Volume 12 Issue 5 | May 2024

2024 AHAI ANNUAL MEETING

Attention Affiliate Club and League Leadership: 2024 AHAI Annual Meeting Reminder

The AHAI Annual Meeting will be held on Saturday, June 1st at the Westin Itasca. The meeting is designed for ALL Club and Park District Board Members and Administrators. The format includes an opening Town Hall style forum followed by breakout sessions covering a variety of topics that you, the membership, wanted to hear more about.

As part of the Annual Meeting, votes on new or updated by-laws will be taken as well as a slate of candidates for AHAI Board positions will be voted on by the membership.

After the final breakout sessions, we will host a social for those wanting to stay and enjoy some social time with AHAI Board and your peers.

TIER II SUBSTITUTE CHOICE INFORMATION

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Tier II Substitute Choice Application Process for 2024-25 Season

The Tier II substitute choice application process, 10U through 16U/18U will begin on June 15, 2024. All applications will be submitted online. The deadline for applying for a substitute choice and the appeal hearing dates will be announced soon. Check AHAI.org for the most updated information or contact Gregg Chudacoff, AHAI Tier II Chairman, at gregg.chudacoff@ahai2.org.

GIRLS TIER II TRYOUT INFORMATION

2024-2025 HOCKEY SEASON

GIRLS TIER II NATIONAL BOUND AGE LEVELS

BE IN THE KNOW BEFORE YOU GO TO TRYOUTS

A reference tool for Parents, Players, Coaches, and Tier II Girls Organizations

This article is a quick guide for the Tier II Girls Hockey Community.

The article has been designed to give you a look into the early tryouts for the National Bound age levels (14u, 16u, 19u).

TRYOUTS WILL BE JUNE 15 – 22, 2024

Know the rules:

AHAI Rules & Regulations -- Article 17 is the location that specifically talks about Girls Hockey in Illinois.

The rules to familiarize yourself with are:

17.8 – Intent of Girls Tier II Hockey
17.9 – Affiliate Organization Playing Restriction
17.10 – Girls Tier II Playing Season
17.11 – Girls Tier II Early Tryouts
17.15 – Tampering
17.16 – Coach(es) Movement
17.17 – Player Movement

AHAI Rules & Regulations

Too often we have heard parents say they didn’t know. The Article 17 Sections above will give you the knowledge needed to help your player make the best decision for herself.

REVIEW THESE RULES AFTER JUNE 1^ST AS SOME HAVE BEEN AMENDED.

Key points to keep in mind:

All Girls’ Organizations must notify the AHAI Girls’ Chair of their intent to hold early tryouts for the National Bound age levels.
All Girls’ Organizations will only be allowed to select 1 team at each National Age Bound Level during the early tryouts June 15-22, 2024 (A Girls’ Organization may have the potential for an additional team at a specific age level. For a potential second team, tryouts may NOT be held NOR may spots be ‘reserved’ for players until the regular tryout period beginning August 15^th).
All Girls Tier II Organizations must adhere to the Coach(es) Movement & Player Movement rules.
It is the responsibility of ALL Girls Tier II Organizations to educate families on Player Movement & Coach(es) Movement Rules & their meanings regarding the player’s options for the season. Coaches and Board Members of their respective Organizations will be held accountable & a violation of the Player Movement Rule will automatically disqualify the team from participation in the 2024-25’ season State Championships Tournament & beyond (Districts & Nationals).
Players who make a team during the early tryouts will be required to sign a player card & are then locked onto said team for the upcoming season.

Here is the list of AHAI Affiliate Girls’ Organizations that will be holding tryouts & for which level:

CHIEFS	14U	16U	19U
GLENVIEW	14U	16U	19U
HAWKS	14U	16U	19U
HOFFMAN		16U
MAMMOTH	14U	16U
SABRES	14U	16U	19U
ST. JUDE	14U		19U
WARHAWKS	14U	16U	19U
WEST DUNDEE	14U	16U	19U

Good luck to ALL GIRLS!!

HAVE A FUN & SAFE SUMMER!

Anita Lichterman AHAI Girls Director 847.414.5737

girls@ahai2.org

GOLF OUTING

AVID GOLFERS — COME ONE COME ALL

The AHAI Annual Golf outing is set for August 9, 2024 at the Schaumburg Golf Club located in Schaumburg, Illinois.

The objective of the annual AHAI Golf Outing is two-fold. First, and most importantly, is to raise funds for our Hearing Impaired Hockey, Diversity Hockey, Youth Sled Hockey, Special Hockey, Blind Hockey, IHOA Memorial Fund and the AHAI Catastrophic Relief Fund. 100% of all funds raised go directly to help support these important groups in our hockey family. The second objective is to have the AHAI hockey community get together in a social environment to have fun, meet new and old friends and is a great way to kick-off the upcoming season.

This AHAI Golf Outing is for Players, Coaches, Administrators, Referees and your friends, parents and non-golfers who just want to have fun.

You can pay later. Youth - $95, Adults $195 which includes 18 holes of golf and dinner after golf.

