The East Haven boys hockey team will hear its appeal with the CIAC today in an effort to move from Division I to Division II next season. Last month, when the CIAC had its post-season meeting to determine the 2013-14 divisions, East Haven petitioned to move down to Division II and the CIAC denied the move.
CIAC Ice Hockey Committee chairman Tom Neagle confirmed that East Haven's appeal will be heard today at 3 p.m. Neagle could not comment on the appeal only to say that East Haven deserves an opportunity to make its case and have it heard by the Ice Hockey Committee.
“After researching several different areas of concern, we have very interesting facts that certainly show a bias toward our team when it comes to the CIAC's decision to keep us in Division I,” East Haven coach Lou Pane said. “These areas are in population of boys in school compared to other schools, records against Division I opponents, teams with their own rink and percentage of winning state championships. “There are also youth hockey numbers, safety concerns, roster numbers, tryout numbers, teams that won Division II after us and have already gone down.”
Pane gave Amity as an example, a Division II team that went 5-1 against Division I opponents last season, winning a Division II title in 2010 and having 856 boys enrolled compared to East Haven, which has 450. Pane also cited the number of East Haven residents going to private schools.