IN THIS ISSUE
Volume 4 Issue 20 | February 15, 2017
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TRY HOCKEY FOR FREE!
15 ILLINOIS ASSOCIATIONS/RINKS TO HOST TRY HOCKEY FOR FREE EVENTS ON SATURDAY, FEB. 25
On Saturday, February 25th, USA Hockey and 300 local association across the country will host Try Hockey For Free Day! Participating locations encourage kids, ages 4 to 9, to come try youth hockey as part of Hockey Week Across America. All locations will have limited equipment available for use.

Fifteen (15) Illinois associations, rinks and/or park districts will play host to Try Hockey For Free Day events. Click HERE for the location nearest you! Help grow the game and spread the word about Try Hockey For Free Day! For any questions, please contact the event coordinator listed or USA Hockey at (719) 538­1124 or email comeplayyouthhockey@usahockey.org.


THREE ASSOCIATIONS ARE HOSTING GIRLS ONLY TRY HOCKEY FOR FREE EVENTS!
WOLVERINES
Feb. 17-19
VIPERS HOCKEY
Feb. 25
SABRE GIRLS
Feb. 25
2017 ILLINOIS STATE HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIPS
COMING TO YOUR INBOX ON THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16TH!
AHAI'S Countdown to State special edition newsletter is your complete guide to the 2017 Illinois State Hockey Championships! It includes direct links to all Tier I, Tier II, Girls and High School Brackets, how to order your Tier II "Weekend of Champions" action shots from Photos by Sully, the schedule of High School semi-final and championship games being live-streamed by The Cube and details about Athletico Trainers at our State Tournament games.
AHAI NEWS & INFORMATION
EXPLAINING USAH INSURANCE COVERAGE SERIES
Recently we informed you that by registering as a member of USA Hockey you are automatically enrolled in the USA Hockey insurance program. Your participation and registration with USAH affords you insurance coverage in 5 different areas: Excess Accident, Catastrophic, Liability, Directors & Officers Liability and Crime. In this 5-part series, Central District Risk Manager, Don Allord takes an in depth look at each of the areas of coverage. Part I of our series focuses on Participant Accident (Excess) Coverage.

PART I - PARTICIPANT ACCIDENT (EXCESS) COVERAGE
This coverage is provided for registered members participating on all USA Hockey registered ice hockey teams and registered officials. Covered medical and dental expenses are payable, secondary to any valid and collectible insurance the registered member has in force at the time of the accident. The member must meet a $1,000 out of pocket expense obligation, per accident, before this coverage begins. If the registered member has no valid and collectible insurance in force at the time of the accident, a deductible of $3,500, per accident, will apply. FULL ARTICLE>>
MEN'S & WOMEN'S ADULT
STATE CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT
The AHAI Adult Committee is proud to present the 2017 Adult Illinois State Championship Tournament hosted by the AHAI Adult Committee and Seven Bridges Ice Arena.  The Adult State Tournament will take place April 26 - April 30, 2017.  For more information click HERE or contact Robert Fiorio, Adult State Tournament Director at rfiorio4@yahoo.com. REGISTER NOW>>

HIFE REGISTRATION BEGINS
FEBRUARY 28TH
Registration Day for HIFE will take place on Tuesday, February 28, 2017 at 6:00pm until filled. Please note registration will only be done in person at Oak Lawn Ice Arena - no phone or email registrations will be taken and spots will not be held or reserved. HIFE is an AHAI supported vehicle providing young athletes from socioeconomically diverse backgrounds the opportunity to use ice hockey to promote academic achievement, responsibility, respect, teamwork and good character.  VIEW FLYER>>
2016 IHHF BIO SERIES: MEGAN BOZEK
Megan Bozek was born in Buffalo Grove in 1991; the youngest child and only daughter to Patti and Tom Bozek. She completed a family of 5 with two older brothers, Dan and Stephen.

