Gateway JV hockey team played Connellsville at PPG Paints Arena

On the same ice that Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin call home, the Gateway junior varsity hockey team was invited by the Pittsburgh Penguins to play an exhibition game on Jan. 27.

The Penguins reached out to Gateway at some point in early October regarding an interest in hosting the JV team for a game at PPG Paints Arena. After Connellsville was secured as an opponent, referees were brought in and more than 150 tickets were sold between the two schools.

“At practice, you talk about so many things,” said Jamie Storey, president of Gateway hockey. “Everybody kind of coaches hockey a similar way and plays hockey in a similar way. But to make the connection there that you’re actually playing in an NHL arena, that those teams do the same stuff that you do and are talking about the same strategies you talk about, it’s kind of nice for the kids to kind of connect the dots there that they’re doing what the pros do.

“For a night, you’re Sidney Crosby. For a night, you’re Geno Malkin. For a night, you’re Tristan Jarry.”

The result, a 5-3 loss, wasn’t exactly what the Gateway students would have liked – but the experience was one they wouldn’t forget.

“They were definitely super excited for the opportunity,” coach Shawn Jesih said. “I think every single player that was on our roster ended up committing to the event, which was a big deal. Leading into it, there was definitely a lot of excitement within the players. Parents, coaches, too.

“Everybody was really into it. Coming into the event, it was just huge to have a backdoor pass for throughout the arena. There wasn’t the chaos there typically is when you go down to a Pens game.”

The Gateway middle school team will have the same opportunity on March 8, when it faces Connellsville middle school. The Penguins host the Florida Panthers that night.

After falling behind 3-0 in the afternoon tilt, the Gators rallied to tie it early in the second of two 25-minute, running-clock periods. Connellsville scored the final two goals.

Connor Olson, Gavin Green and Brandon Cirucci scored for Gateway.

Gateway had its own auxiliary locker room, made up of curtains concealing a makeshift changing area near the Zamboni gate.

“The kids, you could tell they were all wide-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to go,” Jesih said. “Coming onto the ice, the comments that they made about the playing surface, how it sounded different than any facility we’ve ever played at. The ice was a lot cleaner and a lot smoother.

“Being on the bench where Crosby and Malkin, and all the pros sit – it was just a good overall experience, I think, for them. They were definitely pumped.”

Those attending, including the coaches and athletes, paid $100 each to participate. That also covered the cost of admission for the Penguins game against the Seattle Kraken later that night.

The teams were seated in the lower bowl for the 2-1 overtime loss, which saw Malkin score early in the third period just for former Penguins forward Jared McCann to tie it 1-1 with 3:56 remaining.

The Gators were recognized on the big screen as the “Group of the Game.”

On the heels of this experience, Storey mentioned Gateway would like to see more participation in its hockey program, from kindergarten to high school seniors. Those interested are welcome, he added.

“School districts have closed their hockey programs due to lack of numbers, which is odd because hockey is so big in Pittsburgh right now,” Storey said. “But school hockey has kind of declined over the years. People are playing amateur hockey and aren’t playing for their school team.

“There’s a lot of teams scraping for players. Gateway is one of them. We definitely have less numbers than we’ve had in the past.”