TopOfTheCircle Region of the Year
Every year at summer hockey events, I get asked what areas are the best in the nation, where the best recruits are, and so forth.
Some of my answers are pretty set in stone, except when it comes to which region I thought showed the most improvement or excellence in a single hockey season.
This list takes some of my recollections from as far back as 1996 as to which areas I thought did an outstanding job in playing, promoting, or developing the game.
Year | Region | State | Note |
1996 | Hunterdon & Warren County | NJ | Won five out of 16 NJSIAA sectional championships; sent three to the finals |
1997 | CIF San Diego Section | CA | San Pasqual just one of many great teams in the region |
1998 | State of Maryland | Prep schools (Roland Park, Bryn Mawr) and public schools (Severna Park, BCC), excelled | |
1999 | PIAA District 3 | PA | Harrisburg-Hershey-Lancaster triangle produced great teams |
2000 | Cecil County | MD | Elkton, Rising Sun, North East make serious state tournament noise |
2001 | Lancaster County | PA | Lititz Warwick, Lancaster Mennonite swept PIAA championships |
2002 | State of North Carolina | East Chapel Hill joins Charlotte Country Day & Durham Academy as powerhouses | |
2003 | PIAA District 2 | PA | Wyoming Valley West, Wyoming Seminary, Lake-Lehman, and Crestwood all shone |
2004 | Kent and Sussex County | DE | Two "downstaters" -- Cape Henlopen and Caesar Rodney -- made the final |
2005 | Louisville | KY | Assumption, Sacred Heart teams shone in out-of-state tourneys, U. of Louisville hosted NCAAs |
2006 | Winston-Salem | NC | Reynolds High School wins 1st state title since 1926; Wake Forest makes 7th straight Final Four |
2007 | PIAA District 4 | PA | Mifflinburg, Selinsgrove go deep in Class AA tournament, with Mifflinburg winning it |
2008 | CIF San Diego Section | CA | Close competition amongst area schools; a seven-loss team made a sectional final |