Megan first ice skated at 21 months during public skate at the Glenview Ice Center (GIC). This quickly became a weekly family habit. Every time her older brothers would have hockey practice or go skating, Megan begged to go with. She became a regular participant in the roller hockey games in their basement. During the summer, if she was not playing baseball or soccer, she had her roller blades on. FULL BIO>>
IHOA NEWS & INFORMATION


ASK THE OFFICIAL
QUESTION: Does play have to stop immediately if a player is body checked through one of the doors (ice resurfacer door) and it is swinging open. Or does play only stop if there is not an immediate scoring opportunity?  ANSWER>>

QUESTION: Delayed offside situation with attacking player in their attacking zone hustling to tag up. Defense has possession of the puck and attempts to pass to a teammate just outside in the neutral zone. Pass hits the intended recipients skate (defending team) and deflects back into the attacking zone before the attacking player tags up. Attacking player gains possession and control. Is he off-sides?  ANSWER>>
2017 IHOA SCHOLARSHIPS
The IHOA scholarships are awarded each spring to student officials who exhibit in school, on the ice and in their community the true spirit of USA Hockey, AHAI and IHOA. This scholarship, awarded to student officials annually, is applicable towards college tuition at an accredited college or university. Please note: applications are due by April 1, 2017. Return applications to IHOA Treasurer, Geoff Schlender at gschlender@mindspring.com.

I AIN'T MISBEHAVING...THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MISCONDUCT & A GAME MISCONDUCT
Have you seen a player or coach receive a Game Misconduct penalty? Do you know what that means? A misconduct penalty means the removal of a player (player only, not a coach) from the game for 10 Minutes. A Game Misconduct penalty means the removal of a player or coach for the remainder of the game and at least one additional game.  Let's talk about a Misconduct penalty first. Misconduct penalties usually come in one of two ways. First, an outright Misconduct (a player abuses an Official) or second, as an added penalty for various Rules infractions also popularly known as a 2 and 10. An example of the latter is a call for boarding, which last season was a 2 minute minor and is now a two minute minor and a Misconduct penalty. READ MORE>>
HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY NEWS
NO. 1-SEED NEW TRIER GREEN WILL BE TOUGH TO TOPPLE
By Ross Forman ~ Poor Glenbrook North.  Oh sure, the Spartans carry a 46-20-2 record, and when they defeated Stevenson 3-0 on Feb. 1 in Northbrook, GBN had won four of its last five games.  But, the powers-that-be handed GBN the dubious No. 4 seeding in the Red Division of the Illinois High School Hockey State Tournament - the seeding that no one wanted.  Without question, No. 4 was the slot everyone wanted to avoid.  Loyola Gold didn't want it.  Providence Catholic didn't want it.  Heck, I'm sure no one in the state wanted it - because the No. 4 seed has to get past the No. 1 seed en route to the United Center.  Defending state champion New Trier Green is the No. 1 seed, obviously. READ MORE>>
2017 HIGH SCHOOL ALL-STATE GAMES
Congratulations to the young men and women named to AHAI's 2017 Boys' and Girls' High School All-State Teams. The 28th annual All-State games were played at The Edge Ice Arena in Bensenville on Monday, February 13. John Raith of New Trier Green and Caitlin Schneider of Glenbrook were named the recipients of the 2nd Annual  Terry J. Stasica MVP Award.

Miss the game? Click HERE to watch the Girls' All-State Game and click HERE to watch the Boys' All-State Game on AHAI's Cube. Click HERE to view full-size photos courtesy of Photos by Sully. A huge thank you to our sponsors, Tier 1 Athletic Performance and Howies Hockey Tape for providing prize packages worth over $1000 to our All-State MVPs!
SCHOLASTIC HOCKEY LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL GAMES SET; ALL LEAGUE SELECTIONS ANNOUNCED
The Scholastic Hockey League Semi-Final Games are set: (1) New Trier Green will take on (4) New Trier Blue in one best of 3 series. While (2) Loyola Gold will play (3) Glenbrook North. Click HERE for game times and broadcast times on the Cube. The SHL is also pleased to announce the 2017 All League Selections. VIEW LIST>>
METRO GIRLS LEAGUE UPDATE
By Pam Flores ~ With only a few games left in the regular season, all the girls teams are competing hard for a Metro League playoff spot. Loyola has jumped to the top of the leader board in the Scholastic Cup Division, as the only undefeated team. The Ramblers are currently 7-0-1. Glenbrook High School is in second, followed by New Trier Gold. In the Founders Cup Division, Lake Forest High School is on top. The Scouts of have won all seven of their first games. Barrington is in second place, followed by Warren. Read the full article for more news on the Girls' All-State game and Lake Forest High School's Senior Night. READ MORE>>
CENTRAL STATES 2016-2017 CHAMPIONS
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2016-17 CSDHL CHAMPIONS & ACADEMIC SCHOLARS

