Volume 12 Issue 3 | March 2024

What a terrific month. Congrats to all the Tier I and Tier II champs and runners-up. The games were excellent and very close. It is a shame that someone had to lose. Everyone should be proud of their accomplishments because they made it to the finals.

The month culminated with the high school championships at the UC. The Blackhawks hosted this event and put on a first-class tournament. We are so glad to be partnered up with them. A special shout-out to Danny Wirtz, Andrea Hahn, and Melissa Surrette. It was a great day and one the players will cherish forever.

Thank you for a great season.

Kevin Bolger

President

NOMINATIONS FOR AHAI BOARD OF DIRECTORS

This notice is being sent to Affiliate Presidents made available to the Membership.

Nominations of potential candidates are now being accepted for the AHAI Board of Directors and must be submitted to the AHAI Nominating Committee Chairperson by April 15, 2024, 5PM CST.

The date for the Annual AHAI meeting is Saturday, June 1, 2024.

AHAI Rules and Regulations

4.4 NOMINATING COMMITTEE

4.4.1 Shall include at least two (2) members of the AHAI Board of Directors whose seats

are not up for re-election.

4.4.2 The duties of the Committee shall consist of:

a. Soliciting and collecting the names and qualifications of individuals who wish to be considered on an individual basis for election to the AHAI Board of Directors.

b. Within 60 days of the Annual Meeting, shall inform the Affiliate Organizations of AHAI by mail of the requirements and deadlines for becoming a candidate for election.

c. At least forty-two (42) days in advance, or six (6) weeks of the Annual Meeting, any adult individual who wishes to run for election for the AHAI Board of Directors shall submit his or her name as well as a written biography to the AHAI Nominating Committee.

d. No later than twenty-one (21) days, three (3) weeks, before the Annual Meeting, the AHAI Nominating Committee shall disseminate to all Affiliate Organizations of AHAI, by electronic mail and by publication on AHAI's website, a list of all names submitted accompanied by their respective biographies.

e. The AHAI Board of Directors or any AHAI participant/member may issue an endorsement of or opposition to any candidate so long as said endorsement or opposition does not disparage or demean any candidate.

f. The AHAI Board of Directors may issue a position paper on any candidate or group of candidates in the mailing to the Affiliate Organizations. If an individual AHAI member wishes to submit an endorsement of or opposition to any candidate(s), AHAI agrees to include said position statement with the Initial AHAI electronic mailing only. The individual member who submits a position paper agrees to pay his or her proportionate share for the expenses of creating and mailing the position paper. Any position paper submitted by the AHAI Board or any AHAI individual member shall be limited to one communication to AHAI Affiliate Organizations.

g. All of the above may be submitted electronically.

4.4.3 At the AHAI Annual Meeting, present Affiliate Organizations shall vote for up to five (5) individuals from the list of nominations. The vote may be an individual vote for each candidate or a “slate” vote at the discretion of the AHAI Board of Directors. The votes shall be counted by members of the Nominating Committee and overseen by an AHAI Officer. The top five (5) individuals garnering the most votes shall be elected as Directors to the AHAI Board.

Board Member Recommended Qualifications

Each Director must be a member in good standing of USA Hockey and must be in complete.

compliance with all USA Hockey mandates currently in effect. These include Safesport, Background Screen, and free of financial obligations to any AHAI member organization.

In order to submit your name for consideration as an AHAI Director, the individual should ideally:

1.   Be in good standing with the affiliate they are currently a member of (if this applies)

2.   Have previously held a leadership position within an AHAI Affiliate/League/Officiating i.e, president, board member, registrar, hockey director, etc. or been a member of an AHAI Standing Committee

3.   Have been in this role for at least 2 years

4.   Provide at least two references to the nominating committee

5.   Not have any past disciplinary action against them from AHAI, their Affiliate, or IHOA

Submit your nomination along with a brief biography to:

Chuck Smith, AHAI Nominating Committee Chairperson, chuck.smith@ahai2.org

AHAI Nominating Committee

Chuck Smith, Chairman

Bill Crowley

Kathy Monahan

Pictured from left to right: Jenny MacDougall, AHAI Girls High School Chairperson, Laurie Markowski, Girls Coach of the Year, Chicago Bruins; Bailey Coyne, Girls High School Coach of the Year, Burlington Grizzlies; Morgan Hallberg, Girls High School Player of the Year, Fenwick

Pictured from left to right: Jack Weinberg, AHAI High School Chairperson, Jonathan Cannizzo, Coach of the Year, Chicago Hawks; Joe Montagano, High School Coach of the Year, Lincoln Way; Even Ziegler, High School Player of the Year, Waubonsie; Kevin Bolger, AHAI President

Not pictured: Dave Siatta, Disabled Coach of the Year, Hornets

Congratulations to the following teams going to Nationals!

