Volume 2 Issue 3

DISTRICT NEWSLETTER Tier I CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND

The Mid-Am District saw a number of champions crowned the weekend of March 7-10, 2019. The District Tier I tournament was held in Strongsville, Ohio with 24 teams competing for a chance to advance to the USA Hockey national tournament in their age classifications. The Girls and Women’s districts were also held in the Cleveland area at Gilmour where they crowned winners at 14U,16U and at 19U. This weekend also saw many of our state championships taking place. The Western Pennsylvania state tournament took place in Pittsburgh at the Ice Castle Arena. The Ohio 14U was held at Winterhurst and the Indiana 14U was held at Hamilton Arena in Columbus, Indiana. As you can image our staff of volunteers were very busy throughout the District this weekend.

Tier I 18U Champions Congratulations to Esmark Stars

Three of the four games were decided via shootout or overtime

STRONGSVILLE, Ohio — There’s one thing for certain, the 18U Esmark Stars didn’t take the easy route while capturing the USA Hockey Mid-American District Tournament title and advancing to the Chipotle-USA Hockey Tier I 18U National Championships April 3-8 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Each of the Stars’ four contests during the district tournament were decided by a one-goal margin and three of the four were decided by either a shootout or overtime.

Esmark clinched the championship on a game-winning goal scored by Gregory Ferri with 15:46 on the clock in overtime against Culver Academy.

“They never quit, and we had all types of scenarios,” said Esmark coach Dave Kosick. “We won our first game in the last two minutes of regulation, our second game we won in a shootout and our third game in overtime and then this game. I am proud of my guys.”

Kosick noted that this resilient attitude has been a part of the team’s character throughout the 2018-19 season

“They never quit … ever, all season long. Their record shows this and this wasn’t a fluke. We’re a competitive team going to nationals and we plan to make a statement there.”

Taking advantage of a power play opportunity early in the opening period of play in the championship match, Anton Kozitskiy netted a puck less than four minutes into contest.

Raman Yerameichyk and Lane Ruffner assisted on the power-play goal.

“Big power-play goal early in the game that gives us a chance,” assessed Kosick.

Culver mounted a ferocious effort in the second period, resulting in a game-tying goal with just over four minutes remaining in the period.

“Culver threw everything and the kitchen sink at us in the second period and tied it up and I thought the third period was a good, even hockey game,” Kosick said. “If you’re a fan, you got your money’s worth.”

Heading into the final period of regulation, Kosick had a level of confidence in his team, stating, “Going into the third period we knew Culver threw their best at us in the second period. They really came at us hard. I felt very confident we had weathered a storm. We worked all season long and it was winner-take-all.”

Neither team could settle the contest in the final period, and it was on to overtime for the second game in a row for Esmark.

Four minutes and 14 seconds later, the puck was in the Culver net.

“You see the notion of get a puck to the net. The game-winning goal wasn’t a thing of beauty. It was getting a puck to the net and it goes off a skate and goes into the net,” Kosick said.

Goaltender Parker Rey stopped an impressive 40 of 41 shots faced in the championship game.

“[Rey] played awesome. His numbers speak for themselves. He gave us a chance to win. He saw the puck and managed the flow in front,” Kosick said.

“You work all season long for this. You practice together, you sweat together, you bleed together, you cry together, and you try to create an opportunity. The hockey gods showed up today and smiled upon us,” said Kosick.

Story courtesy of Red Line Editorial, Inc. Jim Smith

Tier I Champions Congratulations To 16U Pens Elite

Tier I Champions Congratulations To 15U Pens Elite

Tier I Champions Congratulations To 14U Pens Elite

______

ROGER SHARRER “GROW HOCKEY” AWARD

Attention All Programs:

The 2019 application and program information for the Roger Sharrer award is NOW available on the Mid-Am web site! www.midamhockey.com

Application is due by Friday, April 26th.

Tier II CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND

Tier II Western Pa 18U Champion Congratulation Armstrong Arrows

Tier II Western Pa 16U Champion Congratulation Pittsburgh Icemen

Tier II Western Pa 14U Champion Congratulation Mt Lebanon Hornets

Tier II Indiana 14U Champion Congratulation Indy Junior Fuel

Tier II Ohio 14U Champion Congratulation Team Ohio

Newark Generals Win Buckeye Cup

Girls & Women’s Tier I CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND Tier I 19U CHAMPION CONGRATULATION CULVER

Tier I 16U CHAMPION CONGRATULATION PENS ELITE

Tier I 14U CHAMPION CONGRATULATION PENS ELITE

Such is the case for the Elite Girls 14U Tier I team that will once again be heading to the Chipotle-USA Hockey National Championships in Irvine, Calif. April 4-8 after defeating the Cleveland Lady Barons 3-0 in the USA Hockey Mid-American District Tournament final.

“I think we’ve been there every year I’ve been with them and that’s been five or six years and they may have been going before then,” said elated Penguins Elite coach Kate Binnie.

Special teams play was critical in the outcome for the Penguins after they went four-for-four in penalty killing, scored a power play goal and netted another goal one second after a power play had expired.

“Special teams were there today for sure,” Binnie said. “The kills were big. I leaned heavily on a few of our players; Jaidan Fahrny, Cornelia Nicholson and a couple other girls just stepped up. Laney Potter had a couple of nice big kills and our goaltender, Ava [McNaughton], was great.

“On the power play we got our chances. That was a hard-working goal and we wound up popping in a rebound and I think that broke things open for us. We settled down and played our game in the third period.”

Momentum seemed to switch from the Penguins to the Lady Barons midway through the opening period, but Binnie believed her team had some initial opportunities.