To show interest and register, simply send an email to Don Allord at travelmore1017@gmail.com.

Please provide the following:

Your Name:___________________________________________

Your Cell Phone Number:_______________________________

Your E-mail Address: ___________________________________

Number or Players in Your Group _______________________

Further information is on the AHAI website at AHAI.org under the Events tab

We are also looking for 4 Corporate Sponsors ($1,000 each) to help sponsor the golf dinner.

AROUND THE RINK

Sound Of Music: York brothers Joe & Ken Gallway are talented on, off the ice

By: Ross Forman

Sophomore brothers Joe and Ken Gallwas – a right-handed shooting defenseman and a left-handed shooting forward, respectively – bring a different skillset to the ice for York High School.

Joe brings a combination of deceptive speed, positioning and physicality. “I rely on my agility and quickness to initiate breakouts from behind the net or to lead rushes up the ice with the puck,” he said. “This element of surprise often catches opponents off guard and creates scoring chances for my team. Additionally, I’m not afraid to assert my physicality on the ice, whether it’s delivering hits to the opposing team’s offense or battling for possession along the boards.”

Ken’s style of play is defined by his ability along the boards and his ability to create scoring opportunities for teammates. “I thrive in grinding for the puck while using my agility and quickness to evade defenders and maintain possession,” he said. “My slippery and quick movements make me difficult to contain, and I can dodge hits and maneuver through traffic with ease. I love feeding the slot with passes, setting up teammates for scoring chances in high-traffic areas.”

Both were state champions this past season as their York JV Team skated past Evanston for the title. READ MORE<<<

Following A Family Tradition, Goalie Cecilia Wielenberg Also Plays The Violin

By: Ross Forman

When not stopping slapshots for Team Illinois or co-op Naper Valley High School, Cecilia Wielenberg is a bit more laid back, simply delivering soothing violin sounds.

Wielenberg, 15, a Downers Grove resident and freshman at Downers Grove North High School, plays violin in her school’s orchestra, following the musical path set by her mom and great grandmother who also played the instrument – and she plays on her great grandmother’s violin.

“Violin helps me on the ice because it teaches me discipline and attention to detail,” said Wielenberg, who formerly skated for the Naperville Sabres and has earned many hockey honors, including All-State accolades this past season.

She will play in the fall for Team Illinois and the co-op DuPage Grizzles high school club.

“Hockey helps me with violin because it teaches me how to focus on multiple things at once. For example, in hockey, I must focus on the puck and the backdoor pass, while in orchestra I must focus both on the director and the sheet music in front of me.”

USA HOCKEY INFORMATION

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USA Hockey Central District Boys National Camp Invitees

Congratulations to the Illinois' Boys selected for the 2024 National Camp in Amherst, NY in June & July. Good Luck!

Boys' 15 (2009)

Boys' 16 (2008)

Boys' 17 (2007)

Goalie

Lucas Johnson

Forwards

Talen Aling

David Blasiak

Tyler Cooper

Jonathan Cygan

Jacob Lukes

Oliver McKinney

Sullivan Stark

Defense

Kaden Aucoin

Thaddeus McMahon

Anthony Valenti

Forwards

Caden Dabrowski

Brendan Finley

Nathan Hauad

Jack Hextall

Jack Holland

Robin Kuzma

Cody Powels

Defense

Patrick McCormick

James Rieber III

Forwards

Ryan Aaronson

Jacob Eilers

Nicholas Knutson

Mason Minsky

Dylan Moran

Sammy Smith

Defense

Luke Brierley

Holden Carter

COACHING & OFFICIATING INFORMATION

Ask the Official

By Dave Zednik

QUESTION: What is the proper procedure for Officials to follow if a regularly scheduled On-Ice Official either does not show up for a game or becomes incapacitated and cannot finish the game?

ANSWER: Arrangements should be made, whenever possible, to be able to start or continue the game in a reasonable time frame while following the guidelines outlined in the rule.

Rule Reference 501(d).

The first step is to attempt to locate USA Hockey registered officials who are either in the arena, or live close by, that may be able to step in and work the game.

Ideally, identifying two registered officials who can work would allow the game to be played using the two official system. However, the game could be played, or continue,

provided there is one registered official present and both coaches have agreed to play the game under these circumstances.

The alternative is for each coach to agree to appoint a Referee and then appoint one player from each team to serve as linesman.

If an official is injured after the game has started and cannot continue, the game will continue under the same guidelines outlined above or by procedures mandated by the local

governing body of the teams involved. This may include continuing the game with one referee and one linesman.

CENTRAL STATES NEWS

Planning and preparation for the Fall 2024/25 season is underway. Here are some key upcoming dates for the League:

August 11: Scheduling Meeting (location TBA)
September 14: Start of Regular Season
February 1: End of Regular Season
February 6-9: Playoffs

We are pleased to announce that we have officially partnered with Crossbar in a transition away from our current website provider. Crossbar will allow for a more robust and interactive solution at the league level that will be implemented in time for the start of the upcoming 2024/25 season. For more information, please visit crossbar.org, or contact Ricky Starck at ricky.starck@crossbar.org

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