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CONTEST WINNERS ANNOUNCED
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Chicago Young Americans
Diane Schrager
Lake Park HS Hockey Club
Harriet McSweeney
Chicago Stallions
Cheryl Pavlecic
Chicago Hawks
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Volume 3 Issue 12
October 14, 2015
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"THE GREATEST 'THANK YOU' ONE CAN GIVE IS TO PAY IT FORWARD"
- JJ O'CONNOR
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On Saturday, October 24, 2015, Seven Bridges Ice Arena will play host to " JJ's Pay It Forward Celebration," an event that celebrates the 20th anniversary of the overwhelming outpouring of support JJ O'Connor received from the hockey community following his devastating hockey injury. O'Connor, a senior at Loyola Academy, was playing his first game of the season for the McFetridge Patriots against the Skokie Flyers on October 24, 1995. He chased a puck into the corner, got tripped up with an opposing defenseman and went head-first into the boards fracturing three vertebrae in his neck and sustaining spinal-cord damage which resulted in O'Connor becoming an incomplete quadriplegic, meaning he is paralyzed from the neck down.  AHAI recently spoke with O'Connor, who has served as USA Hockey's Disabled Section Chairman since 2002, about his inspirational journey and why he decided to 'celebrate' such a life-changing event. AHAI: Obviously October 24th is a momentous day in your life; one would think it would be a very difficult day to celebrate. What made you decide to host a party and invite the hockey community to share in the celebration?
O'CONNOR: I was sitting around talking with a lifelong friend wondering what I should do that day. Some years the anniversary of my injury goes by without me really remembering it, or are easier than others, but 20 years - that's a big one; I knew it would be a tough day. Twenty years ago I didn't think I'd still be here. My friend said, "You should have a party!"
Having a party seemed so self-serving so I decided to use the gravity of the anniversary to give back to the hockey community for all the support they gave me after my injury and during my rehabilitation.
AHAI: What support did you receive from the community?
O'CONNOR: Within days of my injury Norm Spiegel, who was then President of AHAI and Jim Smith, Past President of AHAI and at that time Secretary of USA Hockey came to visit me in the hospital. They rallied Chicago Blackhawks players and alumni as well as created the JJ O'Connor Catastrophic Relief Fund to help with the cost of my hospitalization and rehabilitation. The generosity of the hockey community was amazing - one young man even asked that guests of his birthday party donate to JJ's Catastrophic Relief Fund instead of bringing presents. I just wouldn't be where I am today without Norm and Jim. READ FULL INTERVIEW>> |
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 AHAI CONDUCTS 25TH YEAR OF COLLEGE NIGHT: OPPORTUNITIES IN HOCKEY AFTER HIGH SCHOOL AHAI conducted its annual College Night Seminar: Opportunities in Hockey after High School on Monday, October 12, 2015 at the Hyatt Regency in Schaumburg, Illinois. Doug Christiansen of the United States Hockey League (USHL) presented The Junior Hockey experience at the Tier I level, Mike Snee of College Hockey Inc. addressed NCAA and ACHA College Hockey, Craig Barnett, Director of Player Personnel for the North American Hockey League (NAHL) discussed Tier II and Tier III Junior Hockey and Dr. Beth Pieroth of NorthShore University HealthSystem presented on player safety and concussion awareness. After the presentation, parents and players attended an Open House, or "Hockey Fair" where they were able to talk directly to over a dozen Colleges and several Junior teams. READ MORE & VIEW PHOTOS>> |
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NOMINATE YOUR YOUTH HOCKEY COACH TODAY!
PCA's Double-Goal Coach Award is given to youth and high school sports coaches from throughout the U.S. who embody the ideals of the Double-Goal Coach, striving to win, while also pursuing the more important goal of teaching life lessons through sports. READ MORE>>
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REGISTER FOR YOUR FREE A STEP aHEAD BASELINE TEST TODAY!
Every athlete who completes a FREE baseline test this year will be entered to win an official Chicago Blackhawks Hockey Stick signed by a Blackhawks player! Deadline to register is November 30, 2015.
