High school hockey in Missouri consists of two leagues centered in the two largest cities in the state,
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
and
Kansas City, Missouri. The majority of the schools are located in the
St. Louis metro area, those teams are members of the Mid-States Club Hockey Association (MSCHA), the larger of the two leagues in Missouri. Schools in the northwest, southwest, central and western portions of Missouri are members of the Mid America High School Hockey League (MAHSHL). High school ice hockey in Missouri is not sanctioned by the
Missouri State High School Activities Association
The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) is the governing body for high school activities throughout the state of Missouri. Approximately 580 high schools are members of MSHSAA.
The MSHSAA conducts championship-level activi ...
(MSHSAA) but is sanctioned by
USA Hockey
USA Hockey is the national ice hockey organization in the United States. It is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the governing body for organized ice hockey in the United ...
.
NHL Alumni
*
Ben Bishop
Benjamin Manning Bishop III (born November 21, 1986) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender under contract to the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). Bishop previously played for the St. Louis Blues, Ottawa Se ...
(Chaminade)
*
Chris Butler (Chaminade)
*
Neil Komadoski (Chaminade)
*
Yan Stastny
Yan Pavol Stastny (born September 30, 1982) is a Canadian-born American former professional ice hockey centre. He comes from the Slovak Stastny ice hockey family, and is the son of Hockey Hall of Famer Peter Šťastný (one of the first star ...
(Chaminade)
*
Paul Stastny
Paul Stastny (born December 27, 1985) is a Canadian-born American professional ice hockey center for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets ...
(Chaminade)
*
Chris Wideman (Chaminade)
*
Matthew Tkachuk
Matthew Tkachuk (; born December 11, 1997) is an American professional ice hockey winger for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Tkachuk was selected sixth overall at the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the Calgary Flames.
Playing ...
(Chaminade)
*
Brady Tkachuk
Braeden "Brady" Tkachuk (; born September 16, 1999) is an American–Canadian professional ice hockey left winger and captain of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Tkachuk was chosen by the Senators as the fourth overall pi ...
(Chaminade)
*
Mike McKenna (Parkway South)
*
Cal Heeter
Calvin Heeter (born November 2, 1988) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender. He most recently played with the Orlando Solar Bears (ECHL), Orlando Solar Bears in the ECHL while under contract with the Toronto Marlies of the Ame ...
(Christian Brothers College High School)
*
Phil McRae (Christian Brothers College High School)
*
Joe Vitale (Christian Brothers College High School)
*
Patrick Maroon (Oakville Senior High)
*
Brandon Bollig (Francis Howell North)
*
Cam Janssen
Cameron Wesley Janssen (born April 15, 1984) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the New Jersey Devils and St. Louis Blues. He was selected by the New Jersey Devils 117th overa ...
(Eureka)
*
Glenn Patrick
Glenn Curtiss Patrick (born April 26, 1950) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played 38 games in the National Hockey League and 23 games in the World Hockey Association between 1973 and 1977. He played with the St. Louis Bl ...
(Ladue)
*
Luke Kunin (Whitfield School)
Leagues
Mid-States Club Hockey Association (MSCHA)
The Mid-States Club Hockey Association (MSCHA) is the main high school hockey league in
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
(and is often referred to as Mid-States). The league is made up of teams in the
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
metro area, all teams are located in Missouri except for one team,
Edwardsville High School
Edwardsville Senior High School is a public high school located in Edwardsville, Illinois.
History
Edwardsville High School was first located on North Kansas Street in downtown Edwardsville. Due to the expansion of the town, a new high school w ...
, located in Illinois. The MSCHA is a
non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
organization dedicated to the development of
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
hockey
Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...
.
History
Originally known as the Area High School Club Hockey League, the MSCHA was founded in 1971 with significant seed money and sponsorship from
Union Electric, as well as support from the
St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...
, including the donation of the Challenge Cup for the league's winner, and free usage of
The Arena for the final. At the time, organized youth hockey was experiencing a boom in the St. Louis area, mostly caused by the Blues' arrival and subsequent appearance in three
Stanley Cup finals. Eight teams contested that first season, with
DeSmet winning the first championship. Of the eight teams that played that first year, only three can claim to have been in every Mid-States season:
SLUH,
CBC, and DeSmet. The league grew quickly, achieving a high of over 50 teams in its second year (when it also changed its name to the current MSCHA), but it also experienced a high rate of attrition, as clubs were disbanded due to loss of players or the removal of school support. Nevertheless, throughout the '70s the league enjoyed great success. Plans were tabled for expansion to
Kansas City and
Columbia, but they were dropped following a dispute over travel costs and the loss of Columbia's ice rinks.
During the 1980s, the league went through several periods of change; a JV league was established for younger players, schools from new population centers such as West
St. Louis County and
St. Charles County
St. Charles County is in the central eastern part of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 405,262, making it Missouri's third-most populous county. Its county seat is St. Charles. The county was organized Oct ...
joined. The playoff format was also changed after the 1984 season into the current system.
