About the Author

Dave Sottile

Dave Sottile spent 14 seasons covering the Hershey Bears for the York Daily Record and parts of three chronicling the AHL for The Hockey News.

His body was tired, and common sense said he should be sleeping. None of that mattered, though, in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.

Yannick Tifu’s mind was racing.

“I won’t lie,” said Tifu, the newest member of the ECHL’s Reading Royals. “It was kind of hard. I didn’t sleep well, wondering what kind of reaction I’d get from the fans here.”

Tifu may have arrived in a trade Monday from the Chicago Express, but he worried how the Sovereign Center faithful would accept him based on having played for the rival Elmira Jackals the previous two seasons.

“But when I stepped on the ice and got a big cheer from the fans, I felt better,” Tifu said after his first Royals game, a 3-2 shootout loss to the Jackals. “It took a little bit of weight off my shoulders and I was happy, because I’m really pleased to be here now.”

Royals' biggest rival

Tifu was a heart-and-soul player for the Jackals, who have grown into the Royals’ biggest rival the past few seasons. That only adds to the intrigue for the remainder of the lengthy season series.

“Geographically, Trenton is the closest to us, but our biggest rivalry is with Elmira,” Reading captain Ryan Cruthers said. “The way they played when Steve Martinson was their coach, it was a dirtier style and a grittier team.

“When you see the same guys over and over again, no matter what’s going on, you start to develop a dislike for each other.”

Nearly five percent of the Royals’ games (16 of 72) are against the Jackals. Those contests bring out boisterous crowds in both home arenas, and more than a little bad blood spills between the divisional foes.

Familiarity breeds contempt, or so the saying goes. And that reminds Reading center Rob Shearer of his days with the American Hockey League’s Hershey Bears.

“Philly had a team and we played them a lot,” Shearer said of the legendary Phantoms-Bears battles, which numbered a dozen or more in the regular season and extended to the postseason. “I think in a lot of cases, those rivalries flip-flop sometimes (between which team wins or loses more).

“But you always see good games between two rival teams, even if one team gets the edge on the other.”

So what happens when a bitter rival suddenly shows up in the dressing room as a teammate? All is forgiven.

“It’s a business,” Cruthers said. “You don’t see too many hard feelings. With Tifu coming here, he’s a guy our fans loved to hate. He got under guys’ skin here, but now he’s on our side.

“It’s nice to not have to play against him. He’s going to do things to teams that he did to us. Once he’s a teammate, all the past stuff is over. There’s no holding grudges here.”

I-81 enemies

The Reading-Elmira rivalry is just one such battle involving a Pennsylvania-based hockey team.

The AHL offers up Hershey vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 12 times a season, and the East Division rivals have played five playoff series since the Penguins joined the league in 1999-2000.

Separated by 96 miles of Interstate 81 highway, Hershey and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton tend to bring out the worst in each other.

Emotions bubble over as they did last week, when after making a game-clinching shootout save, Bears goalie Braden Holtby nearly incited a riot by celebrating too close to center ice, prompting angry words from the Baby Pens.

“I don’t think our guys would react like that, but everyone reacts differently to winning,” said Wilkes-Barre/Scranton captain Ryan Craig, who began his pro career in Hershey in 2003.

It should be interesting when the teams meet again Dec. 27 at Mohegan Sun Arena and Dec. 28 at Giant Center.

Cross-state rivals

While the minor leagues have their own take on two-team feuds, so, too, does the National Hockey League.

The Pittsburgh Penguins-Philadelphia Flyers grudge match dates to 1967, when both joined the NHL as expansion clubs.

Philly won the Stanley Cup in 1974, and the Flyers went 42 straight games at home without losing to the Pens until Feb. 2, 1989. A 3-2 Pittsburgh win halted the skid that featured 39 losses and three ties.

Since then, things have been more even, and the Penguins have won two Cups to the Flyers’ none.

Collegiately speaking, the Atlantic Hockey conference offers up a tasty matchup every time Mercyhurst College and Robert Morris University meet on the men’s side. In women’s play, the teams compete in College Hockey America.

Separated by a two-hour car ride, the Erie-based Lakers and suburban Pittsburgh Colonials have embraced their own version of the cold war.

As Division I hockey continues to blossom in the Keystone State with Penn State’s varsity debut next fall, Mercyhurst and RMU will keep staging competitive games against each other in both men’s and women’s play.

LAKEFRONT EXCELLENCE

Head coach Michael Sisti’s Mercyhurst women’s team might just be the best Pennsylvania hockey program you’ve never heard of.

The Lakers, ranked sixth nationally, swept the CHA’s monthly awards for November this week as Bailey Bram repeated as the league’s top player by piling up seven goals and 10 assists in only four games.

Hillary Pattenden repeated as top goalie by winning all four of her starts and allowing just seven goals. Shelby Bram won top rookie honors after contributing a goal and seven assists in four outings.

Mercyhurst hit a bit of a speed bump Friday night, when its nine-game winning streak ended with a 5-4 home loss to No. 3 Cornell. Bailey Bram scored twice in the setback, and Pattenden (27 saves) remained two wins shy of equaling the career victory record of 91 held by Wisconsin’s Jessie Vetter.

COLLEGE NOTEBOOK

Freshmen Fs Nardo Nagtzaam and Matthew Zay scored goals 33 seconds apart, and G Max Strang made 37 saves Friday night as the Mercyhurst College men edged Army, 2-1, in West Point, N.Y. The Lakers (7-7-1 overall) improved to 6-1-1 in Atlantic Hockey play. Earlier in the week, Mercyhurst F Daniel Bahntge was named conference freshman of the month for November. He had two goals and six assists for eight points in eight games. … The Robert Morris women’s team is idle this weekend, but the men’s team beat Sacred Heart, 5-2, on the road Friday night. F Cody Wydo scored twice for the Colonials (6-6-1 overall, 4-2-1 Atlantic Hockey). … The Penn State men hammered visiting Rutgers, 13-3, on Friday night. Fs Tommy Olczyk (three goals, two assists) and Justin Kirchhevel (goal, four assists) had five points apiece for the Icers (12-1). F Bryce Johnson added a goal and three assists.