Tier II Youth & Girls

Youth Tier II 14U

Sabres

Youth Tier II 16U

Chicago Hawks

Vikings*

Youth Tier II 18U

West Dundee Leafs

Girls Tier II 14U

Chicago Hawks

Girls Tier II 16U

Glenview Stars

Girls Tier II 19U

Glenview Stars

North Shore Warhawks*

The Youth and Girls Tier II National Championships will be held April 3 - April 7 at the following locations:

• Youth Tier II 14U - Amherst, NY
• Youth Tier II 16U - Dallas, TX
• Youth Tier II 18U - Delmont, PA

• Girls Tier II 14U - Sioux Falls, SD
• Girls Tier II 16U - Green Bay, WI
• Girls Tier II 19U - East Lansing, MI

* Teams who received an at-large bid to Nationals.

Tier I Youth & Girls

Youth Tier I 13O

Chicago Reapers

Youth Tier I 14U

Windy City Storm*

Chicago Reapers*

Youth Tier I 15O

Chicago Mission

Youth Tier I 16U

Chicago Mission

Youth Tier I 18U

Windy City Storm

Girls Tier I 14U

Chicago Mission*

Girls Tier I 16U

Chicago Mission

Girls Tier I 19U

Chicago Mission

The Youth and Girls Tier I National Championships will be held April 2 - April 7 at the following locations:

• Youth Tier I 13O - Plymouth, MI
• Youth Tier I 14U - Plymouth, MI
• Youth Tier I 15O - Fargo, ND
• Youth Tier I 16U - Las Vegas, NV
• Youth Tier I 18U - Las Vegas, NV

• Girls Tier I 14U - Wesley Chapel, FL
• Girls Tier I 16U - Wesley Chapel, FL
• Girls Tier I 19U - Wesley Chapel, FL

* Teams who received an at-large bid to Nationals.

High School

Combined Varsity

Waubonsie

Red Varsity

New Trier Green

The High School National Championships will be held March 20 - March 24 in West Chester, PA.

Hello Girls Community & thank you for another exciting season!

The 2024 Girls Tier II State Tournament did not disappoint. Congratulations to all the winners:

Sabres Girls – 10U

Warhawks – 12U

Hawks Girls – 14U

Stars Girls – 16U

Stars Girls – 19U

The 2024 Central District Championship Tournament just ended and having witnessed the great games, once again our Illinois teams represented strong:

Hawks Girls – 14U 2^nd place

Stars Girls – 16U Central District Champs

Stars Girls – 19U 2^nd place

Now onto Nationals & Illinois is proud to be represented so well at all age divisions:

Hawks Girls – 14U 2^nd place finish earned them a spot in Nationals

Stars Girls – 16U Central District Champs with an automatic bid to Nationals

Stars Girls – 19U 2^nd place finish earned them a spot in Nationals

Warhawks – 19U Awarded an At-Large Bid to Nationals

14U Girls will be in Sioux Falls, South Dakota

16U Girls will be in Green Bay, Wisconsin

19U Girls will be in East Lansing, Michigan

GOOD LUCK TO ALL OUR TEAMS…BE GREAT TEAMMATES, HAVE FUN, BELIEVE IN YOURSELVES!

Stadium Day for High School Hockey

By Jack Weinberg, AHAI High School Committee

Now that we have all had time to catch our collective breaths, I would like to acknowledge the people who made the event happen. From the Blackhawks, Andrea Hahn, Andy Pape, and the whole youth hockey team who worked countless hours to make stadium day at the United Center a spectacular event for everyone. To Dan Wirtz who makes this all possible, it was great to see him checking out the action. His commitment to the High School Division goes back to his time as a player. He has put monetary issues aside including refraining from serving alcohol. It has made it a safer and more enjoyable environment for everyone. To all the technical staff, support personnel and employees of the U.C., thank you for your hard work.

To all the volunteers from AHAI; Bob Wagner, the tournament’s chairman, all the supervisors, scorekeepers, and communications people; what a great job. I thank IHOA for all of their assistance and the referees, without which we could not have a safe and fair environment in which to hold all the games. It was my honor to work with all of you.

Congratulations to all of the teams; win or lose you are all truly great ambassadors of our game. For the teams going forward to compete in Nationals, our hearts go with you as you represent your organizations and the State of Illinois.

High School hockey is special. I believe it represents community hockey at its best.

York Repeats As JV State Champions, Beating Evanston 5-2

Three-goal first period carries Dukes with game-winning goal from Andrew Pettorelli

By Ross Forman

York freshman Keaton Nix scored :28 seconds into the 2024 Illinois High School Hockey JV State Championship Game, played March 9 in Bensenville, as the Dukes rolled to a 5-2 win over Evanston, marking York’s second consecutive state championship and third JV title in club history.

