C-M hockey makes splashy hire
New Canon-McMillan hockey coach Terry Virtue played 888 games over 14 seasons in the American Hockey League, including 1999-2002 with the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Garrett Volcano
Terry Virtue knew he wanted to move his wife and son to the Pittsburgh area. It was only a matter of Canonsburg or Cranberry.
That decision won’t be quite as tough now, as Virtue was hired last Thursday to replace Yuri Krivokhija as the head coach of Canon-McMillan’s Class AAA hockey team.
“We’ve been talking about moving,” Virtue said. “This kind of helps us decide where. Everybody keeps talking about the taxes and how much cheaper it is in Washington County than anywhere else.”
Like Krivokhija, a longtime minor league defenseman whose contract was not renewed – Canon-McMillan Hockey Association president Bruce Ferguson said the organization wanted to go in a different direction – Virtue comes to Canon-Mac with a rather extensive playing background.
And he hopes that translates into wins for one of the PIHL’s bellwether programs.
Virtue played 888 games in 14 seasons in the American Hockey League between 1993-2007, ranking 16th all-time in games played. He also won a pair of Calder Cups, the league’s equivalent to the Stanley Cup. Overall, Virtue played 19 seasons of minor league hockey before retiring following the 2006-07 season. He played two seasons in Wheeling – one as player/coach – and still lives there.
“Anybody who knows me knows that I’m a very intense player,” said Virtue, who ranks 12th in AHL history with 1,856 career penalty minutes. “That’s the only reason I played so long at the AHL level; I was physical, and I played hard every night.”
Canon-McMillan finished 12-7-4 this season and reached the PIHL Penguins Cup Class AAA quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion North Allegheny, 2-1, in overtime.
Virtue coached the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League from 2007-10 and the Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League from 2010-12, but he said the move was made to be more involved in his son’s career and to coach at the grassroots level.
“As a head coach, you’re always looking to take that next step,” said Virtue, who played five NHL games, four with the Bruins and one with the Rangers. “But I think it was time I took a step back and made sure my family was looked after first. I just decided I wanted to pursue other things. This came up, and I know it’s one of the best high school programs in Pennsylvania. It’s a great opportunity.”
Chartiers-Houston senior Garrett Vulcano has accepted a scholarship to play football at West Liberty University next fall.
West Liberty is an NCAA Division II school near Wheeling, W.Va., and competes in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Vulcano was an Observer-Reporter Elite 11 selection after finishing with 130 tackles, 3.5 sacks and two interceptions this past fall. He was the Black Hills Conference Defensive MVP and an all-state selection.
Also an outstanding wrestler, Vulcano set the program record with 154 victories. He compiled a 45-3 record as a senior, winning a third consecutive section title, a WPIAL championship and posting a second-place finish at states.
West Liberty finished 6-5 last season, its seventh winning season in the past eight years, but did graduate 16 seniors.
Rosters set for America’s Showcase
Twenty-six teams – 20 boys, six girls – will take to the ice Wednesday through Sunday at Robert Morris University’s Island Sports Center for the America’s Showcase Hockey Tournament, and seven local players will be among that group.
Jacob Carman, a defenseman from Claysville, will play for the Kentucky-West Virginia team, while forward Luc Tilley, defenseman Garrett Woznichak and forward James Oddi – all three from Canon-McMillan – are on the New York squad.
Peters Township has three players on the Pittsburgh team: goalie Brian Baker and forwards Evan Opeka and Trevor Recktenwald.
Pittsburgh and New York are in the Stripes Division of Pool A, Kentucky-West Virginia in the Liberty Division of Pool B.
Two win titles at South Hills Invite
Fort Cherry’s Jenna Lucas posted the 16th-best javelin throw in WPIAL history Saturday at the South Hills Invite at Baldwin High School. Lucas threw 146-1 to win gold, becoming the second area athlete to do so.
Also finishing first was Ringgold’s Bailey Cooper. She won the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 48.47 seconds.