Volume 10 Issue 12 | December 2022

Happy Holidays! I hope you take the time to enjoy your family and friends, and maybe a little break from hockey. Believe it or not the season will be over before you know it. Enjoy every minute, they are priceless times, especially for the parents. 

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Festivus for the rest of us. Have a happy and healthy New Year.

Kevin Bolger

President

Non-Sanctioned Play

Over the past few seasons, many non-USAH organizations have operated outside of any USAH or AHAI Affiliate guidelines. There are also certain states where their high school programs operate under the High School Federation banner and not USAH. These high school programs are not USAH-sanctioned.

In Illinois, many of the AHAI Affiliates Organizations operate non-USAH teams, teams under a perceived separate program, mostly at the 8U level.

While it is possible for players to play on both sanctioned and non-sanctioned teams, the challenge is becoming that sanctioned USAH teams are playing non-sanctioned teams without knowing the other team is not sanctioned. The result of sanctioned teams playing non-sanctioned teams concerns governance and liability.

Governance means oversight of assuring a set of core values are adopted to guide the Affiliate Organization: safety, sportsmanship, respect for the individual, integrity, pursuit of excellence in the sport, enjoyment, and teamwork. AHAI cannot assure these values are in place when AHA-registered teams play non-sanctioned teams.

There are no USAH game reports for non-sanctioned events. In fact, most of the time Affiliate teams find out they have played a non-sanctioned team because officials or AHAI- sanctioned team coaches or managers try and file a report only to learn that USAH/ AHAI has no jurisdiction.

In simple terms, if a player or coach from a non-sanctioned team injures a player on a sanctioned team, there can be no penalty or additional discipline imposed by USAH or AHAI.

Injury to participants during non-sanctioned games have the potential to not be covered by the USAH member insurance. USA Hockey Insurance policies do not apply to non-USA- sanctioned games. That means that the accidental coverage of $50,00 and catastrophic coverage up to $2 million for an injured player or coach do not cover these games.

Furthermore, if you are sued for an accidental injury, USA Hockey's insurance policy to cover you up to $1 million per occurrence will not be in effect and you will be defending the case on your own. 

Teams or AHAI Affiliates Organizations scheduling games against teams they never heard of or do not show up in any rankings should confirm if the team is sanctioned by requesting a copy of their Official USA Hockey Certified Roster.

Some tournaments are non-sanctioned events, with non-sanctioned teams participating. Many spring and summer tournaments fall under this category. We advise teams to request the USA Hockey Tournament Sanction number or contact the AHAI Registrar to determine if an event is sanctioned. This will enable teams and parents to know the liability issues before they participate in a non-sanctioned event.

From the USA Hockey non-Sanctioned play policy:

For a game to be sanctioned by USA Hockey, all players, coaches and officials in the game (“Individual Participants”) must be members of USA Hockey and the USA Hockey Affiliate with jurisdiction over their respective geographic area(s).

Participating teams must also be members of the applicable USA Hockey Affiliate.

https://cdn3.sportngin.com/attachments/document/0040/0707/usah-guidelines-non-sactioned-play.pdf

If you have questions about the status of a team or event contact John Dunne executive.director@ahai2.org or Laura Johnson registrar@ahai2.org.

Weapons in Hockey

By Jack Weinberg, Chairman - AHAI HS and Suspension & Review Committee

Throughout the years, coaches, players, and parents have been preached to by the hockey governing powers about the danger surrounding the use of weapons on the ice in the game of hockey. We speak often about the skate blades on their feet and the stick in their hands and how using them for anything other than skating and puck handling is dangerous at least, and sometimes even lethal.

We also talk about the safety of the opposing players and the equally dangerous practice of illegal hits and checks from behind. These things are obvious to everyone and the risk of physical injury is evident.

We have had a surge that rivals the flu and Covid epidemic that is just as dangerous, but not always as obvious. It is the use of words as weapons. The increase in racial, religious, intellectual, ethnic, and sexual orientation slurs is destroying the fabric of youth sports. It leaves scars just as deep as the physical wounds and they cannot be treated with bandages or paid for with money. The harm is life-altering and, in some cases, lethal.

USA Hockey and AHAI, along with all the major youth NGOs, are keenly aware and taking steps to eradicate it from all sports. We need each of you, no matter if you’re a player, fan, or anyone in between, to hold yourself and everyone around you accountable. In this holiday season of family and loved ones, think of how we might help our young and impressionable athletes become the caring responsible people we pray for.

America's Showcase

By Greg Mrofcza, Maine Township HS, Illinois Boys Showcase Team General Manager

The America's Showcase will take place in St. Louis on April 19-24, 2023 and is dedicated ONLY to those male players playing high school hockey.

The timing of the Showcase allows all NCAA and ACHA coaches to attend as the event occurs just after their season. If it occurred during their season they would not be able to attend the Showcase, or focus on new players. This is also the same reason we Showcase our male high school players in Minnesota before their season begins with AAA and NAHL teams to obtain the coaches (they are there anyway) BEFORE their season begins.

America's Showcase is the best of the best of our high school players. This spring's Showcase will feature only Juniors and Seniors in HS. All tryouts and practices will occur AFTER the season is completed, allowing the maximum eligible players to attend. Invited players will attend 3 tryouts to be selected for the final team going to St. Louis. The coaching staff will have exclusive selection choice.

