Mr. James Eller has been named interim head coach of the Central Catholic Ice Hockey team for the 2023-24 season.  Eller served as an assistant coach and has been instrumental in the team's success through the 50th Anniversary celebration in the 2022-2023 season.

He succeeds Bill Connelly, '04, who has transitioned to become the interim men's hockey coach at Chatham University.  We thank Coach Connelly for his years of coaching at Central and welcome Eller to lead our program.

50th Anniversary Banquet: A Perfect Way To End A Historic Season

The Central Catholic Vikings Hockey end-of-season banquet was held at the Edgewood Country Club on April 16, 2023. 

Attended by more than 200 players, families and friends, the club was also honored to welcome Central Catholic High School Principal Michael Andrejko, alumni Bob Arturo, Fred Jacob and Steve DiGiacomo.

The club was especially honored to welcome Max and Susie Sciullo, the parents of Paul J. Sciullo II. At the banquet, the club honored the memory of Sciullo and presented his parents with a pledge of nearly $13,000 -- resulting from fundraising through the course of the season -- for the Paul J. Sciullo Scholarship Fund for the children of first responders. 

During the course of the evening, the coaches honored a number of players for their academic and athletic accomplishments during the course of the season.  

Finally, last but not least, the club recognized its 18 graduating seniors, the largest graduating class in club history. 

VIKINGS WIN PIHL TIER 1 CHAMPIONSHIP

JV1 TEAM TACKLES NA TIGERS, 3-2

In a tense, hard-hitting and exciting battle between the two top seeded teams after the PIHL regular season, first-seed Central Catholic JV-1 hockey team defeated second-seed North Allegheny, 3-2, in the Tier 1 junior varsity championships on Tuesday, March 28 at Ice Castle (Castle Shannon, PA).

After a scoreless first period, Aaron Williams put Central Catholic on the board first at 1:41 of the second period. He was assisted by DJ Burek and Christian Zavacky. North Allegheny tied it up less than a minute later. At 11:49 in the second, Ricky Castracani, with an assist from Aaron Daley, got the go-ahead on a shot from the point. 

Early in the third, the Tigers notched their second goal to tie the match.  The Vikings never let up and, at 2:53 in the third, Adam Sarkis tallied the eventual game-winner. He was helped by Daley and Burek, each of whom ended up with two points on the night. Goaltender Tom Puhalla faced 21 shots.

To get to this championship round, your Vikings hockey team defeated Bethel Park in the quarterfinals (4-1) at Ice Castle on March 14.  Goals were scored by Jay Donahue, Clayton Kepperling, Cain Phillip (short-handed) and Zavacky. Assists were notched by Captain Joe Silvaggio, Sarkis, Jake Ochwat (2), Brayden Lewinter, and Kepperling. The Vikings defense soldiered any attempts that Bethel had offensively, only allowing 11 shots to get through to goaltender Ben Balla.

The battle to excise the demons of the 2022 PIHL Championship loss was facing the Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils in the semi-finals on home ice -- and in front of a large crowd -- at Alpha Ice Complex. After a slow start that saw Lebo's Jackson Bell taking the Devils up 1-0 early in the first, it was all Vikings thereafter.

Goals were scored by Jack Marcello, J. Donahue (2), Daley. It was an all-team effort and assists went to Luke Jesso, Dan Donahue, Antonio Moret, and Castracani. Puhalla stopped 27 shots on goal. 

Second-seed North Allegheny's path to the final took it through Peters Township (2-0) and Pine Richland (5-0). While Central Catholic finished the regular season in the number one spot with 11 wins, North Allegheny was knocking on the door with 10 wins -- including one against the Vikings.  Central Catholic faced North Allegheny twice early in the regular season  -- tying them once (3-3) and losing once (4-3).  

Ultimately, Central Catholic got their first win over NA when it mattered the most!

Central Catholic Vikings Hockey Club is proud to have celebrated our 50th Anniversary during the 2022 - 2023 season!  Check out our 2022-23 news page for info about how we celebrated this exciting milestone. https://www.centralcatholicvikingshockey.com/news2022-23 

(Keep our website and social media (Facebook and Instagram) on your "speed dial." Should be a lot of fun!! Roll Vikes!!

To learn more about Vikings Hockey Club's past seasons, please see our comprehensive 2021-2022 Vikings News page. 

Curious about other seasons? Please see the 2020-2021 Vikings News page under the "History" tab in "About Us" on the main menu.

Each year goes by so fast ... we will try to archive our activities as best we can! 

Current CCVHC Fundraising Opportunities!