“We were out-skating them in the beginning, but we weren’t getting our chances, missing the net and things like that. We sort of went into a lull in the second period and they had a couple of power plays and had the momentum.”

Despite that second period lull, Pittsburgh’s Bella Vasseur tallied the Penguins’ first goal of the game with 4:03 remaining in the frame, one second after a Barons minor penalty had expired.

Dylan Green earned an assist on the Vasseur effort. While the teams headed to the locker room for the second intermission, Binnie believed her team had a chance to prepare for a strong finish.

“I think our girls really refocused. I challenged them to get three goals for me and I think they got two for me in that third period. That was the game I wanted them to play from the start.”

Pittsburgh’s initial goal of the third period was a power play wrist shot from the right faceoff circle off the stick of Cecelia Messner and the second goal of the period was offered by Fahrny less than two minutes later.

Cecelia DesLauriers and Hannah Fetterolf were credited with assists on the special team’s goal, while Alexis Jones and Katherine Khramstov earned helpers on the Fahrny goal.

McNaughton stopped all 25 shots she faced on her way to earning the shut-out victory.

“She was great,” said Binnie. “She didn’t get tested early, but when she did, she shut them down. She’s really good and she is going to square up every time. She has been really solid for us all year.”

As the team prepares to head to Irvine, for their shot at a national championship, Binnie is ready for her squad to make an impression at the event.

“Offensively we have some kids that can shoot the puck. Vasseur, Khramstov, and Fahrny have a lot of scoring potential. We have a couple of really young kids that have turned it up for us. Top to bottom I am happy with the lineup and I think we will do well in California.”

Story courtesy of Red Line Editorial Inc.

QUICK STORY! This young man (Daniel) came up to me about a year ago wanting to do a goalie session. Shortly after told me he probably wasn’t going to play hockey the next season because he didn’t think he’d make the team. He and I sat down, looked at his options and he decided to keep training and go all or nothing. He’d text me every week, “can we do a session?” Daniel pushed himself as far and as hard as he could go every time, he stepped into Styner Sports Training. Not only did he make the team, he took over the starting position, and got the most improved team award. And to top it all off, went undefeated in the State Tournament and is now a proud 3A STATE CHAMPION!!! You are an inspiration sir! Thank you for not giving up on yourself!! I can’t wait to get back to work, with you this summer!!

Girls & Women’s Tier II CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND

Tier II 19U CHAMPIONS CONGRATULATION ARMSTRONG ARROWS

Tier II 16U CHAMPIONS CONGRATULATION STEEL CITY SELECT

Tier II 14U CHAMPIONS CONGRATULATION STEEL CITY SELECT

NHL and NHLPA establish Female Hockey Advisory Committee

The past 13 months have brought great momentum for women's hockey in America. Last February, the United States defeated Canada in an epic Olympic final to capture the Americans' first Olympic gold in two decades. In January, became the first woman to participate in the NHL All-Star Weekend skills competition. As a replacement for NHL star Nathan MacKinnon in the fastest skater competition, Coyne Schofield said it was a moment she knew would "break a lot of barriers. "The NHL is trying to keep that momentum going.

The NHL and NHLPA made a joint announcement Friday -- on International Women's Day -- that they would be launching a Female Hockey Advisory Committee, which is "dedicated to accelerating the growth of female hockey in North America while also ensuring more women and girls have the opportunity to experience the benefits that hockey offers."

The 11 women on the inaugural committee are Michele Amidon, Annie Camins, Maria Dennis, Mandi Duhamel, Lyndsey Fry, Angela James, Tarasai Karega, Kelsey Koelzer, AJ Mleczko Griswold, Caroline Popilchak and Kristen Wright.

According to an NHL spokesperson, the whole point of the committee is to get strong voices across hockey -- from all parties, in the U.S. and Canada, in the NWHL and the CWHL -- together to hash out ideas. They are expected to meet regularly.

Dennis, who is the NHLPA director of player health and safety and associate counsel, is serving as the committee chairperson.

There's a blend of perspective in the group, ranging from the 54-year-old James, one of the first superstars in women's hockey, to 23-year-old Koelzer, a current NWHL player who is the first African-American drafted No. 1 overall in any North American professional hockey league. Fry, who also has begun working with the Arizona Coyotes this season, is the first person from Arizona -- male or female -- to play in the Olympics. Last spring, Mleczko became the first woman to work as an in-booth analyst in an NHL postseason game for NBC.

Dennis says the goal of the group "is to ultimately help grow the game, and we are looking forward to working together on this meaningful endeavor." James, who was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2010, called it "a great opportunity for women on both sides of the border to come together in an effort to keep women's hockey on an upward trend."

Last July, the IIHF shared that there are now nearly 200,000 women playing hockey across the world -- up from 170,000 (a 17.6 percent increase) in 2010. It's especially noticeable in the U.S. USA Hockey's membership statistics suggest a hugely growing demand. In 2017-18, the growth of women's registration for USA hockey was nearly 6.5 times greater than the growth in men's registrations. There were 79,355 registered hockey players in the U.S. 2017-18, which is more than 3,500 from the previous season.

The biggest goal for women's hockey right now is to create one professional sports league -- which would likely include some kind of merger of the CWHL and NWHL -- to pool the resources and talent for something sustainable. It is believed the NHL will eventually get involved with a women's professional league in North America but will not get involved as long as both leagues are in their current iteration because, it does not want to choose sides or swoop in to fix the situation.

From Your BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Congratulations to all of the 2019 champions

Congratulations to Class 1A Champion Bishop Dwenger

Congratulations to Class 2A Champion Riley______

Congratulations to Class 3A Champion Central Indiana Knights

Congratulations to Class 4A Culver Varsity A______