The Dukes have played in the JV State Championship Game three consecutive seasons, losing to GBN in 2022 and beating Glenbard in 2023.

Nix’ goal, on the first shift of the game and assisted by Andrew Pettorelli, “took away a lot of nerves and really gave us the chance to play our game, the way we played all year,” said York JV head coach Brian Finnerty. “That goal freed us up, so to speak. It gave us momentum that we carried throughout the game.

“Winning state in back-to-back years is a great accomplishment for our organization. They got it done when it mattered. The team was ready, prepared to play at Bensenville (for state).”

Nix was back on the scoresheet about eight minutes later, helping on Francesco Sanfilippo’s goal, along with Mitch Fafinski, on the powerplay. And it was 3-0 with 2:13 remaining in the first period off a Pettorelli goal, assisted by Anthony Pierotti, which proved to be the game-winner.

READ MORE<<<

Senior Forward Evan Ziegler Leads Waubonsie Valley To State Championship

By Ross Forman

READ FULL STORY<<<

Barrington Center Nathan Galvan Focuses On Hockey On, Off The Ice

By Ross Forman

READ FULL STORY<<<

Illinois Native Ithan DeLorenzo Scores Game-Winning Goal For National Championship

Forward Celebrates 21^st Birthday, National Championship For Indiana University

By Ross Forman



The puck kicked out to Ithan DeLorenzo, who grabbed it on his backhand at the top of the circle in the center of the offensive zone on Friday, March 15. He quickly slid the puck to his left and blasted a slapshot off the goal post in overtime of the ACHA Men’s Division 2 National Championship game, played in St. Louis.

Noah Kinsinger, in goal for Miami of Ohio, couldn’t stop the blast, which somehow whizzed past a handful of players for both teams and missed a diving Miami player who wanted to block DeLorenzo’s shot.

The puck went upper corner on the left side.

DeLorenzo saw the net move and immediately went into celebration mode. He sprinted the other way, throwing away his stick and gloves and trying to take off his helmet before hugging goalie Brendan McCaskey and the rest of the pursuing Indiana University Hockey Club.

The Hoosiers won their first National Championship in the program’s 55-year history, and DeLorenzo was celebrating his 21^st birthday hours later, on March 16.

“It was insane,” DeLorenzo said of his powerplay goal, giving IU the 5-4 win in its fifth game in five days of the annual national championship tournament. “It was chaos in front of the net and I just tried to get it on net as fast as possible … and it happened to go in.

“It was incredible; we worked so hard for this. Everyone was so happy, so many tears of joy. It was an incredible feeling.

“That was the biggest goal of my career, definitely, for sure, nothing is going to top that, ever.” READ MORE<<<

Congratulations to the CSDHL teams with State titles and to the U18 Leafs, U16 Hawks and the U14 Sabres who will be representing Tier II Illinois at the USA Hockey National Championships.

The CSDHL All Star games were held on Saturday, March 16th and were a huge success. Thank you to the Cyclones, the Fox Valley Ice Arena, and the Chicago Steel for hosting the event and congratulations to all the players and the coaching staff who were selected to compete at the 14U, 15U, 16U, and 18U levels. Thank you also to our Club sponsors: Vikings, Chargers, Leafs, Falcons, Sabres, Hawks, Jets, and Affton.

IHOA Officials for the Girls Varsity State Championship Game

From left to right:

Matt Neubaurer, Erika Greenen, Scott Shepard,

Sal Manno

IHOA Officials for the Combined Varsity State Championship Game

From left to right:

Matthew McManusm,Tom Noto, Brett Straley,

Steven Gapski

IHOA Officials for the

Red Varsity State Championship Game

From left to right:

Sean Molina, Rick Faron, Edmund Vogrich,

Tom Cirrincione

Congratulations to the IL Players Selected to the NTDP Evaluation Camp

Forty-seven of the top American hockey players born in 2008 have been invited to USA Hockey's National Team Development Program Evaluation Camp. The camp, which will help select the 2024-25 U.S. National Under-17 Team, will take place March 19-23, at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, MI.

Five Illinois players were selected to the evaluation camp roster:

• Aurelio Garcia, Romeoville, Chicago Mission 15O
• Shaeffer Gordon-Carroll, Oswego, Chicago Mission 15O
• Lukas Zajic, Plainfield, Shattuck-St. Mary's 15O
• Abraham Barnett, Wilmette, Chicago Mission 15O
• Brady Knowling, Chicago, North York Rangers 16U

For more information on the camp or to view the full roster click here.

Subscribe Today to Our Monthly Newsletters: Coaches, Girls & IHSHL Snapshot

Can't get enough Illinois hockey news? Check out our monthly Coaches, Girls or High School newsletters! Simply click the button below to subscribe to any or all of our monthly newsletters.