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 HURRY! DEADLINE TO SUBMIT PHOTOS FOR OCTOBER IS SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18TH Submit photos of your AHAI players' wicked slapshots, dekes, dangles and great saves...or of your kids just plain having fun playing hockey to AHAI's Photo of the Month contest. Send photos to Gretchen Cockey at gretchen@ahai2.org and please include a caption with players' first names, your organization or club, and playing level. ALL photos will be posted on AHAI's Facebook Page, but 5 lucky photos will be featured in AHAI's e-newsletter, SNAPSHOT and receive an awesome AHAI/Howies Hockey Tape T-shirt. Photo submission deadline for the October Photo of the Month is Sunday, October 18. AHAI will select 10 finalists; YOUR votes will select the Top 5! Voting will be conducted October 20-24; winners will be contacted via email and announced in the October 28th issue of SNAPSHOT! |
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2015 STANLEY CUP RING RAFFLE!
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COACHING & OFFICIATING NEWS & INFORMATION
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ASK THE COACH
QUESTION: I registered for an AHAI CEP Clinic, but now due to a family emergency I must transfer to another clinic date. How do I get this done?
ANSWER: Please click HERE to view USA Hockey's refund/transfer policy for CEP clinics, or click HERE for USA Hockey's Coaching Clinic Refund Form.
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ASK THE OFFICIAL
QUESTION: A player who is "friends" with a referee on Facebook posts an insult on the referee's personal page. The referee expects the player to be suspended. What should the league do to the offending player?
ANSWER: As digital media becomes more widely used there are constantly new ways for players, officials, coaches, and other members of the game to be questioned, insulted, and bullied. In most cases, there is very little precedent set for suspensions or fines. READ MORE>>
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ATTENTION TEAM MANAGERS & ORGANIZATION PRESIDENTS:
As the Illinois Referee in Chief and Supervisor of Officials, one of my many roles is to oversee and work with AHAI and IHOA (Illinois Hockey Officials Association) to develop, promote and administer a competitive officiating program. This program is meant to benefit Illinois officials and the organizations they serve by providing officials the opportunity to officiate in a competitive hockey environment and by offering high quality education, instruction and knowledge of officiating.
My various working groups provide supervision, evaluation, development and mentoring of officials via ice time and assignment of games. Repeated supervision, evaluation, mentoring and reinforcement of growth potential can lead to officials' participation in high caliber games and tournaments.
But recently it has come to my attention that these difficult tasks are currently complicated by select organizations and their assigners who refuse to place their hockey games on the central assigning website. This refusal to place games on the central assigning website poses many problems for the officiating community but more importantly, it creates confusion and a tremendous waste of time for managers, coaches, players, parents and administrators who cannot locate their games on the website. READ MORE>>
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ROSS FORMAN'S HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY
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When Lane Tech revived its hockey program a couple of years ago, it was a teacher at the school who also carried the title of coach. Jason Newman skated in this summer and took over the reigns as the team's new head coach. "I saw it as a great opportunity to come in and change the culture of the program," he said. "We're an entirely new program from the ground up with a new board, new coaches, new uniforms and we're playing in a new conference."
Newman, 40, who lives in Chicago and works as a commercial litigation attorney, and also as a real estate broker, brings a wealth of hockey roots, most in this market. He was a mite playing for the Niles Rangers in 1980. Following that season, he started playing for Glenview, where he was a forward for the remainder of his youth hockey career, which included a brief stint on the JV team as a sophomore at Glenbrook South, then as a junior on the varsity at Suffield Academy in Connecticut. READ MORE>> |
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PLAYERS & CLUBS IN THE NEWS
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 7 ILLINOIS ASSOCIATIONS JOIN IN CELEBRATING THE 2015 IIHF WORLD GIRLS' ICE HOCKEY WEEKEND!
