The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League has announced the cancellation of the remainder of the, junior varsity and middle school playoffs, as well as the girls division season originally planned for mid-June, following a similar decision by the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association.
The six remaining varsity playoff games – two semifinals in Class-3A and the four Penguins Cup finals – are still postponed, with the hope to “provide every opportunity to allow those games to be played,” the league said in a statement on its website.
The PIAA announced Thursday that, in accordance with Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf’s announcement that Pennsylvania schools will be closed to in-person learning for the remainder of the school year, all remaining winter championships and spring sports have been cancelled.
“Today’s decision by the PIAA Board of Directors was difficult for everyone,” said PIAA Executive Director Dr. Robert A Lombardi in a press release. “Their thoughts remain on the thousands of student-athletes, coaches, officials, and family members affected by this decision. However, the Board’s position reflects a steadfast priority of keeping our student-athletes, officials, and member schools’ staffs and their communities safe, while following the guidelines provided by the Governor, the Department of Health, and the Department of Education.
Dave Fryer, Director of Hockey Operations for the PIHL, told Brian Mitchell on the PHD Podcast Tuesday that the league had not ruled out the possibility of playing the remaining varsity championship games but that they “were going to follow what a higher governing body told us to do,” as motioned and approved by the PIHL executive committee at a meeting in early March. The league had already suspended play for a minimum of two weeks effective Mar. 12. Three of the four days of varsity semifinals had been played, with Ringgold and Carrick moving on to the Class-B finals, Indiana and Thomas Jefferson advancing to the Class-1A finals, and Baldwin and Latrobe advancing to the Class-2A finals. The Class-3A semifinals had been schedule for Mar. 12.