Watch for the January edition of the Girls' SnapShot for additional information on our Illinois Girls Showcase team. The Girls' invite to register for tryouts and the tryout/practice schedule is posted on the AHAI website. For more information visit the AHAI America's Showcase webpage here.

Hello….it’s the season and time to begin thinking about the State Tournament.

Registration is open and those players that are double rostered at the National Bound age level (14u, 16u, 19u) MUST declare by December 31^st which team they will participate with in the State Tournament. This applies to both Tier I and Tier II female players. If your chosen team is knocked out, you may NOT then join the other team. This declaration does not apply if your other team is a high school team.

Declarations must be sent to Tom Hansen, Central District Registrar, tjhansen25@yahoo.com, Laura Johnson, AHAI Registrar, registrar@ahai2.org, and Anita Lichterman, Girls Director/Chair, girls@ahai2.org. If a written declaration is not made by the deadline, the Central District Registrar shall have the final authority to certify the eligibility of such player based solely on the effective date of the earlier certified team roster.

Please be sure to check out the Girls’ page of the AHAI website for educational information and the calendar of events that contains links with registration information on America’s Showcase, Central District Tryout Camp, etc.

https://www.ahai.org/page/show/256698-girls

Hoping all our hockey families have a very blessed Holiday Season!!

AHAI Girls Committee

Anita Lichterman

847.414.5737

girls@ahai2.org

the confidence (of) my coaches to allow me opportunities to display my skills,” said Just, 18, who lives in Northbrook and is in his third varsity season.

“I try to do whatever it takes for my team to be successful. My biggest attributes are my hockey intelligence and my creativity with the puck. I am a versatile playmaker who (takes) pride in my passing ability (and I) also can finish. I strive to elevate the play of my teammates through my work ethic and selfless leadership."

READ MORE>>>

SHL Network Delivers Professional Broadcasts, Showcasing Illinois High School Hockey To Worldwide Audience

By Ross Forman

Loyola Gold was handling host Glenbrook North on November 2^nd when the teams battled for the second time in a 5-day stretch, as the Ramblers built a 5-2 lead after two periods.

The Spartans, though, never waved the white flag:

It went to 5-3 when Michael Dimoff scored, assisted by Owen Just at 11:04 of the third period. Then 5-4 when Dimoff tallied again, assisted by Jacob Smith at 2:27. And it was tied, 5-5, with :16 left in regulation-time when Aidan Siegel scored, assisted by Just.

Two overtime periods could not land a victor. That led to the shootout round – and a goal by Ryan Sandler proved to be the game-winning goal for the green and gold Spartans.

GBN celebrated.

Loyola wondered, what just happened?!

Hockey fans overall rejoiced, a classic moment in Illinois high school hockey history had been seen – on the Scholastic Hockey League (SHL) Network, a trailblazing multi-media outlet with a home on YouTube.

“The players and the quality of the hockey is the reason why The SHL Network has worked. Add in the rivalries and the competitive nature of the league, with everyone beating everyone (this season), fans get to see intense, quality hockey on almost every broadcast,” said GBN head coach Evan Poulakidas, who also is the SHL commissioner. “From the first telecast (years ago) to (the latest) broadcast, it is like night and day; it’s like comparing today’s 4K televisions to black-and-white televisions (of year’s past). READ MORE<<<

The Central States Developmental Hockey League (www.csdhl.org) is off to a strong start for the 2022/23 season with 26 top hockey organizations representing Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Colorado and Nebraska. These elite teams compete at various birth years in our Major, Minor and Prospects divisions. The Prospects division, now in season two, has been a huge success as our combined birth year offering and has welcomed new organizations this year. We look for this division to continue to strengthen in the coming seasons.

As in previous years, we have partnered with the NAPHL (www.naphl.com) to provide weekend showcase opportunities for our U14, U16 and U18 players and a chance to compete against teams from other areas across the country. We also welcomed our new partner, GameSheet Inc. (gamesheetinc.com) to be the league's digital scoresheet provider and this has streamlined scoresheets, standings and overall reporting.

We look forward to watching our teams compete in the second half of the season and we will see you all at the playoffs!

Hockey For The Holidays

The Balancing Act Between Tradition And Tournaments Is Never Easy For Hockey Families

By: Jim Leitner, USA Hockey Magazine

John Manzi found an off-beat way to ring in the new year in 2019 with his buddies on the Syracuse (N.Y.) Nationals 14 & Under travel team.

During a break from playing in a holiday tournament in Ottawa, the Nationals gathered in their hotel for an ugly sweater contest. They stayed awake until the clock struck midnight, tooted their noisemakers, laughed and created memories that will last a lifetime.

“What made it so much fun was we had such a great group of guys all the way around,” said Manzi, now 18 and a center for the New Jersey-based Protec Jr. Ducks.

“Being with the guys is what brought it all together, and we had such a great time. It’s probably one of my favorite hockey memories.”

The extended breaks from school during five key winter holidays – Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day and Presidents’ Day – create opportunities for youth hockey travel programs to compete in large-scale tournaments and create their own special memories. But it comes at a cost: missing quality time with their immediate families back home.

READ MORE>>>

The 2022-2023 Chicago Blackhawks High School Rivalry Series continues in January with games featuring Fenwick vs Romans (Girls) on January 8^th, Maine vs Waubonsie on January 13^th, Chicago North vs Highland Park on January 28^th, and Stevenson vs St. Viator on January 29th!

To see the full Rivalry Series schedule head over to www.blackhawks.com/HSRivalrySeries.

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