(story shared with permission from North Catholic Athletics.  Alex Brown / NC Athletics)

Cranberry Twp, PA - There are rivals, and then there is Central Catholic.  Since 1939 North Catholic has had no greater adversary than the Central Catholic Vikings. From the gridiron to the mound, and yes, the rink, no matchup would rise to the top of the calendar more than the Central Catholic game. Over the last two decades, the frequency of these matchups has greatly decreased, but the animosity has never dissipated. And on the 28th of January, the antipathy will be renewed once again, as for the first time since 2022, the Central Catholic Vikings will face off against the North Catholic Trojans, and they will do so under the roof of the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

When these two clubs last met on the 2nd of February 2022, it was one of the most electrifying North Catholic sporting events of recent memory. It took place at the newly furnished Hunt Armory, where both teams got into a firefight that went back and forth until it was settled in overtime by Senior defenseman Mario Smith, who joined fellow Senior Tay Melis on a 2-on-1, where he put it home on the blocker side to win it for the Trojans in an OT thriller.

Now, the next riveting chapter between these two squads is about to be written; here's a look at how each team is doing so far this season:

The Triple-A Vikings are 7-7 on the season but are coming into this matchup playing some of their best hockey of the year thus far. They are riding a 3-game winning streak, most recently winning overtime against the defending Triple-A champs, Peters Township. They are led by a strong selection of 14 upperclassman forwards, all looking for redemption from their loss two seasons ago.

For North Catholic, the Trojans are continuing their meteoric rise in the Single A standings, winning 7 in a row and 9 of their last 10, which brings them to an 11-3-0-1 record on the season. That's good enough for 2nd place in the Varsity A Gold Division. They are led by their dynamic first line of Beckett Dunn, Ryan Berry, and Anthony Neely, who have combined for 35 of their 73 goals this season. This North Catholic team is as deep as any Trojans team in years. They can roll three lines of forwards that can play against any team's top line in the league, and their defenders have been rock solid, minimizing quality scoring chances while playing aggressively on the offensive end. Not to mention that the Trojans' goaltending has been some of the best in Single A, as they have given up the 3rd least goals in their division and hold 2nd best save percentage.

There's the tale of the tape between these two historic schools, as they finally meet again on January 28th as the nightcap of a 3-part gameday event. The festivities will kick off with the North Catholic Middle School Team taking on Central Catholic's middle school squad at 3:30, followed by the North and Central Catholic JV Teams facing off at 5:00. It all leads up to the main event at 6:30, where both Varsity teams will suit up to reignite this showcase series.

Tickets for the showcase are available online.  Adult tickets are $5 and students are free.  To purchase your tickets, click here. 

All games of the showcase will be carried LIVE on the North Catholic Sports Network.  You can watch online or on your smart TV by downloading the Boxcast app and searching North Catholic High School.  

We look forward to seeing you there to watch it with us!

Central Catholic versus North Catholic. It's more than a rivalry. It's tradition.

It was all for Paul.

Vikings Hockey alumni, old friends, fellow police officers, and family members gathered at the Hunt Armory Thursday night, December 22, 2023 for Annual Paul J. Sciullo Memorial Alumni Game.

Thank you to the Pittsburgh Icemen (a hockey team made up of Pittsburgh Police officers and public safety personnel from Pittsburgh and the surrounding area) for giving our old-time alumni players a great battle on the ice. A big thank you also goes out to all of the young alumni for one of the biggest turnouts ever!

We were honored to welcome Paul’s dad and friends to the evening’s festivities and proud to donate all proceeds to the Sciullo Scholarship Fund for children of first responders at Central Catholic High School.

Paul, the captain of the ‘91 Central Catholic Vikings varsity team, was tragically killed in the line of duty as a Pittsburgh Police officer in April 2009. We will always remember him.

Thank you to the Pittsburgh Penguins for their generous sponsorship of the evening’s festivities and supporting the Sciullo Fund and Pittsburgh first responders.

We are excited to announce that the 2023 Paul J. Sciullo Memorial Alumni Game returns on Thursday, December 21st, 2023 at The Hunt Armory!

Join us for a special night of hockey, friendship, and some good old-fashioned Vikings spirit in honor and remembrance of Paul, former Vikings Hockey captain and Pittsburgh Police officer lost in the line if duty.

The night kicks off with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police team, the Pittsburgh Icemen, taking on the Central Catholic Vikings Hockey Club Alumni Team.   After that, two Vikings Alumni teams battle it out on the ice.

Register to play HERE.

All proceeds benefit the Paul J. Sciullo Scholarship for first responders at Central Catholic High School. For more information on how to donate, please visit:

www.centralcatholichs.com/pages/give

Under "donation designation", select "endowment", and choose Paul J. Sciullo II Memorial Fund.

We can’t wait to all of our former players back on the ice!

Central Catholic's official news network, Viking News Network, featured Head Coach James Eller, varsity captain Nathan Cox, and co-captain Josh Moline on Thursday, November 2, 2023.   This broadcast comes just ahead of a big rivalry game against North Allegheny.  The Tigers are tied with the Vikings at the top of the rankings  in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League (PIHL).

See the VNN broadcast here! 

Rewatch the LIVE BROADCAST of Central Catholic vs. North Allegheny here.  Just type Central Catholic in the search bar.

Thank you to The Pittsburgh Penguins, Franklin Nova, and Gateway Engineers for your support all season long!

Also, a special thank you to our 23-24 Vikings Yearbook sponsors:

West Penn Police Recreation League

Excel Signworks

Capezzuto's Pizza

and all of the small businesses and Vikings family and friends for your generosity!