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by Adriane Heine
Abington Journal
February 10, 2010
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Junior Knights Hockey Club was developed in 2005 to provide an opportunity for aspiring young athletes to enjoy the sport of ice hockey. Since then, the Knights had several teams for different ages and skill levels, including levels B, A and AA, all Tier 2 levels. The highest level of youth hockey in the United States is level AAA, also known as Tier 1, which has never been available here, until now. Starting in the 2010-2011 season, AAA youth ice hockey will come to Northeastern Pennsylvania.
This is due, in part, to the coaches this area has to offer. Coach Besa Tsintsadze is the Knights' power-skating coach. He is also the personal power skating coach to the National Hockey League's Sergei Gonchar and Evgeni Malkin, both of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Knights are also coached by former professional players Devin Edgerton from Canada and Alex Vasko from Russia.
Previously, the teams competed in the Delaware Valley Hockey League, with about 20 games per season from Delaware to Scranton. The new, AAA teams will compete in more than 40 games per season in the prestigious Atlantic Youth Hockey League. The teams will travel from Maine to Florida. Many young athletes who compete at this level have the opportunity to enter into collegiate hockey programs. The team practices at the Revolution Ice Centre in Pittston. There, they have two NHL-regulation-size rinks for practice and home games. They also utilize a smaller rink, at the Revolution Training Centre in Dunmore, for skills development.
by John McGourty
NHL.com
February 5,2010
Former Phoenix Cardinals running back Tony Jordan is one of the top athletes that Rochester, N.Y., has produced. He was a high-school All-American at East High, went to Kansas State on a full scholarship and earned All-Conference status.
Jordan has met many of the most famous athletes and celebrities in North America, but he's looking forward to this weekend when he'll meet a sports pioneer, Willie O'Ree, who became the first black to play in the National Hockey League when he broke in with the Boston Bruins in 1958.
"I'm excited about this opportunity because it's not too often you get to meet someone who is an important part of sports history," said Jordan, now a manager with the City of Rochester Recreation Department. Jordan's involvement goes far beyond the job. The Tony Jordan Sports Foundation helps the city assist over 4,000 youths participate in organized, non-scholastic, volunteer-led, sports activities.
"The buzz in Rochester is great and the kids at the two schools he'll visit are very excited," Jordan said. "It's Black History Month and Willie is a part of black history. The adults get as excited as the kids and there are adults here that remember him playing in the NHL.
"Willie was here in 2002 and I've heard from people who met him then. They can't stop talking about him because he made such an impact. He's a great people person and he made a great impression. One guy showed me the picture that he had taken with Willie O'Ree and the Bruins playing card that Willie signed."
O'Ree will be in Rochester this weekend as the guest of Genesee Valley Youth Hockey, a volunteer-led program that provides free weekly hockey instruction and equipment to a group of about 80 Rochester children at the Genesee Valley Park Sports Complex Ice Skating Rink. O'Ree will visit two schools on Friday and visit with the Rochester Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
by Matthew Ondesko
Metro Western New York
January 28, 2010
When playing a sport like hockey everybody knows injuries are part of the game. A player can deal with a broken finger or a sprained ankle every once and awhile. But, what players of all ages are having a hard time dealing with is concussions.
Concussions are becoming a big part of the game - especially now that the players are bigger and faster and the equipment is also better.
"The game has evolved," stated former National Hockey League great Mark Messier. "Players are bigger, stronger, faster. Equipment is more sophisticated and the playing area has changed. It is a chain of events over time that has led to where we are today. The evolution of the equipment is the factor."
A recent study on concussions and junior league hockey players show the injury appears to have lingering effect on brain behavior.
More than 759 NHL players have been diagnosed with concussions since 1997.
In the high speed, contact world of hockey, players often take blows to the head that exceed 100 times the force of gravity.
Up to 80 percent of sports-related concussions go unrecognized.
by Mark Hyman
Parent Dish
December 2, 2009
Most kids learn valuable life lessons playing youth sports. Miller Donnelly teaches them.
When he was just 9, Miller, who lives in a small town in Ontario, Canada, wrote a clever three-minute speech about overwrought sports parents and how their behavior squeezes the fun out of youth hockey.
First, he presented it to his school class. Then his uncle wanted to listen, so Miller's dad made a video and posted it on YouTube. One of Canada's top amateur hockey associations picked it up and posted the video to the club Web site. Then, last January, Miller really went big-time: One of Canada's most-watched TV news shows devoted an entire story to the speech.
CBS - October 26, 2009
Austin McCarthy, a 10-year-old from Ludington, Mich., was named "Sports Kid of the Year" on "The Early Show" by Sports Illustrated Kids magazine.
Last season, McCarthy, who plays ice hockey, scored 173 goals, 46 assists, and 35 hat tricks.
As McCarthy continues to rise in youth hockey - he skipped ahead to Pee Wee this season - he has also maintained a commitment to his schoolwork. He received two citizenship awards and the Presidential Physical Fitness Award last school year.
