The Pittsburgh Forge are a defunct Junior A Tier II

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

team based in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, which played in the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 50th season of operation in 2024–25. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

(NAHL). The team was founded in 2001 by Kevin Constantine, a former coach of the NHL's

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

. They played at the

Island Sports Center The Robert Morris University Island Sports Center (abbreviated RMU Island Sports Center) is a sports complex located in the Pittsburgh suburb of Neville Island in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The RMU Island Sports Center opened ...

. The team compiled an 80-24-8 record in the first and only two seasons. The Forge were finalists in the Robertson Cup Tournament, the NAHL championship, during their inaugural season and were the first expansion team to do so. During their second season, the Forge set a national Junior A record with 43 wins and won the NAHL's regular season championship as well as the

Robertson Cup The J. Ross Robertson Cup is a Canadian ice hockey trophy. It is awarded annually in junior ice hockey to the champion of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs. It was donated by John Ross Robertson to the Ontario Hockey Association in 1910, an ...

Tournament. In two seasons, the Forge advanced 18 players onto scholarships with Division I college hockey programs. In 2003, the franchise was sold to investors in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

and was relocated as the Toledo IceDiggers.

Players

The final roster of the 2002–03 NAHL national champion Forge – the last Forge team – and their scholarship schools: Randy Bauer, Sean Berkstresser (Robert Morris), Tom Biondich (Robert Morris), Andy Brandt (Wisconsin), Jace Buzek (Robert Morris), Ben Camper (Colgate), Josh Coyle (Union), John Dingle (Ohio State), Joe Federoff (Alabama Huntsville), Josef Fotjik, Jim Gehring (Mercyhurst), Mike Handza (Denver), Denis Kirstien (Mercyhurst), Chris Lawrence (Michigan State), Mike Mannina, Peter Mannino (Denver), Matt McBride,

Dylan Reese Dylan Paul Reese (born August 29, 1984) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He last played with HV71 in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). Early life Reese, who is Jewish, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is the son o ...

(Harvard), Gabe Rehak, Daniel Shildorfer, Erix Trax (Robert Morris), Brandon Warner (Michigan State), Ryan Webb, Matt Zeman,

Season-by-season records

References

{{Defunct Pennsylvania sports teams

Forge A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to the ...

Defunct North American Hockey League teams Defunct ice hockey teams in Pennsylvania Ice hockey clubs established in 2001 Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 2003 2001 establishments in Pennsylvania 2003 disestablishments in Pennsylvania