In the end, all paths lead to beer league hockey. But my kid still had the desire for competitive, "serious" hockey, so for him ACHA made great sense. He's at a school with a strong ACHA M2 program, and having a blast. Its also a school that he would have been interested in separate and apart from hockey (Northeastern).

Anonymous wrote:Honestly thinking my kid will get cut from ACHA D3. Will be close, but if the team is a stronger one, may not work out. Can anyone speak to experience with intramural hockey anywhere in particular? Like how often do they play, is it real games or stick and shoot, do they practice, is it fun?

Who cares? Your kid's hockey playing career is over. Intramurals is simply VOLO or Fray hockey. No practice. Just games. 10 games for X price. That's it.

Anonymous wrote:What colleges offer intramural hockey? I know Syracuse has intramural hockey, any others?

Every school with a rink on campus offers intramural hockey. Most northern towns have community rinks where a student can play men's league if they want.

I find all this talk of parents determining which schools have the best club teams silly. I am not paying out of my rear to have my kid play club hockey because they refuse to acknowledge that their hockey playing careers are over. If they want to play hockey, they can play in one or two men's leagues, which will cost about 20% of paying to play club.

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have a good primer on what the options are out of high school? You have to take a year off to play ncaa?!

Generally yes, one must play US Junior A in in USHL or NAHL to qualify for D-1 hockey. Only the best high school players in hockey states like MN or MA can go straight from high school to college. The best players who end up playing in college end up playing juniors while still in high school. If you play juniors after leaving high school, you can still play D-1 but you'll be at smaller programs.

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have an update on status of local ice for UVA’s club hockey team? Did they drop down a level or are they still ACHA D2?

Last I heard (a few months ago) they were still D2, but really having a tough time getting enough players out for games because of the distance from their rink.

Anyone have an update on status of local ice for UVA’s club hockey team? Did they drop down a level or are they still ACHA D2?

Anonymous wrote:Honestly thinking my kid will get cut from ACHA D3. Will be close, but if the team is a stronger one, may not work out. Can anyone speak to experience with intramural hockey anywhere in particular? Like how often do they play, is it real games or stick and shoot, do they practice, is it fun?

Normally a rink on campus is a prerequisite for intramural. Notre Dame has a good ACHA 3 program and intramural hockey with real games. Michigan State has NCAA, ACHA 2, ACHA 3 and a pretty strong intramural program. Same at Michigan. PSU has a very competitive ACHA D2 team that is tough to make but there also intramural teams at Pegula.

As far as your kid making a team, the Eastern ACHA 3 teams aren't that strong but many in the Midwest are really good. Many local ACHA 2 teams are pretty weak and just need bodies. Compare the upper and lower leagues in the ACCHL ACHA D2 divisions. Only the upper division (Premier) competes to go to Nationals. Just do some looking around.

Anonymous wrote:What colleges offer intramural hockey? I know Syracuse has intramural hockey, any others?

This is from the ACHA website. It is a searchable google sheet with all kinds of information listed about ACHA programs. It views best on a computer or tablet vs. a phone.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1w9b7LPvY-YfA2d2lzQLmjzZ8CAU52YNbclz8udzc9Vk/edit#gid=0

Grew up in Boston. Played at a HS where 2 players went on to NHL and many ended up at BU/BC hockey.

The top players here in the DC area would not have a chance agaisnt the top tier players in New England or anywhere up North.

Honestly thinking my kid will get cut from ACHA D3. Will be close, but if the team is a stronger one, may not work out. Can anyone speak to experience with intramural hockey anywhere in particular? Like how often do they play, is it real games or stick and shoot, do they practice, is it fun?

Anonymous wrote:What are other families with AAA players who want to play college hockey doing? Do you plan to send your kid away for prep school, juniors or even a better AAA team than what we have locally and hope they still want to go to college after the gap year(s) and that they can make a NCAA team? Or are you steering them toward ACHA hockey?

If you want to play D1 hockey from this area, the best odds are, I think, achieved by moving north around age 14 or 15 (Bantam Major or 15U) either to prep school or another AAA team. This gives the best odds of making it to the USHL or the NAHL. which are the best options for making D1. That's not to say that its impossible to do that from here, but its more difficult. Team Maryland had been pretty successful in recent years placing a kid or two each year on the Black Bears, but I've heard that that process is greatly eased by attending (and paying for) the various summer camps run by the people in charge. It is much easier to stay local and then make a Tier 3 junior team which can lead to a D3 NCAA gig. But that can easily take an extra 2-3 years post-high school. My kid played for WLC for 7 years (though 1 year of 18U hockey), and looked pretty hard at taking the juniors route. In the end, he got a good opportunity at a college he would have wanted to attend regardless of hockey, and decided to go straight to college. They have a D1 program and an ACHA D2 program which has been very successful the past five years (5 straight trips to Nationals). He made the team as a freshman and has gotten to play in every game (along with 2 other freshman). Its been a very good experience for him. I think he might have "left some hockey on the table" by heading straight to college, but I think it was the right choice for him.

Anonymous wrote:What are other families with AAA players who want to play college hockey doing? Do you plan to send your kid away for prep school, juniors or even a better AAA team than what we have locally and hope they still want to go to college after the gap year(s) and that they can make a NCAA team? Or are you steering them toward ACHA hockey?

CHF nationals this week and ACHA nationals next week. Can at least check out playing level of club. Is it worth paying $20K a year for your kid to play non-scholarship hockey at tiny colleges in the middle of nowhere? Unless your kid is on D1/USHL track, should focus on college first. Former Little Cap is Captain of NC State and played in front of 26,000 people on Stadium Series Ice. NC v NC State fills lower bowl of Canes Stadium and Icepack generally draws well. Few Ashburn kids are playing front of sold out stands at Kentucky. And those are ACHA D2 programs, Kentucky made Nationals by winning SE Regional at The St James. Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina are CHF teams that have a number of local kids (some AAA players) and tons of support. Both made CHF Nationals in Philly this week. Top of ACHA D1 is very competitive but not sure Liberty, Minot State, and Adrian are a big draw for a college experience. Also those programs have similar profile as NCAA D3 where freshman are 21. Likely more fun at a big school with a well-supported ACHA D2/CHF program.

What are other families with AAA players who want to play college hockey doing? Do you plan to send your kid away for prep school, juniors or even a better AAA team than what we have locally and hope they still want to go to college after the gap year(s) and that they can make a NCAA team? Or are you steering them toward ACHA hockey?

Thanks! Really like CNU and will check out hockey scene there.

Anonymous wrote:Seems like a kid who is usually making the upper A teams and occasionally hits it and makes AA is probably IM bound and likely to get cut from ACHA 3. Is there anything in between?

In D3, there was a big break and a lot of teams left the ACHA and are now under the CHF umbrella. The more competitive CHF teams are holding themselves out as D2 equivalent but they were D3 in the ACHA. But some teams like SC are pretty strong and you need to be a solid AA player. Others are pretty low level. If hockey is a priority, do some research and reach out to coaches for schools your kid might attend. W&M may be an option. CNU too.