Volume 11 Issue 6 | June 2023 |
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LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT | |
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First of all, I would like to thank all of the clubs who turned out for our annual leadership conference and election. We had great camaraderie at the general meeting and in the break-out meeting rooms. A lot of great ideas were shared and discussed.
I would also like to thank everyone for voting me in for another three-year term. I look forward to serving you as President of AHAI. Your confidence and support are greatly appreciated and very humbling. I will do my best for you each and every day.
Last week a number of the AHAI Board members attended the USA Hockey Annual Congress. It was three days of meetings often with no time for lunch. We were lauded for our participation on several USA committees. Our voices on those committees are important in order to represent your interests. Also, I am extremely proud to announce that our very own Jim Clare has been elected to represent the Central District in the USA Hockey Congress. He replaces the retiring Mike Mullally. This is an honor bestowed on very few and well deserved.
We also are moving forward with our requests to modify the mite ADM program to allow full ice for U8s. Hopefully, it will be resolved at the winter meeting.
AHAI is not taking the summer off. We are meeting in July for strategic planning for the future and also a July board meeting. We are also meeting in August to make sure everything is ready for the 23-23 season.
Have a great summer and thanks again for your support.
Kevin Bolger
President
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AHAI Leadership Conference Recap
The 2023 AHAI Affiliate Leadership Conference (AALC) was held on Saturday June 3.
The Leadership Conference is designed to assist the AHAI Affiliate clubs in the organization and administration of their affiliates. The meeting was attended by Affiliate Presidents, Hockey Directors, Board Members and staff. A variety of topics and speakers were presented to the attendees in interactive breakout sessions. The breakout sessions included:
- High School
- Growing the Game
- Officiating
- USAH Safe Sport update
- AHAI Suspension information
- USAH update
- Chicago Blackhawks youth hockey update
- AHAI processes and procedures
Jim Clare, AHAI VP of membership, opened the meeting and introduced the day’s schedule and gave a brief overview of the Leadership Conference information. Jim was followed by Kevin Bolger, AHAI President, who welcomed membership and presented the follow AHAI Awards:
AHAI Lifetime Achievement Award
AHAI Service Award (service above and beyond benefiting the AHAI Membership.
- Jim Arhontas (league president/ master ice scheduler)
- Jen Davidson Champaign Urbana HS and Youth.
- Alex Alessi Niles Rangers HD
AHAI New Leader Award (a volunteer who is leading by example at the Affiliate club level.)
- Michelle and Wayne Millard (Special Hockey)
AHAI Volunteer of the Year Award (service above and beyond benefiting the AHAI Membership or Affiliate)
AHAI Girls Program Award
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AHAI Lifetime Achievement Winner,
Mike Mullally
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AHAI Service Award Winner, Alex Alessi | |
AHAI New Leader Award Winner, Wayne & Michelle Millard | |
AHAI Volunteer of the Year Award Winner, Jim Clare | |
AHAI Girls Program Award Winner, St. Jude Hockey Club | |
The full meeting recap, including the presentations from the breakout meetings, can be found here. | |
TIER II SUBSTITUTE CHOICE INFORMATION | |
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Tier II Substitute Choice Application Process for 2023-24 Season
The Tier II substitute choice application process, 10U through 16U/18U will begin on July 15, 2023. All applications will be submitted online. The deadline for applying for a substitute choice will be September 4, 2023. The Tier II Committee will have (3) three in-person appeal hearings for those denied a substitute choice. The dates for the appeal hearings will be August 16, August 30th and September 6th at 6:30 p.m. in Glenview.
Questions? Please email Gregg Chudacoff, AHAI Tier II Chairman, at gregg.chudacoff@ahai2.org.
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AHAI FOUNDATION GOLF OUTING | |
Save the Date! The 2023 AHAI Foundation Golf Outing Set for Friday, August 11th
The AHAI Foundation Golf Outing is open to foursomes, individuals, youth golfers and non-golfers! The revenues generated from this event will be donated to Chicago Blackhawks Blind Hockey, Sled Hockey, Deaf Hockey, Chicago Blackhawks Special Hockey, Chicago Blackhawks Warriors, Hockey Is For Everyone, IHOA Memorial Fund and the AHAI Catastrophic Relief Fund for players who have been catastrophically injured.
We hope you can join us on Friday, August 11th shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. at the Schaumburg Golf Club for this great annual event! Click buttons below for both the sponsorship and registration forms, as well as the official golf outing flyer. For more information, contact Don Allord at travelmore1017@gmail.com.
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Dakota Becco Wins On, Off The Ice
Member of Barrington Fillies state champion team also shines for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
By: Ross Forman
Dakota Becco, who will be a senior in the fall at Prospect High School, has won four hockey state championships at three levels: AA, back-to-back AAA, and girls high school varsity. She also in 2021 won a USA Hockey regional tournament, thus advancing to the USA Hockey Girls AAA National Championship.
Becco, 17, who lives in Mount Prospect, played this past season for the Barrington Fillies who won state, and also for the co-op PREP Hockey JV Team while the PREP varsity also won state. She mostly plays center, though she started her ice career as a defenseman.
“I was hesitant to join (Barrington) because of my commitments with PREP, my part-time job, my jewelry-making business, AP courses in school and so many activities, including our award-winning marching band, Prospect Marching Knights,” Becco said. “But I pulled it off and cannot be happier in my decision.
READ MORE<<<
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Illinois native Strathmann: ‘Winning the championship was an unreal feeling’
Defenseman leads Youngstown Phantoms to their first-ever USHL Clark Cup Championship
By: Ross Forman
The Youngstown Phantoms captured the 2023 Clark Cup championship, their first-ever reign as the top team in the USHL – and the celebration rolled from Ohio to plenty of Illinois ice rinks.
