The hockey community united from all over to help those displaced by the Peoria tornado. NoozeBox spoke with Drew Cassidy of Hockey Supports Hockey, and Wendy Wagner, a Peoria Youth Hockey Club Mom. Both of the victims had the utmost to say about the generosity of all the hockey clubs not just in Illinois, but from other states as well. According to Cassidy, several clubs that were playing in Peoria showed up with donations, gift cards, and relief money. As they approach the $40,000 mark, it has been unbelievably helpful for the families in need. "This was particularly moving as it allowed several of the displaced families to personally greet those teams and express their appreciation (and disbelief) at the generosity." Wendy Wagner explained just how important those gift cards were to her family as well as others that had been displaced.  Wendy has three boys who all play hockey. If it weren't for hockey, the Wagner family would have been at home when the tornado hit, instead the family was at the rink, watching her son's game.

 

The best High School teams throughout the Midwest will compete in the Chicago Blackhawk Charities 20th Annual Holiday Hockey Classic (Ho Ho Tournament) December 26th through the 29th at The Edge in Bensenville! Tickets are available for this four day tournament at The Edge - $5 for students and $7 for adults with proceeds supporting Chicago Blackhawks Charities. Presented by Coca-Cola Zero and Supported by Comcast Sportsnet.

 

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BRACKETS

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Editor's Note: Don't miss a second of the action! NoozeBox.com and High School Cube (HSC) will broadcast all quarterfinal and semifinal Ho Ho Tournament games live December 28 and 29. Championship Game will be broadcast on December 29 at 4:30 p.m.

Efren Molina, better known as Coach e, was born in 1958 and was raised on Chicago's far south side. His parents emigrated from Mexico; he lived there briefly as a child and maintains close ties to his family and village in Mexico. Along with his father, Jose, Coach e has 2 brothers, Paul and Sergio, and a sister, Ninfa, not to mention many nephews and nieces. He has called Chicago's north side his home for over 30 years.

 

Coach e was a product of the Chicago Public School system and graduated from Sullivan elementary school, and then Bowen High School in 1976. After a brief time as a laborer at U.S. Steel's South Works 54" beam plant, he received a bachelor's degree from Northern Illinois University in Interior Architecture.

 

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One of the most exciting aspects of the USA Hockey SafeSport Program is the online training/education that is available to help our members become aware of the information necessary to help prevent abuse from occurring in our sport. Your dedication to safety in our sport is demonstrated by the over 15,000 USA Hockey members that have already completed the SafeSport training.

USA Hockey, in connection with the USOC, is pleased to announce a new permanent platform for the online training, which will be more user-friendly and will include enhancements that among other things will allow participants to view their test question answers and results. This letter is to provide guidance about our transition to this new training platform.

Erin Blair has spent much of her life training for the Winter Olympics. In February, the Bloomingdale resident will take the ice to officiate games featuring the greatest women's hockey players in the world at the Sochi Olympics. 

 

Blair, 32, a health teacher at Lakewood School in Carpentersville-based Community Unit District 300, has been a referee on the youth, local, national and international levels for 14 years. The Lisle native will represent the International Ice Hockey Federation at the Olympics during the women's hockey series and says she still can't believe this is actually happening.

 

"It's something I've been working toward for a long time. There are so many people in the system who want what I want - there were never any guarantees," Blair said. "It's going to be on a huge stage. It's a worldwide event. It's something that, honestly, I don't even know what to expect."

 

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Three returning hosts and one new venue were selected to host men's Frozen Fours from 2015 to 2018, the NCAA announced Wednesday. Boston's TD Garden will host its third Frozen Four in 2015; the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, Fla., will get its second in 2016; and the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., will see its third in 2018. Chicago's United Center will host for the first time in 2017. Women's Frozen Fours were awarded to Minneapolis' Ridder Arena in 2015 and 2018; the Whittemore Center Arena in Durham, N.H., in 2016; and the Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo., in 2017.