Some of the most prominent scholastic ice hockey programs in the Philadelphia area are aligning to form a new conference.
Holy Ghost Prep, LaSalle, St. Joseph’s Prep, and Malvern Prep will compete against one another this coming season.
The four schools are in different leagues in other sports. Holy Ghost Prep belongs to the Bicentennial Athletic League, St. Joseph’s Prep and LaSalle to the Philadelphia Catholic League, and Malvern Prep to the InterAc League.
The four schools will play each other three times each over the course of the season. A source told Hockey Happenings that plans call for each team to play six of its nine conference games in the afternoon, the other three at night. The regular season will be followed by a pair of one-game semifinals and a one-game final.
The idea behind the new league was to form a conference composed entirely of schools where ice hockey is considered a full-fledged varsity sport. Veteran Holy Ghost Prep coach Gump Whiteside notes that all four member schools fit hockey into their athletic and academic structures.
“I think that stems from the leadership at these schools,” he said.
All four schools involved in the alliance have longstanding hockey traditions. LaSalle has won 10 Flyers Cup titles, nine in Class 3A and one in Class 2A. Malvern Prep has won seven Cups, all in Class 3A. Holy Ghost Prep has won three Class 3A Flyers Cup titles to go with one in Class 2A while St. Joseph’s Prep claimed its first Flyers Cup title when it won the Class 3A title this past March.
The four schools will remain part of the Flyers Cup structure where will compete in Class 3A but will not be aligned with the Suburban High School Hockey League or the Intercounty Scholastic Hockey League. for scheduling purposes
Jim Britt, who has had a long association with amateur hockey, will serve as commissioner of what is expected to be known as the Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference.
Hockey Happenings 