Contributed by the PIHA Gateway Division...



This Friday night at 8 PM, an extremely unique event will be taking place inside the doors of the Midwest Sport Hockey at Queeny Park in St. Louis. 104 players have been selected for the new Gateway Division of the Pro Inline Hockey League that has landed in St. Louis this year!

The tryouts have been completed, the band has been booked (JellyDogg), and St. Louis’ own Pizza and Wings will be providing the food. With pumping music, casino games, socializing, and the draft itself MC’d by legendary inline hockey announcer Bob Carroll, this incredible event has been creating buzz throughout the St. Louis hockey community (both ice and inline). Players are ready to find out which team they have been drafted in a NHL-like draft!

We invite you to check out this event and learn what our league is about: fun, giving back to the community, and professionalism.

Please take a minute to read the below information to learn more about the Pro Inline Hockey Association and the teams in the NEW Gateway Division this year!

PIHA is a professional inline hockey association established in 2002. The association has featured some of the best players in the world and has expanded from the East Coast (2002) to Colorado (2005), Western Canada (2006), St. Louis (2006), and Cincinnati (2006). This year the PIHA will feature over 60 teams (professional and minor league), and a new division encompassing St. Louis and Cincinnati called The Gateway Division. St. Louis already has excellent youth, high school, and college programs; PIHA will add to this excellence by establishing the next logical level: Professional inline hockey. Players must be 18 years of age to compete in the Pro division and 16 years of age to face-off in the Minors. The purpose of the league is not to fill 20,000 seat arenas, but rather to offer a competitive atmosphere for elite inline hockey players and give the next generation of inline players something attainable to look forward to.
PIHA: Act Professional, Look Professional, Be Professional

Joining the Cincinnati Flying Monkey’s in the Gateway Division will be four teams from St. Louis and the surrounding area. Each of the four major inline rinks in St. Louis will have their own PIHA organization and based on the successes of their other inline hockey programs, PIHA will blow up!

-The Southside Snipers based out of All American in South County are bred from a history of success as owner Rob Ferrara already has a proven track record with his St. Louis Blast youth program who have earned too many national titles to count.

-Moving out west, the Midwest Tornadoes are being organized by a familiar St. Louis name: Perry Turnbull. A former power forward with the St. Louis Blues and a big name with the St. Louis Vipers, Perry brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the organization.

-Perhaps one of the biggest natural rivalries will be between the two St. Charles-based organizations which round out the PIHA Gateway Division. Rick Matteson, of the Matteson Triplex, has the largest facility in St. Louis and one of the best facilities in the country which features two full-sized rinks plus a mini-rink in the middle. His organization (St. Louis Rattlers Pro Team and St. Louis Pythons Minor Team) will continue the strides made by his youth program: The St. Louis Cobras. Head east just a few miles from the Triplex and owner Joe Weber and manager Ian Mackie are building a program of their own at the Omni Sportsplex. The River City Whalers (Pro) and River City Stingray (Minor) will make their home at the Sportsplex.

The talent in the Gateway Division is unbelievable. For example:
5 Players from Team USA Men's Team
5 Players from Team USA Junior Team
25 Players who have won the Collegiate National Championship (Division 1, 2, 3, and B)

Over 50 NARCh (North American Roller Hockey Championships) Platinum Gold Medals in all divisions ranging from Pro all the way down to Bantam.

In addition, numerous NARCh platinum All Stars, State Wars Champions, State Wars Team America.

Which teams are our players from? Mission Empire Snipers (NY), Team Tour (MO), Tour Bandits (MO), St. Louis Blast (MO), Mission Pama Cyclones (CA), Silicon Valley Quakes (CA), Team Smoothie King (LA), Lindenwood University, Washington University, St. Charles County Community College, Meramac Community College, St. Louis University, University of Missouri-Rolla, University of Missouri-St. Louis, University of Missouri-Columbia, and numerous other high school, select, and traveling teams!

Which states do our players come from? Missouri, Illinois, California, New York, Louisiana, Florida,

As far as the crossover with ice hockey: Players have played for professional ice hockey teams (UHL), Collegiate Ice Hockey teams (Division 1/3 NCAA), Junior A Ice Hockey (USHL/NAHL), and some were members of the Junior B National Champions.

The youngest player in the league is 16 (minors) ranging all the way up to 38 years old with most players falling into the 20-27 range.

Contact Information:
David Garland
Director of Marketing and Public Relations
Pro Inline Hockey Association (PIHA)
Gateway Division pihagateway@gmail.com
314 496-6470