Twenty-four (24) Mite teams took to United Center ice for 39 games on Sunday, December 28 for the Mid-Season Classic Mite Cross-Ice Tournament. Nearly 330 mites battled it out on 3 cross-ice rinks spanning the Blackhawks home ice with three teams taking home the Championship in their respective divisions. The Kane Division saw the Joliet Jaguars defeat the Leafs, the Toews Division had the all ADM AHAI Mission squad defeat the Chicago Jets, and in the Keith Division the River Dogs outlasted Canlan Ice Arena's In-House Mites. 

The day began with an opportunity to watch the Blackhawks practice; a few lucky skaters walked away with a stick or two from the Blackhawks players as they exited the ice from their morning skate. As the rink transformed from one large sheet to 3 smaller cross-ice sheets, the teams made their way to the locker rooms right down the hall from the Blackhawks. As one parent put it, "You created memories that will last a lifetime!" READ MORE>>

Local rinks and associations next chance to be a host site for Try Hockey For Free Day presented by Kraft, is Saturday, February 21st. This event is part of the eighth annual Hockey Weekend Across America. During this event, host sites give local children the opportunity to try youth hockey for the first time. Jerseys, goodie bags, grassroots promotional tools and an online registration platform will be provided to the first 300 host sites that register.

 

Currently nearly 290 locations across America have registered to host a Try Hockey For Free event including these Illinois locations: Ice Valley Ice Centre (Kankakee), Franklin Park Panthers, Rolling Meadow Renegades, Sabre Hockey Association (All Seasons, Aurora), Decatur Youth Hockey, Hoffman Estates Wolf Pack, Admirals Hockey Club and Danville Youth Hockey. READ MORE>>

 

AHAI announces that the 2015 Men's and Women's State Tournament at various adult levels (Multiple Men's and Women's Divisions for all skill levels, Novice/Rec, CII, CI, B, A) will take place at the Darien Sportsplex from April 23-26, 2015. The Adult State Tournament is open to Adult (21+) Men & Women USA Hockey registered players and teams who played at least 8 games together in the 2014-2015 season, or non-USA league teams and players that wish to become USA Hockey members before the Tournament. Players may play on only one team in the Tournament. READ MORE>>

Please take the time to review the document below. It is directly from USA Hockey and explains the new process for the National Development Camp Program. The major change is that there will no longer be a 14U National Development Camp, but the Central District will continue to offer a 6 day/5 night development camp for 2001 birth years. You MUST register and tryout April 17-19, in Fond du Lac, WI. Registration will be online and will open February 15 and close March 1. The Central District camp will consist of 6 teams of 2000 and 2001 birth years and 2 teams for 1996  through 1999. This camp will be hosted in Green Bay, WI, beginning June 21 and concluding June 26.  In addition, USA Hockey is adding a new camp - the U18 Camp starting June 27-July 3, 2015. This camp will consist of 66 players and players will be invited by the National office staff, more details should be made available at the USA Hockey Winter Meeting on January 15-18.  An additional email will be sent to all registered players with the registration link the week of February 8.

 

2014 USAH GIRLS PLAYER DEVELOPMENT GUIDE

Glenbrook North defeated New Trier Blue 2-1 to bring home the 21st Annual Blackhawk Charities High School Holiday Hockey Classic Championship on Monday, December 29. Click HERE for Championship Game Photos.

Illinois West varsity players were invited to attend a College Day Seminar hosted by Illinois West. This program was designed to discuss the ACHA program and opportunities to play college hockey after high school. With the college coaches on each bench, a select number of players from each club were also offered the opportunity to scrimmage. Representatives from Bradley, Iowa, Lewis, Northern, Northwestern and Robert Morris were on hand to discuss the ACHA and their programs. READ MORE>>

QUESTION: What is the USA Hockey interpretation of body contact versus body checking? Is a penalty required every time body contact is made?

ANSWER: No. Rule References 604(c Note) and Glossary. No check does not mean no contact and the Body Contact category game can be very physical. The Glossary defines both Body Contact and Body Checking, as well as several other educational materials (including videos). In fact, USA Hockey strongly encourages legal body contact to occur in all ages of the Body Contact category as part of the skill progression that teaches legal body checking. READ MORE>>

Congratulations to Michael Floodstrand (Hinsdale) of Team USA, Tanner Laczynski (Minooka) of the Chicago Steel and Seamus Malone (Naperville) of the Dubuque Fighting Saints! READ MORE>>

Don't miss the Northern Illinois University Huskies take on rival St. Louis University Billikens on Friday, January 23 at 7:30 p.m. at the Leafs Ice Centre. All AHAI players in their jerseys will receive free admission to the game. Come see two of the top ACHA college teams in the Midwest faceoff against one another! Click HERE for more details!