Click HERE to view a list of the 2016 CSDHL Academic Award Recipients
Northwest Chargers
Squirt Major
Affton
Pee Wee Minor
Chicago Hawks
Pee Wee Major
Chesterfield Falcons
Bantam Minor
Highland Park Falcons
Bantam Major
Affton
Midget Minor 15s
Chicago Blues
Midget Minor 
Sabre Hockey
Midget Major

**Photos courtesy of Photos by Sully**
NIHL NEWS & INFORMATION
NIHL UNBEATENS AS OF FEBRUARY 13TH
By Ruben Medina  ~ Well the Regular Season ended this past weekend and checking the standings we can see that the final number of NIHL Unbeaten teams is EIGHT! That's 8 out of 340 teams in the league, or just 2%. Only two teams in the entire league were unbeaten and un-tied:  Glenview Girls 10U  and  Komets 1!   FULL ARTICLE WITH LIST>>  

Congratulations to the 22 teams awarded NIHL's prestigious Presidents Cup Award for the 2016-2017 season!

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS NEWS & INFORMATION
2017 ILLINOIS STATE HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Chicago Blackhawks will host the 2017 Illinois State High School Hockey Championships, presented by Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana Chevy Dealers, at the United Center on  Friday, March 17. Tickets for the event, which features three contests, are on sale now. For the seventh consecutive year, the Boys' State Championship tilt will be broadcast in high-definition on Comcast SportsNet Chicago. COMPLETE DETAILS>>

ILLINOIS H.S. STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE 
3:30 p.m. - Girls' Division 
7:00 p.m. - Boys' Red Division (Broadcast on March 19 at 4:00 p.m., on Comcast Sports Net)
9:15 p.m. - Boys' Combined Division

LITTLE BLACKHAWKS
The Chicago Blackhawks are excited to announce the launch of the  Little Blackhawks Learn to Play program  this spring! Learning to play hockey is more than just learning a game. More than skating, passing and stick-handling, hockey is about responsibility, respect and teamwork. As children learn the skills needed to succeed on the ice, they also build and solidify important character traits needed to succeed off the ice. With that in mind, the Learn to Play initiative was developed jointly by the National Hockey League and the NHL Players' Association to offer more families a chance to experience everything that makes youth hockey so rewarding. MORE INFORMATION>>
PLAYERS, LEADERS & CLUBS IN THE NEWS
COMMUNITY SERVICES CARRIES SPECIAL MEANING, MOTIVATION FOR NW CHARGERS U18 CENTER THORSBERG
By Ross Forman ~ For Christian Thorsberg, the road to a state championship with his Northwest Chargers midget U18 team runs right through ... Thoreau, New Mexico.  Thors, as the 17-year-old Chicago resident is known, is a senior at Northside College Prep. He is looking at numerous colleges for next fall - from Princeton, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, Northwestern and Cornell to Vanderbilt, Rice, Boston University, Georgia Tech, University of Michigan, and even the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, among others.  He shoots left-handed and centers a line with wings Jarred Van Hauter, a senior at Elk Grove; and Anthony Heisler, a senior at St. Patrick's. READ MORE>>
YELLOWJACKETS MOURN LOSS OF MASON WASZ
By Mike Wooley ~ The Yellowjackets hockey community is deeply saddened by the passing of Mason Wasz, who lost his life to a sudden and tragic illness. His parents, Melissa and Michael Wasz have been fixtures in the hockey community for years both with the Chicago Wolves and at our own Crystal Ice House. As a Learn-to-Skate instructor, Melissa has been an integral part of introducing so many players to the game of hockey. Mike has been a head coach for one of the Junior Jacket teams, helping to develop young players. Because of their involvement, there are few lives at our rink that their family did not touch. READ MORE>>
U18s SECURE 2017 U18 FIVE NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP; U17s PLACE SECOND AT 2017 U17 FIVE NATIONS TOURNAMENT
The U18s, which included Illinois' Tyler Inamoto (Barrington) and Sean Dhooghe (Aurora) captured the 2017 Under-18 Five National Tournament Championship, while the U17s, which included Illinois' Jake Pivonka (Woodridge) earned second place at the 2017 Under-17 Five Nations Tournament. READ MORE>>

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