Article written by Joe Bendel and reposted from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.

Before Stu Rulnick even considers recruiting a player for the Pitt hockey team, he bypasses goal and assist totals and goes directly to the statistic that matters most.

“GPA,” said Rulnick, in his seventh year coaching the Panthers’ Division I club program. “If they don’t have a GPA of at least 3.7 and a high SAT score, we have no chance of getting them into school.”

Such high academic standards can be challenging (in a sporting sense), because it forces some potential Panthers to either head to a branch campus or play at another university entirely.

Nonetheless, Rulnick has assembled a society of scholars who strike a delicious balance between goals and grades.

“It’s a pleasure coaching kids with such high levels of intelligence,” said Rulnick, who quickly added, “And I assure you they’ll all be making a lot more money than me once they get out of school.”

Rulnick’s brains-first recruiting efforts have enabled him to stockpile his program with future engineers, accountants, lawyers and PhDs.

And a whole lot of talented hockey players, many from the PIHL.

A season after winning their first College Hockey Mid-America championship, the 25th-ranked Panthers (21-10, 12-1 CHMA) pulled off a repeat on Feb. 2 by defeating IUP, 3-2, in overtime. The victory, which set off a frenzied celebration, qualified them for the 20-team American College Hockey Association national championships March 8-18 in Columbus, Ohio.

The ACHA Division I tier is the highest level of non-scholarship hockey. Rulnick hopes Pitt can eventually jump from the ACHA to the NCAA, much like Penn State did in 2012-13.

“That’s always a goal,” he said.

For now, though, there is a national championship to chase.

“We’re all very blessed to have earned this opportunity for the second consecutive year,” said junior defenseman Joe Ridolfi, a team captain from Doylestown. “This was the first goal we established as a team back in September. From here, we just need to try to improve every day and not look ahead in a single elimination tournament.”

In 2017, Pitt lost in the first round to Oklahoma, 3-2, in overtime at the national tournament, which is played at Nationwide Arena, home ice of the NHL’s Blue Jackets. The loss stung, but it also served as a teaching moment for Pitt’s braintrust.

“We got a chance to see the best teams and what it was like to play at a big event,” said J.D. Oddi, a senior captain from Canon-McMillan High. “We have more knowledge and a better idea of what it takes to win there now.”

The Pitt roster is veritable who’s who of former PIHL stars. The team’s top four scorers hail from the region. That group includes Dan Merz (27 points, Norwin), Jacob Tepe (22, Central Catholic), Oddi (22) and Craig Mazzotta (20, Mars).

Read the rest of the article by following the link below:

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/Pitt/2018/02/14/Pitt-hockey-CHMA-Stu-Rulnick-Joe-Ridolfi-J-D-Oddi/stories/201802160022