Girls' Hockey had an international spotlight this past weekend as over 30 countries celebrated the 2015 IIHF World Girls' Ice Hockey Weekend. The weekend serves as an excellent opportunity to celebrate female participation in the sport while growing the game and providing more opportunities for girls to play ice hockey. Seven Illinois associations hosted girls' events that ranged from special girls-only league games to Try Hockey For Free opportunities as well as a female-only showcase weekend. According to the IIHF women's ice hockey is one of the fastest growing sports in the world thanks to events like this one and similar programs that are being run in many countries. READ MORE FOR A WRAP-UP & PICTURES OF ALL THE EVENTS HELD IN ILLINOIS>> |
 ILLINOIS' D2 TEAM LANDS NEW HEAD COACH WITH STRONG LOCAL TIES
Coach Schmitz Played at Barrington High School
By Ross Forman - William P. Schmitz, Jr. learned over the summer about the sudden coaching vacancy for the University of Illinois D2 club after the previous coach had to leave the team for personal reasons. Schmitz quickly applied since, as he said, "In the back of my mind, I have always been interested in coaching." Sure enough, Schmitz landed the job - and he now leads a team filled with players who went to high school in Illinois, too.
Team captain Marcello Delfini, for instance, grew up in LaGrange and attended Lyons Township. He is an Illini senior who shoots left-handed and plays center. Junior Danny Hendrickson is from Arlington Heights and played for the Northwest Chargers, while junior Conner Cecott hails from Palos Hills and played for the Chicago Hawks. Hendrickson and Cecott each sport the assistant captain's 'A' on their jersey. READ MORE>> |
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BOZEK & COYNE ROSTERED TO WOMEN'S FOUR NATIONS CUP TEAM
Illinois' Megan Bozek (Buffalo Grove) and Kendall Coyne (Palos Heights) have been rostered to the 23-player roster for the U.S. Women's National Team that will compete in the 2015 Four Nations Cup from Nov. 4-8 in Sweden.
A training camp will be held at Seven Bridges Ice Arena in Woodridge, Illinois from Oct. 26-31 before the team departs for Sweden. Details will be available at usahockey.com prior to the camp. READ MORE>>
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BOZEK, WILLIAMS, STOCK & BRICKNER REPRESENT ILLINOIS
The NWHL opened with its four teams - the Whale vs. the Riveters, and the Boston Pride vs. the Buffalo Beauts on Sunday, October 11, which coincided with the IIHF World Girls' Ice Hockey Weekend. Suddenly young female skaters in Illinois have a slew of role models to aspire to emulate.
The Whale, which includes Illinois natives Megan Bozek (Buffalo Grove) and Hayley Hilliams (Crete), skated away with a 4-1 win over New York. The Boston Beauts and Illinois' Nicole Stock (Buffalo Grove) and Jordan Brickner (Lake Forest) overtook the Beauts 4-1.
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CENTRAL DISTRICT INFORMATION
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ATTENTION GIRLS: USA HOCKEY & CENTRAL DISTRICT 2015-16 IMPORTANT DATES
Please click HERE to view important dates for the 2015-16 Season. For additional information about USA Hockey/Central District Player Development Camps, contact Mary Ann Robinson at 920.758.3063. Players must be born between the years of 1998-2002 to be eligible for camps listed. |
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MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THESE CAN'T MISS EVENTS!
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Do you have an event you would like to share with the Illinois Hockey Community? Contact AHAI Communications Manager, Gretchen Cockey at gretchen@ahai2.org for more information. Check out the "EVENT" tab on ahaienews.com for a complete list of upcoming events.
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BLIND HOCKEY IS COMING TO ILLINOIS IN NOVEMBER!
Come check out an exciting game of Blind Hockey on Saturday, November 14 at 4:30 p.m. at All Seasons Ice Rinks in Naperville. Blind Hockey is the same exhilarating, fast-paced game that gets spectators out of their seats with only one main difference - all of the players are legally blind! The sport features an adapted puck that makes noise, and is both bigger and slower than a traditional puck. READ MORE>>
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HELP JJ O'CONNOR "PAY IT FORWARD" IN OCTOBER
JJ O'Connor broke his neck playing in his first hockey game of the season on October 24, 1995 resulting in him becoming an incomplete quadriplegic; meaning he is paralyzed from the neck down. Since his injury 20 years ago, people from all walks of life have rallied to JJ's side to help him overcome this obstacle. We invite you to bring your family out to this special evening and enjoy the festival atmosphere as we celebrate JJ's inspirational journey and raise some funds so any individual with a disability can participate in life. READ MORE>>
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