Northampton won the varsity division title in the Lehigh Valley Scholastic Hockey League earlier this week, sweeping the Saints in the championship series at Allentown\u2019s PPL Center by scores of 2-1 and 5-2 to cap an undefeated season.<\/p>\n
And, the Konkrete Kids won the JV and middle school division titles as well.<\/p>\n
All three teams are coached by Brian Ruff, who enjoyed the end of the season with an on-the-ice celebration with the varsity team.<\/p>\n
But coaching three championship teams in one season is not what makes Ruff special in the local ice hockey community.<\/p>\n
While he deflects credit to others, Ruff saved the LVSHL when the league lost its primary home, the Rink at Lehigh Valley in Whitehall Township. The facility closed after more than 30 years of operation in 2022 to become the St. Luke\u2019s Sports Center and the ice was replaced by a turf field in the 25,000-square foot facility.<\/p>\n
Ruff, the league president, said he was determined to give local kids a place to play and found time at the Bethlehem Municipal rink with occasional games at Steel Ice and PPL Center.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of kids in this league that play travel hockey, but there are also a lot of kids in this league who don\u2019t play travel hockey,\u201d Ruff said. \u201cIf we don\u2019t keep this thing going, those kids have no place to play hockey. So that was the main thing that drove us to make sure we had a place to play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruff said he wasn\u2019t a one-man gang in finding a new home.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was not just me and there was a lot of help involved,\u201d he said. \u201cFor one, my wife, Raeann, who does so much work behind the scenes. She worked hard when we were at Whitehall and that hasn\u2019t stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody else on our board of directors for the league were all onboard with not letting this fold. Everyone in this league wants to keep it going. You could see by the crowds we had for the finals in the PPL Center. There\u2019s a lot of interest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruff also credited the parents for keeping the league going.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t get to continue to do this without the parents supporting it,\u201d Ruff said. \u201cAt any time, they could say they don\u2019t want to be a part of this anymore. But it\u2019s not like that. They all want to be a part of it and keep this thing going. I could probably speak for all of the other teams in the league in saying how good the parents are with their support. I know our Northampton parents are fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruff said the Northampton club has close to 150 kids stretching through the different levels from high school to youth. Overall, the league has more than 500 kids.<\/p>\n
Ruff said that Bethlehem Muni works well for the regular season, but in March when the playoffs are held, the temperatures get warmer and an outdoor ice facility is often not playable.<\/p>\n
Northampton ice hockey coach Brian Ruff (center) celebrates winning the Lehigh Valley Scholastic Hockey League title with his team. Ruff is also the league president and coaches all of the teams in the Northampton club. (Keith Groller)\u201dThe Lehigh Valley Phantoms have this Phantoms Cup playoff tournament and they\u2019re great about having us here,\u201d Ruff said. \u201cThere used to a Flyers Cup, which was like the Eastern Pennsylvania playoffs and then you\u2019d have the Penguins Cup in the western half of the state and one year Parkland played in the state finals. But they changed their rules, so this is it. A lot of kids are ready to go into spring sports at this time, but a lot of them will still be playing hockey.\u201d<\/p>\n
How did he get his start in hockey?<\/p>\n
\u201cI just skated as a kid for fun,\u201d Ruff said. \u201cWe used to skate over at the Ice Palace [which was in East Allentown] at midnight on a Saturday night. We had a couple of guys from our town who skated and then there were a couple of guys from the next town who skated and a few more from the next town over. We\u2019d get four or five groups together from various towns and we\u2019d do round-robin tournaments all the time, but just for fun and never organized.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruff has been busy with baseball as well. This spring will be his 50th year as a youth coach.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve done 35 years in hockey and 50 in baseball,\u201d he said. \u201cI went to school in Emmaus and then I went to Northampton for my senior year and graduated in 1977. I still love working with kids and my sons all played hockey and baseball all through high school and some of them still play. Kyle is 48 and still playing hockey.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Northampton](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/TMC-L-BrianRuff2-01-1.jpg\")
Northampton ice hockey coach Brian Ruff, center, celebrates winning the Lehigh Valley Scholastic Hockey League title with his team. Ruff is also the league president and coaches all of the teams in the Northampton club. (Keith Groller\/The Morning Call)<\/p>\n
The players and their parents are thankful of having Ruff around to keep the Northampton program and the league going strong.<\/p>\n
Jameson Dolan, who scored 11 goals and added 10 assists in 14 games for Northampton is actually from Whitehall.<\/p>\n
The teams in the league are not affiliated with the schools and ice hockey is considered a club sport and not PIAA sanctioned. That means players who don\u2019t have teams in their own communities can play for other teams.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was an amazing, unbelievable season,\u201d Dolan said. \u201cWe had team chemistry and everybody stayed close to each other and worked hard. The coaching staff here at Northampton is unbelievable. They put in a lot of hard work. Coach Ruff is great. Everybody appreciates him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chad and Stephanie Radler, whose son Nolan was a senior on the Northampton team, were also appreciative.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been a true ride and our son played about 10 years; he started when he was 8 and now he\u2019s a senior,\u201d Stephanie Radler said. \u201cWe got a family from him playing all these years. It\u2019s the friends that you make, the bonds. To me, it was much more than hockey. I loved coming to the games every weekend and seeing the people and the other families. The winning is just icing on the cake.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chad Radler said it all started when their son was at Lehigh Elementary School in the Northampton and Raeann Ruff came in to sign up some kids.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t know they had an ice hockey club, but we signed up our son, and we got hooked and we are here,\u201d he said. \u201cI never got to play, so I kind of living my interest in hockey through him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout Brian and Raeann Ruff, Lehigh Valley scholastic ice hockey wouldn\u2019t exist,\u201d Stephanie Radler said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just Northampton; no one would be playing. It\u2019s bittersweet that it\u2019s over [for our family]. But it was absolutely a great experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
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