Junior Varsity team to their rosters along with Jim Ferrianola as their coach. North Allegheny, Canon McMillan, South Fayette, and Fox Chapel joined the league. Another change was in the way the seasons progressed. The original two session season changed to a one session season and has stayed the same for all levels of play except for the elementary level since that time.
The second season also gave birth to a new tradition, the Banquet. The first banquet was a rather informal affair. It was held at the North Park Deck House lounge. There was no program, but the players gathered to celebrate their year, their growth, and their success.
Seneca Valley Varsity Black won the championship for year two, beating South Fayette. The second season SV Varsity Black roster listed Adam Bayliche, Ryan Gaus, Bruce Aiker, Adam Gross, Drew Parker, Greg Lafferty, and Nick Larson. Mike Quail was the Varsity Black Head Coach.
Steve Lewis's mom, Mrs. Lewis, was instrumental in getting in-line hockey recognized as a varsity sport. This enabled players to letter, making in-line a notable sport which was very important to many young athletes.
The following information was taken from the 2000 Seneca Valley Year Book, pages 223-224.
| INLINE CHAMPIONS
Roller Hockey was added as a new club to the school's line-up this year. The Blue and the Black teams faced many opponents. Their first game was the first roller hockey game played in the history of western Pennsylvania, and a ceremony was held to commemorate the occasion. The Black Team ended the season with a superb record of 12-0 and as champions of the league. Bruce Aker and Nick Larson played a big part in the scoring. The Black Team's best game was their championship game against Perry Academy, and they won with a score of 11-2. Bruce Aker, Shawn Grubbs, Drew Parker, Adam Bayliche, Nick Larson, Justin Stewart, and Josh Dispennett qualified to go to Denver in July and Florida in October to play in a national tournament. They also won a regional tournament held at South Pointe in Washington, PA, defeating the Wise Guys who were once ranked second in the nation. The Blue Team played two seasons this year, playing twelve games during the second season and ending with a record of 8-4.
BLUE TEAM
Front Row: Justin Bankston, Justin Borel, James McGroder.
Row 2: Jason Lancy, Justin Stewart.
Row 3 Jon Briggs, Steve Lewis, Darren Gruetze, Ryan Quail, Coach Scott Faust, Jeremy Hughes, Matt Dalton, Jason Satryan, John Kopas.
BLACK TEAM
Front Row: Mark Piccolino, Chuck Lavera.
Back Row: Bruce Aker, Shawn Grubbs, Josh Dispennett, Drew Parker, Ryan Gaus, Adam Gross, Courtney Tempich, Coach Jeff Tindall, Jackie Pelliccione, Adam Bayliche, Scott Leighty, Nick Larson, Gregg Lafferty, Chris Walton
Drew Parker, Josh Dispennett and Adam Bayliche got the idea to begin Seneca teams and made presentations to the School Board for approval, which they received in late September.
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The Spring of 2009 yielded two sets of champions. The first being Elementary Blue. The Elementary program had been a success since it was founded, yet this team, led by Head Coach Chris Hoch and Assistant Coaches Kevin Kratz and David Sloat, along with the mentoring of Brian Kelly, stood out. The team had entered the playoffs as the fifth seed, which meant that they would face Shaler Red in the first round. They beat Shaler 4-2, leading them to face Pine Richland's Green team in the second round. The game went to overtime tied up at 4 - 4, until Chris Lipnicky won the game only 10 seconds into the extra period. With their hard-fought victory, Elementary Blue found themselves in the Finals against Pine Richland Green. Goals by Chris Lipnicky (2) and Cassidy Fredrich, along with solid goaltending by Dylan Sloat led to a 3 - 1 win in game 1. The next game yielded a different result: a 4 - 7 loss in game 2. The team didn't have much time to forget the loss, because game 3 came only an hour later. SV Blue got the first goal from Chris Lipnicky off a pass from Noah Hoch. Pine Richland tied the game at one apiece. Lipnicky added his second goal of the game and Noah Hoch notched his own goal off an assist from Lipnicky to carry a two goal lead in to the third. Despite excellent defense by the nicknamed "Blue wall" and big saves by Dylan Sloat, Pine Richland tied it up. The third period came and went, but the score remained tied. The seried winning goal came when Chase Zavarella wristed the puck at the goal. The goalie could not control the rebound and Chris Lipnicky would finish off his hat-trick by backhanding the puck into the net, winning the game and the series.
In 2009, Seneca Valley's Varsity Tier 1, led by Head Coach Barry Bohn and Assistant Coaches Chip Byrd and Kevin Gaus, found themselves in the PIRHL Championship facing a tough Hampton team. SV won game one after Reinhardt Swart passed the puck from behind the net to Cory Kramer who spent little time in putting the puck in the net. In game two, Seneca Valley and Hampton exchanged blows until it the score read 3 - 3 in the 3rd period. With less than a minute remaining in the game, a Hampton defender turned the puck over to Cory Kramer who skated the puck in on the Hampton goalie on a break-away. "Kosmo" deked to his right and slid the puck under the outstretched arm of the goalie. With 38 seconds left on the clock, the Raiders took a 4 - 3 lead. Seneca Valley would win the series in only two games.
Since the inception of the idea of in-line hockey was introduced to the Seneca Valley School District, the interest and the participation have continued to grow. From what began as a simple way to compete and have fun among peers and opponents, a huge following has grown. The Seneca Valley In-Line Hockey Association now boasts a full contingent of Varsity, Junior Varsity, Middle School, and Elementary teams, Head Coaches, Assistant Coaches, Team Moms, a sitting Board of Directors, a Mentor Program (thanks to Mr. Chris Hoch), participation in clinics and jamborees, is the proud recipient of many State Championship Trophies and Awards, and touts its very own Website, owned and operated by Webmaster Brian Kelly.
We would like to thank Mr. Barry Bohn, Mr. Joe Catena, Mr. Kevin Gaus, Mr. Ryan Gaus, and Mrs. Brenda Kramer for contributing to the writing of the history of SVILHA. As with any history, the story is never ending. Anyone who has information and/or pictures pertaining to the origin and the history of SVILHA, please forward to us at gkhockeymom@zoominternet.net (attention Brian Kelly, Webmaster).
| In Memory of... |
James A. Ferrainola April 5, 1955 - July 18, 2003 |
"Life is Good" |
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Keith R. Anger May 7, 1948 - October 14, 2006 |
"Let's Have Some Fun" |
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Eric Steven Yeagley August 4, 1987 - July 10, 2007 |
"It's All Good" |
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Charles E. Stunkard April 18, 1991 - November 14, 2008 |
"The Heart Means Everything" |
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