Andrew Strathmann, a left-handed shooting defenseman in his first season with the Phantoms, hails from Beach Park and formerly skated locally for the Falcons, Chicago Mission and CYA. In fact, his CYA coach was Ryan Ward, who coached the Phantoms to glory in the 16-team USHL, defeating the Fargo Force 1-0 in Game 3 of the 2023 Clark Cup Final in late-May. Youngstown swept the best-of-five series three-games-to-none.
“It was cool to win (the championship) with such a good group of guys. We pushed all year, came to the rink every day ready to have fun and be good teammates. Winning the championship was an unreal feeling,” said Strathmann, who had 3 goals, 35 assists in 56 regular season games, and 3 goals, 4 assists in 9 playoff games.
“Fargo is a good team, but we played our hearts out and it paid off. It was a good series. I thought I played well and to be able to raise that Cup was one of the best feelings in the world to me and means everything to me.” READ MORE<<<
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HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY HIGHLIGHTS | |
Majors Changes Announced in The Scholastic Hockey League
Saint Ignatius & Fenwick Join; Barrington Leaves; Academic Hockey League Formed
By: Ross Forman
Saint Ignatius and Fenwick are jumping into the Scholastic Hockey League this upcoming season, while Barrington is leaving the SHL and moving into the IHSHL North-Central Division.
Plus, SHL confirmed a major expansion with a new division: the Academic Hockey League, comprised of select school’s second varsity teams, including Glenbrook South, Fenwick, New Trier White, Saint Ignatius, Saint Viator and Loyola Maroon, and one other.
“This is an exciting addition to our league,” said Evan Poulakidas, SHL president.
The SHL, in its 11th season in the fall, has 11 varsity teams playing a 30-game schedule and 9 full JV teams playing a 26-game schedule and 8 qualifying for the playoffs. Ignatius and Fenwick JV teams were granted an exception for this year. Their JV teams will only play SHL teams once. Both teams are required to bring their JV teams into the SHL full-time the following season. READ MORE<<<
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Laura Johnson, AHAI Registrar, Honored with USA Hockey Service Award
At the USA Hockey Annual Congress awards dinner on Friday, June 9th, AHAI registrar and long-time USA Hockey volunteer, Laura Johnson was honored with a service award for 15 years of dedication and service to the hockey community. Laura is an integral part of Illinois hockey and we are thankful for all she does. Congratulations, Laura!
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COACHING & OFFICIATING INFORMATION | |
Hockey community rallies around referee John Coleman, battling brain cancer
By: Ross Forman
John Coleman called Mike Nargie one day last November to cancel a peewee game he was assigned to officiate two days later. Coleman was calling the Illinois Hockey Officiating Association (IHOA) assigner and, ironically, his partner for that game.
Coleman needed out of the game as he had lost feeling in his right arm, which he thought was a pinched nerve.
He went to the emergency room the next day and a scan found a mass on his brain.
Last December 9th, the 54-year-old Coleman – a married father of two teenage daughters who has been an on-ice official in Chicago and his native Canada for a combined 30 years – had brain surgery to remove the mass.
And last December 28th, he met with his oncologist, where he was told it was uncurable and doctors did not know how much time he had.
“I was mostly worried for my children and wife,” said Coleman, who lives in Huntley and is the general manager for a contract security company. “I have 13- and 15-year-old girls, both of whom are interested in sports, mostly softball. Both of my girls are diehard Toronto Blue Jay fans because of me, and we watch all the games together.
“It’s obviously disappointing, knowing I (might not) be able to walk them down the aisle (for their weddings), teach him how to drive, attend graduations, play with their grandchildren, but we are keeping positive and fighting for every minute we can get together as a family.” READ MORE<<<
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Ask the Official
By Dave Zednik
QUESTION: A team intentionally only sends four players out on a defensive zone face-off. As soon as the puck is dropped, the fifth player enters play and receives a pass after his team wins the face-off. Rules in either face-off procedure or team player change do not seem to validate or invalidate this “trick” play.
ANSWER: Rule 204.a in the USA Hockey Playing Rules states:
"Both teams must place the full number of players on the ice to which they are entitled to prior to the face-off."
Furthermore, Rule 629.e in the USA Hockey Playing Rules states:
“Play shall be stopped and the face-off conducted at the last play face-off location anytime a team starts play with fewer players than entitled to and the additional entering player is the first to play any puck coming from his defending zone, unless he has first made skate contact with his defending zone.”
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Blackhawks Tournaments
Blackhawks Tournaments return for Summer 2023! This summer, the Chicago Blackhawks are providing incredible opportunities for individuals of all ages to participate in a fun and competitive environment on the ice, while sharing one-of-a-kind experiences off of it! Each tournament will provide unique opportunities for an NHL-like experience for all participants and their families. From check-in all the way through award presentations, our tournaments are run efficiently, professionally, and fairly. To see the full listing of summer tournaments head to Blackhawks.com/tournaments!
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Summer Camps
Limited spots are still available for select Blackhawks Summer Camps and the Big Strides all girls camp!
This years Blackhawks Summer Camps will be held at the Chicago Blackhawks practice facility, Fifth Third Arena, as well as arenas in Hammond, IN, and Mt. Prospect, IL. All of our camps will feature experienced and highly skilled coaches, including Blackhawks alumni, to help your son or daughter learn from the very best in the business.
The sessions will be geared toward skills such as power skating, edgework, agility, puck handling and shooting. Participants will also work on team skills in 1v1, 2v2 and scrimmages. On the last day of camp each week (Friday), we play a variety of games -- a fun day for parents and siblings to come watch. Visit Blackhawks.com/camps for additional details and registration!
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