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North Xtra: Ex-Penguin's son to play at Denver

North Xtra: Ex-Penguin's son to play at Denver

COLLEGE HOCKEY

Just like his two-time Stanley Cup-winning father, Troy, Pine-Richland High School graduate Ty Loney wears No. 24 on the ice.

The younger Loney will get to see what that "24" looks like in the crimson and gold of one of the country's top collegiate hockey programs.

Ty Loney recently committed to the University of Denver, an NCAA Division I program in the newly formed National Collegiate Hockey Conference.

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"The campus was unbelievable, and I just liked everything about it," Loney said. "I really liked the coaching staff and liked the way they're headed for the next couple years. There really wasn't anything I didn't like about [the school]."

Denver has won seven Division I ice hockey national championships -- including as recently as consecutive titles in 2004 and '05 -- and last week became a charter member in the formation of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.

Loney most recently played for the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League, the top junior league in the nation. He had 23 goals and 19 assists in 54 games this past season.

"We are very happy for Ty," Phantoms head coach Curtis Carr said. "He is going to a top-notch program and he has worked very hard to get to this point."

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Ty's father, Troy, played for the Penguins from 1983-1993 and won on the team's first two Stanley Cup teams in 1991 and '92.

It was between those two titles that Ty, now 19, was born. Like his father, Ty stands 6 feet 3 and plays the wing.

"I can just remember being with him in his last skate with the [New York] Rangers, his last practice," said Ty, who was 3 when his father played his final NHL game. "That's the only thing I can remember with him still in the NHL. I'm too young [to remember] his Pens' days."

Ty was a teammate of older brother Reed while playing for Pine-Richland High School (from which Ty graduated in 2010). Ty said younger brother Clint is expected to play for the Rams in the winter.

Ty also played locally for the North Pittsburgh Wildcats, Pittsburgh Hornets and the Mahoning Valley Phantoms.

Like most of the players who play in the USHL, the step up to that league is what prepared Loney most for the top level of college hockey.

"This past year was a lot of fun," said Loney, who plans on studying business in college. "We have some good guys on the team. It's a great league -- fast, with skilled, hard-working guys. It's a fun league to play in.

"Now, it's good to get [his college decision] out of the way. I'm happy about it."

First Published: July 28, 2011, 4:00 a.m.

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