PIHL commissioner Barnett leaves for ACHA position

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, September 18, 2018 | 5:15 PM

With the high school hockey season just underway, the PIHL is looking for a new commissioner.

Craig Barnett stepped down from the position he held for two and a half years to become the executive director of the American Collegiate Hockey Association.

“I am in the transition mode now; I am ready to hit the ground running with the ACHA and really excited to do so,” Barnett said.

The PIHL’s junior varsity and middle school seasons began Monday, while the varsity slate starts Oct. 1. A lot of the work for those seasons was completed in the summer, though. And, Barnett will remain available to help the PIHL.

“I was a finalist for the ACHA job three years ago before the PIHL positioned opened. When this position opened back up, I was still interested again, but was a little concerned when it happened so quickly. I thought the timing was not good because it’s the beginning of the season. But, the reality of it is, the timing was good. If it happened in June, July or August, that would have been worse,” Barnett said.

“It took me six and a half weeks to finalize the schedule over the summer. So, scheduling and developing budgets and transitioning the PIHL’s website and stats from Pointstreak to SportsEngine — all those big pieces were done.

“I am really excited about it. I am starting to learn who the people are and what’s going on all while continuing to help the PIHL.”

The PIHL hopes to launch a search for a new commissioner soon.

“It’s a shame to lose Craig. He brought a lot of the table, and he has so many connections throughout hockey. The opportunity he is getting is spectacular. He is very well-qualified for that,” PIHL president John Mucha said.

“We’ll probably start a search within the next month or so. The timing is never good, but some of the big tasks — like scheduling — are done. The biggest challenge we have is our change to SportsEngine from Pointstreak. It’s something we’ll continue to work through all season. In the long run, it’ll be better. From the perspective of moving forward, we’ll miss Craig a lot, but we have the pieces in place to make it work as well as can be expected. We’re looking for an exciting season.”

Barnett, who resides in Erie, has been involved with the PIHL for the past five years. He spent three seasons as the varsity coach at Cathedral Prep and won two Penguins Cup championships and one state title.

“It was a great experience working in the PIHL. When I first got involved with the PIHL as a coach, I wasn’t really sure about what high school hockey was all about. I was coming from a college and junior hockey background,” he said. “As commissioner, the biggest take I got from it is that there are so many people that put in so much time that get paid very little or not at all to make the PIHL an opportunity for high school players so they get a chance to play the sport they love.

“High school administration is different than what I was used to. I think I learned a lot of from that. I am very grateful. You always try to leave something a little better than when you came in. I hope that’s the case with the PIHL.”

An Ontario native and former New York Rangers prospect, Barnett helped start the hockey program at the University of Findlay (Ohio) and was the head coach for six seasons. He spent time as a Rangers scout and in assistant coaching roles at Kent State and Mercyhurst University. In addition, he was assistant athletic director and hockey director at Lake Forest Academy in Chicago and athletic director at Becker College in Worcester, Mass. He returned to Erie and served as Mercyhurst’s athletic director from 2006-09. He has served as the North American Hockey League’s Director of NCAA Compliance and Education, as well.

With the ACHA, which is the governing body for non-varsity college hockey in the U.S., Barnett hopes to continue to create opportunities for those seeking to play hockey and better their education.

“As the U.S. continues to develop better and better players, the ACHA opportunities have grown. The ACHA consists for 540-plus teams. There are not as many NCAA opportunities,” he said. “Everyone wants to play NCAA D-I hockey. I get it. It’s good to have dreams and goals. But, it’s good to have some really good backup plans.

“Some of the schools that have ACHA programs are some of the top academic programs across the country. You look at some of the newest NCAA D-I programs, like Penn State and Arizona State, and they started as ACHA programs. There’s a lot of good hockey there for men and women.”

Locally, Slippery Rock, IUP, Duquesne, Robert Morris, Pitt and West Virginia all have ACHA men’s programs, while Pitt and Penn State have ACHA women’s programs.

“I want to work to create opportunities for the ACHA to put its best foot forward and provide opportunities for kids to get a great education and continue to play college hockey,” Barnett said. “I really enjoyed my time with the PIHL. I think I am a better professional from that experience. I hope the league continues to flourish.”

Joe Sager is a freelance writer.