Senior earns the highest academic award for SUNYAC Hockey
March 13, 2008
Senior Chris Koras (Toronto, ONT) has been named the SUNY Chancellor's Award of Excellence winner for Ice Hockey as announced by the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) office earlier this week. The award is given to the All-Conference player that has the highest cumulative grade point average.
Koras was named to the All-SUNYAC team as a second-team selection after finishing the season with six goals and a team-leading 14 assists for 20 points in SUNYAC games. Overall, he finished with 10 goals and 20 assists for 30 points. He helped the Golden Eagles to a 7-15-3 record and led the squad with five power play goals.
The senior center wraps up his career at Brockport with 98 games played and 82 career points on 22 goals and 60 assists.
The senior is a Business Administration major with a minor in Economics.
By Ben Volin
February 13th, 2008
Mike Necela runs a youth hockey league with more than 200 players. Like many other hockey fans, he watched in horror when the Panthers' Richard Zednik skated quickly off the ice Sunday night with blood flowing from the sliced carotid artery.
Necela said the gruesome injury, caused by a teammate's errant skate, made him realize the inadequacy of the equipment requirements for his leagues at the Palm Beach IceZone in suburban Lake Worth.
USA Hockey requires that youths wear helmets with facemasks and mouth guards. Necela plans to talk with other organizers of his league to mandate neck guards.
"It's just something we've got to do," he said. "Whether it's uncomfortable or not is not the issue. It's protection."
Most of the country's recreational and travel hockey leagues follow USA Hockey equipment guidelines. Throat and neck protectors are "recommended" for goaltenders but not even mentioned for other players.
By Sean Golden
January 7th, 2008
LANCASTER - One might think that a seven-month season and a sizeable drive to practices and games might drain a bit of the fun out of playing any sport for a 12-year-old.
Not so, said Jacob Hedley, of Lancaster. "I actually like it when the season's longer, cause it's something to do," Hedley said. Without a rink to call home in Fairfield County, many young hockey players make the trek to play in leagues hosted at ice rinks in Columbus and Newark.
Hedley is a part of the Newark Generals Peewee hockey select team, part of a program run by the Newark Ice Hockey Association. The NIHA runs its activities at the newly renovated Lou & Gib Reese Ice Arena.
The NIHA offers youth hockey leagues for ages 6 to 14 and high school club teams as well as adult hockey leagues, among other programs.
Jeff Hedley, Jacob's father, was part of a group of Lancaster residents who tried to garner the support of the community to build an ice rink in Lancaster last year.
By Ford TurnerBack in 2000, their son, Collin, said, "I want to play hockey."
Seven years later, Collin Bradley is 11 and plays 50 hockey games a season. His parents, who live in Middlesex Twp., volunteer many hours helping Collin's team. Registration fees run $1,200 a season, equipment is extra, and the gas to get the family's SUV to all the out-of-state tournaments costs hundreds of dollars.
They never expected to be hockey parents. Bob Bradley had never even worn skates.But the fun and excitement make up for the stress, time and money.
"He's doing well. Otherwise we wouldn't be going through all this," Bob Bradley said of Collin.
By Kristi Henderson
December 25th, 2007
Dakota Zinn, 11, thinks a skating facility could be just what the city of Lawrence needs
What's a boy to do when he wants to play hockey in Lawrence?
He could go to Overland Park, where Kansas University's ice hockey club plays. Or, if the weather would stay cold enough, long enough, he could play on a frozen pond.
But, if he's like 11-year-old Dakota Zinn, he might try to get an arena built here in town.
Dakota, a sixth-grader at Langston Hughes School, envisions an ice arena where youths and adults could play ice hockey and where KU's hockey team could play. He also would want to offer open skating hours for the community and facilities for parties. And Dakota's adamant on one point: No alcohol allowed. He has seen fans act up at Topeka RoadRunners hockey games and he wouldn't want to see the same at his arena.
"I'd rather be safe than have people there being crazy," Dakota said.
December 27th, 2007
(WTNH) _ As fast as one game finishes, another one is about to begin. the assembly line churns out game action that brings out enthusiasm, and excitement, the competition is fierce and most of the time it's fair, although there have been moments when, the aggression has been a little overboard.
Team Pittsburgh's Coach Raffi Wolf says, "They are all very competitive and they all want to win."
The competition on the ice brings out the athleticism, it teaches teamwork and sportsmanship. Yet, it's the entire experience, traveling, sharing, understanding and learning makes this event worth much more than the thousands, parents spend making this a reality.
With Silver Stick coming, teams see fewer kids joining
By Jim Whymer
December 21st, 2007
Port Huron once was known as a youth hockey hotbed.
In addition to being the home of the prestigious North American Silver Stick International Hockey Tournament, Port Huron had a youth program that was busting at the seams.
"Back when I played, I think there might have been 1,000 to 1,500 kids in the program," said Bill Warren, a former player and coach in the Port Huron Minor Hockey Association. "Those numbers were big from 1980 to the mid-1990s.
"Everybody loved playing hockey. There weren't as any many distractions for kids in those days."
McMorran Pavilion and arena were packed with house and travel teams from morning to night.
But there also was one association in town.
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