Volume 12 Issue 4 | April 2024 | |
2024 AHAI ANNUAL MEETING NOTIFICATION LETTER | |
Attention Affiliate Club and League Presidents: 2024 AHAI Annual Meeting Notification Letter
The 2024 Annual Meeting of the Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois, Inc. (AHAI) will take place on Saturday, June 1, 2024 at 8:30 a.m. The event will be held at the The Westin Chicago Northwest, 400 Park Blvd., Itasca, IL 60143. Further information regarding the Annual Meeting schedule will be distributed to Affiliate Presidents.
Any individual who wishes to submit a new By-Law proposal or make a change to an existing By-Law must submit their proposal(s), in writing, to the President of AHAI, Kevin Bolger at president@ahai2.org, no later than Thursday, May 2, 2024 5PM. Thank you for all your help and cooperation in the furtherance of youth hockey in Illinois. - AHAI Board of Directors
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Tier II player substitute choice applications will open on June 15, 2024. The application and description of the process will be available on AHAI.org. | |
The schedules for Tier I Youth, Girls & Midgets have been announced. Please click here to view schedule. Good luck, players!!! | |
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Congratulations to all of the players that were invited to this year's Player Development Camp. After Saturday's games the 2007, 2008 & 2009 birth years were cut down to 36 players to compete in Sunday's game. After that game the final 20 players were selected to advance to the Central District High Performance Festival on May 10-12th in Iowa.
The 2010 birth year players competed all weekend for a chance to advance to the Central District Bantam Development Camp on June 9 - 14th at Iowa State in Ames, IA. Good luck to all the player's selected to advance!
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Girls Central District Development Camp
Congratulations to the Girls selected to attend the Central District Development Camp. Tryouts were held on April 12-14th and the following players were selected to attend the development camp in Green Bay, WI on June 16-24th. Good Luck!
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USA HOCKEY NATIONAL CHAMPIONS | |
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Congratulations to the Illinois teams who won a National Championship!
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CHICAGO MISSION 150
Congratulations to the Chicago Mission 15O team on winning the National Championship! READ MORE<<<
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ORLAND PARK VIKINGS U16
Congratulations to the Orland Park Vikings U16 team on winning the National Championship! READ MORE<<<
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CHICAGO MISSION GIRLS 14U
Congratulations to the Chicago Mission Girls 14U team on winning the National Championship! READ MORE<<<
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GLENVIEW STARS GIRLS 16U
We'd also like to congratulate the Girls Glenview Stars 16U team on their 2nd place finish in the Girls Tier II Division. READ MORE<<<
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Chicago Warrior Team Wins National Title!
By: Ross Forman
Chris Tran scored a backdoor goal assisted by Adam Lindeman on the first shift of the game Sunday, April 14, leading the Chicago Warriors to a 2-0 win over the Pittsburgh Warriors Gold in the championship of the inaugural Toyota USA Hockey Warrior National Championship, played at the Ice Vault Arena in Wayne, N.J.
The four-day tournament featured 34 teams from across the U.S., divided by competition level across six tiers.
“We had a team with a variety of talent levels for the tournament and we took everything we learned in practice and put it together at the end of the year to have a successful run in the tournament,” said Jim Otzko, Chicago’s captain and team president. The 55-year-old Hoffman Estates resident is in his 6th year with the Warriors and plays both offense and defense.
“Teamwork and camaraderie on and off the ice; I think that propelled us to the win.” READ MORE<<<
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New Trier Green forward Garrett Chong blends his three passions: hockey, physics and robotics
By: Ross Forman
Garrett Chong, a junior left wing for state champion New Trier Green, will likely be one of the most dynamic forwards in the state when his senior season starts in September. The left-handed shooting Chong who formerly played for the Falcons, Chicago Mission, Team Illinois and Reapers had 13 goals and 12 assists in 30 Scholastic Hockey League games this past season.
