In recent years, Pittsburgh has become a fertile ground for breeding and developing young hockey stars.
Liam Walsh, a left winger at Merrimack College, is no exception to this rise in hockey talent across the region.
Walsh, a native of Bridgeville, Pennsylvania, attended nearby Bishop Canevin High School. In one season (2013-2014) with the Crusaders, Walsh tallied an astounding 22 goals and 16 assists for a total of 38 points in just 14 games.
"I loved my time at Canevin. It was a great opportunity for me to play against kids that were a couple years older than me for the first time, so that was a great experience going into my next couple of seasons," Walsh told me.
Prior to the 2015-2016 season, Walsh joined the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the United States Hockey League. In 61 games across his first two seasons (2015-2016, 2016-2017) in eastern Iowa, Walsh recorded six goals and three assists for a total of nine points, as he was limited due to a season ending injury in 2015-2016.
Walsh thoroughly enjoyed his time playing in front of the fans of the 3,850-seat ImOn Ice Arena.
"Cedar Rapids, in my opinion, is the best junior hockey atmosphere in the USHL. Our fans were incredible," Walsh said.
The hometown rink was not the only venue Walsh enjoyed playing at, however.
"I loved playing in Waterloo. It was a short 45-minute trip down the road, and their fans absolutely hated us. Those games were always the most fun because of how close the two cities were. They were our biggest rival," Walsh said.
In this third season (2017-2018), Walsh was named an assistant captain for the RoughRiders. In 60 games, Walsh recorded nine goals and 12 assists, while also adding 68 penalty minutes.
In what would be his final season (2018-2019) in Cedar Rapids, Walsh became captain of the RoughRiders. For him, it was an honor to earn that title.
"I had gone through a lot in my time there, including a season-ending injury in my first year, so it meant a lot to me. The captains in my first three seasons set the bar high, and I was so happy I could follow in their footsteps."
Walsh left Cedar Rapids on a very high note. In 62 games, the 6'1" left winger scored 25 goals and 19 assists. In the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Cedar Rapids was defeated 3-1 by the Chicago Steel in a best-of-five series.
Walsh had nothing but praise for the community that helped to build his character.
"Cedar Rapids does an incredible job in the community, so being one of the leaders on the team required lots of community service. This taught me a lot off the ice and helped make me the person I am today," Walsh told me.
Walsh then took his talents to Merrimack College, a school with about 3,700 students in North Andover, Massachusetts. The college is about 25 miles north of downtown Boston.
During the 2019-2020 season, the Warriors welcomed many ranked opponents to Lawler Rink. These opponents included Boston College, Massachusetts, Massachusetts-Lowell, Minnesota-Duluth, Northeastern, Penn State, Providence and Wisconsin.
Merrimack struggled, going 9-22-3 with a 7-14-3 mark in Hockey East play. They finished in 10th place in the conference, finishing ahead of only Vermont. Despite the struggles, Walsh applauded the crowds at Warriors home games.
"We always had a great environment for home games. Lawler is not the biggest rink, but it ends up being pretty full most of the time," Walsh said.
In his freshman season, Walsh enjoyed playing at Alfond Arena in Orono, Maine vs the conference rival Maine Black Bears.
"We played them late in the year, and they were a team that was in contention to win the regular season. They sold out both nights and the student section was absolutely. But with that said, there's no place like home," Walsh indicated.
For the final home game of the season, Merrimack welcomed #15 Providence into North Andover. Thanks to a game-winning goal by Walsh, the Warriors knocked off the nationally-ranked Friars, 3-2.
"Sweeping Providence that weekend was a great moment for our team, and being able to score the go ahead goal late in the second game was an awesome moment for me personally," Walsh said.
Walsh played in 30 of Merrimack's 34 games. He registered five goals and five assists for a total of 10 points. He is certain that Merrimack was the right place for him to be.
"I committed to Merrimack knowing it was going to go through a rebuild, but we are very confident with where our team is at going into next season and we know that we can make a huge impact in Hockey East," Walsh said.
Walsh also has one clear-cut goal in mind for his time in North Andover.
"My goal at Merrimack is a National Championship," Walsh indicated.
Walsh hopes that following his stay in the Boston suburb, a professional career awaits him.
"Post college, I just want to play as long as I can, whether that be in North America or over in Europe," Walsh said.
If history is any indicator, he will have a very good shot at pursuing a professional career, like many Pittsburgh natives before him.
For now, however, Walsh is focused on bringing glory to Merrimack College in the form of some prestigious hardware and the title "Frozen Four Champions."
Comments