This is a great time of year. Teams and fans are excited to put it all on the line in the 2020 Illinois State Hockey Championships. The energy is palpable, and the stakes are high. This is what everyone has been preparing for all season long!

That excitement is what makes this time of year so fun. Each of us has a duty to keep it that way…. FUN!

The players do not need to feel any added pressure, the looser they are the better they play. Everyone needs to remember that the other team is not our enemy they are our opponent. Fans, cheer hard for your team. They are our children, our classmates and our friends. Hockey is a game for life. It is likely that you will compete against each other for years and when you get to the adult league you will find that those same opponents are now your teammates.

Our Countdown to State Newsletter is coming to your email inbox on Friday, February 14th!

Please click HERE to view the 2020 Illinois High School State Championships Central Illinois Division bracket and schedule.

In conjunction with the Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois (AHAI), the Chicago Blackhawks will host the 2020 Illinois State High School Hockey Championships, presented by Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana Chevy Dealers, at the United Center on Saturday, March 21.

 

The event will feature a full evening of action with the Illinois Girls’ State Championship (3:00 p.m.), the Boys’ Red Division State Championship (6:00 p.m.) and the Boys’ Combined Division State Championship (8:00 p.m.). The first 10,00 fans in attendance will receive a Bluetooth speaker, also presented by Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana Chevy Dealers.  

For the past 30 years, AHAI has been conducting a High School All-State game for the boys and girls varsity divisions statewide. This year will mark the 31st year of this very special event. The 2020 Boys and Girls High School All-State games will be played on Monday, February 10, 2020 at the Edge Ice Arena in Bensenville, Illinois. The Girls game will start at 6:40 pm and the Boys game will begin at 8:35 pm.

Anthony Arnoni, a four-year varsity player for co-op Leyden, is a left-handed shooting defenseman who is excited, to put it mildly, for the home stretch of his senior season. “It is very hard to pinpoint one single (hockey) memory, but I would definitely say that the state hockey tournaments have been my favorite,” he said.

Nick La Valle is in his 15th season coaching, his first at the high school level.

The 50-year-old La Valle, who lives in Des Plaines and is a cyber security engineer for Discover, leads co-op Maine. He previously has coached at Niles, Team Illinois, Glenview and multiple tournament teams. He began coaching girls’ hockey teams in 2010.

The Warren Blue Devils want to skate alongside the elite teams in Illinois. More so, Warren wants to be an elite-level team – and this season has been a great stride in that direction. Warren is among a 4-team tie for first-place in the 12-team Champions League of the North-Central Division. The Blue Devils are 15-6-1 and their 31 points are the same as Lake Forest, PREP and New Trier Blue. New Trier White (14-6-2) is inches away from the top spot with 30 points.

Danny Sullivan - Glenbrook South

Danny Sullivan is a junior, left-handed shooting defenseman for Glenbrook South, an aggressive defenseman who admittedly loves winning puck battles in the Titans’ defensive end, leading to the breakout.

“I always have jumped into the corner for battles because I think battling for the puck is a lot of fun and one of the reasons I’ve played hockey for so long,” said Sullivan, 16, who lives in Glenview and skated for the Titans’ JV team last season too.

By Brian Meek - Illinois West held its annual Varsity All Star Game on January 21st at Willowbrook Ice Arena. The game was spirited and high scoring and all spectators were well entertained throughout. After 60 full minutes of play, the away team, Team Mrofcza, scored on the fourth shootout goal for a thrilling 16 – 15 win over Team Dombro. Will Misicko was named player of the game for Team Dombro while Sam Ruffolo was named player of the game for Team Mrofcza. Goalie Rhett Bergevin from Team Mrofcza was selected Goalie of the Game. Thanks to all the players, coaches, officials and fans who helped make this a very fun event. Click the button below to read the full January update which includes final regular season standings for 2019-2020.

By Christopher Waters - The North Central Conference has been around since 2012 and in these eight seasons, none have been as competitive as this season.

Many of the regular season races went down to the last weekend and tiebreakers had to be used to determine the champion. Click button below to find out who came out on top in all North Central Conference divisions.