Chong is a pass-first player, always looking to find the best play or the next pass. “I don’t always look for the openings in the net, but rather, the openings for the pass backdoor,” said Chong, one of three siblings who skate and “the ones who ultimately steered me to play for New Trier.”
His dad, meanwhile, steered his main off-ice passion that, well, never is chatter among his Trevian teammates. They talk slapshots, the perfect celly, how to tally a Michigan Goal, and more.
Chong talks physics.
“I see physics as the absolute frontier of modern science and technology,” he said. “Physics utilizes the pinnacle of technology to probe into the most minute scales, then uses those scales to measure the biggest and most chaotic phenomena in our universe.” READ MORE<<<
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Lucia Lavalle Delivers Power To Maine’s Defense
By: Ross Forman
The strength Lucia Lavalle brings to the ice for the co-op Maine Girls High School Team is built in the weight room at Maine West High School and beyond.
Lavalle, 16, a sophomore who lives in Des Plaines, is a left-handed shooting defenseman who also competes for Maine West’s Powerlifting Team.
“Since I was in the gym a lot with my coach and weightlifting almost 24/7, I felt that I could go far in my skills and doing this really improves my lifestyle as well,” she said of her foray into powerlifting. “Being at Tactic Sports Performance with many coaches who have competed in powerlifting competitions, (my coach) Jordan Vick and I talked about me getting into it. He felt that I was strong enough to compete at my age level and blow people away. With that confidence he gave me, I got into it and have been pushing to get better every day since my first competition.
“At Maine West, our powerlifting team usually just gets together at meets. Most people do go to our school gym and work with our powerlifting coach, but since I already have an amazing coach who I’ve been with for so long, I go to my gym, but I still work on my lifts.”
READ MORE<<<
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Team USA Announces Roster for U18 Men's World Championship
By: USA Hockey
ESPOO, Finland – USA Hockey announced today its 22-player roster for the U.S. Under-18 Men's National Team that will compete at the 2024 IIHF U18 Men's World Championship from April 25 - May 5 in Espoo and Vantaa, Finland. READ MORE<<<
Congratulations to the Illinois players named to the Team USA Under-18 Men's World Championship Team!
Kamil Bednarik, Elmhurst
Nick Kempf, Morton Grove
Charlie Pardue, Winnetka
Noah Lapointe, Hinsdale
Cole Hutson, Chicago
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Congratulations to the Alex Vlasic of Wilmette on being selected to the Team USA Men's National Team!
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – USA Hockey announced today the first 15 players of the 2024 U.S. Men’s National Team that will compete in the IIHF Men’s World Championship, May 10-26, in Ostrava and Prague, Czechia. The group includes 11 first-round NHL Draft picks and more than 5,000 games of NHL experience. READ MORE<<<
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COACHING & OFFICIATING INFORMATION | |
Ask the Official
By Dave Zednik
QUESTION: My son is going into his senior year and is 18 years old and does not want to wear a neck guard. Since he is 18 does he have to wear one and what is the penalty?
ANSWER: The USA Hockey Congress approved legislation requiring the use of neck laceration protection for players in all age classifications, other than adults, in games and practices, as well as for on-ice officials under the age of 18, effective August 1, 2024.
For clarity, the requirement includes players in the youth, girls and junior age classifications.
All players who wear the required the protective equipment must wear it in the manner for which it is designed.
For violation of this rule, following a team warning, a misconduct penalty for an equipment violation shall be imposed.
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CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS ALL-GIRLS BIG STRIDES HOCKEY CAMP
The Blackhawks offer a variety of summer camp options including Big Strides Hockey Camp - an All-Girls skills camp designed for girls ages 12-18 with an emphasis on off-ice informational training, This includes: career path guidance from former Olympians, mental toughness training led by our in-house team psychologist, interview training and much more!
For any questions, please reach out to the Amateur Hockey Department at BHYouthHockey@blackhawks.com.
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