The 1990s saw a shift in the balance of power from North County teams such as the Hazelwood schools to newer West County sides, as well as those in St. Charles. In addition to new schools quickly forming teams (resulting in a brief experiment in tiered competition), several former clubs rejoined, including charter member
Whitfield. Police presence at games was increased, alcohol was barred from the bleachers, and the league began to cooperate further with schools and encourage faculty/administrative presence at games to curb problems in student sections.
The new millennium presented MSCHA with a large set of opportunities: the St. Louis hockey scene was booming, with players such as the Stastny brothers
Paul
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
and
Yan
Yan may refer to:
Chinese states
* Yan (state) (11th century – 222 BC), a major state in northern China during the Zhou dynasty
* Yan (Han dynasty kingdom), first appearing in 206 BC
* Yan (Three Kingdoms kingdom), officially claimed indepe ...
and goaltender
Ben Bishop
Benjamin Manning Bishop III (born November 21, 1986) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender under contract to the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). Bishop previously played for the St. Louis Blues, Ottawa Se ...
honing their NHL-bound skills on high school teams. The league had signed a television contract with local cable provider
Charter Communications
Charter Communications, Inc., is an American telecommunications and mass media company with services branded as Spectrum. With over 32 million customers in 41 states, it is the second-largest cable operator in the United States by subscribe ...
(via its
CCIN channel), allowing both league and playoff games, including Finals, to be seen in homes around the area. However, a series of ugly incidents cast a shadow on this success, including a
Priory
A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of ...
skater being concussed from a late hit against Affton, further brawls among fans (most notably at Clayton-Ladue games, where the riot police has been called in several times), and a game where a Fort Zumwalt South player physically assaulted a referee, only to be hit back by the official. Two new post-season competitions were introduced, the
Doug Wickenheiser
Douglas Peter Wickenheiser (March 30, 1961 – January 12, 1999) was a Canadian ice hockey player, who was drafted first overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft.
Career
Wickenheiser was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. A supe ...
Memorial Cup and Founders Cup, both for teams that finished lower on the league ladder.
League Champions
At the conclusion of the regular season, the teams ranked in the top 12 play a round-robin format playoff leading up to the Challenge Cup championship game. The next 16 ranked teams play a similar round-robin format playoff for the Wickenheiser Memorial Cup. The remaining teams play in a traditional playoff style format for the Founders Cup.
Conferences
Mid America High School Hockey League (MAHSHL)
The league is made up of teams from
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...
,
Oklahoma, northern, western and central Missouri and teams from eastern and southern Kansas and was established for the 2009–2010 season. the MAHSHL replaces the Kansas City Metro Area High School Hockey League (KCMAHSHL) which ceased operations for 2008–09. The MAHSHL differs from the Mid-States Club Hockey Association, in that only one team is affiliated with a specific high school. The remaining teams are aligned with a group of school districts. A student athlete must play for the team aligned with their attending school district.
The league carries two divisions, a Varsity Division and a Junior Varsity Division.
Teams
* Rockhurst Hawklets
Springfield Spirit* Topeka/Saint Joseph Griffons/Jr Pilots
Wichita Jr Thunder(KS)
Kansas City Fighting SaintsKansas City StarsNorthwest Arkansas Ice Hogs(AR)
Kansas City Jr. MavericksMid-Missouri Tigers* Carriage Club
* Oklahoma City Oil Kings
Former teams
The closure of numerous teams in the Kansas City area over a short period of time was primarily driven by the loss of all sheets of ice in the southern portion of the metropolitan area. The King Louie West Ice Chateau on Metcalf Ave in Overland Park, Kansas closed in 2007. In January 2011, Pepsi Ice Midwest on 135th Street in Overland Park, also closed resulting in the loss of the remaining three sheets of ice in the southern Kansas City area. With the loss of King Louie and Pepsi Ice Midwest, there were no longer conveniently located rinks for many of the high school teams that were once part of the Kansas City Metro Area High School Hockey League.
* Blue Valley Tigers
* Blue Valley North Mustangs
* Blue Valley Northwest Huskies
* Blue Valley West Jaguars
* Des Moines Jr. Buccaneers (Des Moines, Iowa)
* Jefferson City Capitals
* Jefferson City Eagles
* Lee's Summit Storm
* Oak Park Northmen
* Olathe East Hawks
* Park Hill South Panthers
* Pembroke Hill Raiders
* Shawnee Mission Northwest Cougars
* Shawnee Mission South Raiders
* St. Joseph Griffons
* St. Pius Warriors
* St. Thomas Aquinas Saints
* Topeka
* Tulsa Flames
* Wichita Warriors
League Champions
All Conference Selections
During the 2020-21 season, the MAHSHL Board of Directors convened to hold their inaugural MAHSHL All-Conference selections. At the Varsity level, each coach nominated players from their representative teams in each position (center, left and right wings, defensemen, and goaltenders) and the other coaches voted on those nominations to fill the 20 selections. No coach was allowed to vote for their own nominations.
Player selections by year:
References
External links
* http://mahshl.com
* https://www.midstateshockey.us/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Missouri High School Hockey
High school ice hockey in the United States
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