Minnesota Special Hockey

Gopher Women's Hockey Jan 20 - $1

2012-01-08T18:15:00.002-06:00

MN Special Hockey has been given a wonderful opportunity to attend a Gophers Women's Hockey game at Ridder arena for only $1 per person!

Thanks to the generosity of the athletic department, we have been given this special ticket price to come see one of the best women's teams in hockey today! (Ranked #2!)

We will be watching the Gophers battle it out against the Bemidji State Beavers (#6!) at 6:00pm on Friday, January 20th at Ritter Stadium.

Calendar: Gopher Women's Hockey Night | Minnesota Special Hockey

If you can attend, please let your team manager know so s/eh can RSVP (Eagles: John F: jfaughnan@gmail.com)

Two sites for hockey videos and coaching / playing tips

2011-12-16T21:12:00.001-06:00

These are two sites with good video material - free of charge

Hockey Video Tips: HowToHockey.com. I am probably going to buy his Complete Guide to Stickhandling but the videos and tips are free. Most of the material isn't for us, but the basic videos are excellent and brief.
Ice Hockey Tips | HockeyTutorial.com: The "Ice" in the page title is the clue -- this is a site in England (!). Videos are longish, but thorough. Comprehensive coverage.

Dallas tournament - April 13 to 15th 2012 - update

2011-12-14T22:38:00.001-06:00

The annual disabled hockey tournament is in Dallas this year, just a few months from now. It's on our calendar and you can learn about it from two sites:

We are looking for someone willing to take on a leadership role this year. Please let Jane Cashin (jocashin@comcast.net), or John Faughnan (jfaughnan@gmail.com) know if you would be willing to help organize.

We don't know yet if we'll have an 'A' team and one or more 'B' teams, or if we'll play as multi-line teams (Raptors, Stingers, Muskies, etc).

There will be a bus leaving from a local rink and traveling to Dallas - yes, it's a long overnight ride! For example:

Bus leaves from one of the local rinks around 8:00 pm on Wednesday, April 12^th.
Arrive in Dallas around 1:00 – 2:00 on Thursday.
Play games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Bus leaves immediately after the last game on Sunday.
Bus arrives back at the local rink on Monday morning.

We don't yet know the budget and financing. We might just help cover most of the bus costs or we might have additional funds to defray expenses.

Please do let Jane or John know if you think you could lead this little project!

Hockey Cheat Sheet

2011-11-23T08:23:00.000-06:00

Hockey Cheat Sheet - Neat reference on tips for hockey players. It would be great to see an adapted version of this.

If anyone does an adapted version, let me know!

2012 Dallas USA Disabled Hockey festival April 2012

2011-11-23T07:57:00.000-06:00

More news about the 2012 Dallas USA Disabled Hockey festival:

2011 USA Hockey Disabled Festival

The 8th annual USA Hockey National Disabled Festival will take place April 13-15, 2012 in the Dallas, Texas area. The Festival encompasses all 4 disciplines of disabled hockey which includes deaf/hard of hearing hockey, special hockey, sled hockey and standing/amputee hockey. Download the Disabled Festival Invitation and Application Form now!

This year the Adult Sled Hockey National Championship will again be a part of the Festival. Please make sure to read through the links below which contain additional information needed to register & qualify for the Adult Sled National Championship.

2012 Sled Nationals Rules

Adult Roster & Ranking Form

Player Waiver & Addition Form

Mark your calendar now as this is the largest gathering of disabled hockey athletes anywhere in the world.

Invitation: http://www.usahockey.com/uploadedFiles/USAHockey/Menu_Players/Menu_Disabled/Menu_Disabled_Festival/2012USADISABLEDHOCKEYFESTIVALINVITATION.pdf

Application:

http://www.usahockey.com/uploadedFiles/USAHockey/Menu_Players/Menu_Disabled/Menu_Disabled_Festival/2012USAHDisabledFestivalApplication.pdf

Team Manager tips

2011-11-14T22:54:00.001-06:00

On request, I put together a summary of team manager sorts of things I've done: Minnesota Special Hockey - Team Manager tips.

I didn't mention posting into this blog, because this is a cross-team/org news site. I used to put Eagles news here, but now that's on our Facebook page.

Please send me other manager ideas/best practices and I'll expand on the page.

The 2011-2012 season begins Nov 13

2011-11-01T20:57:00.001-05:00

The Calendar | Minnesota Special Hockey calendar has practice times and games online. The first practice is scheduled for Nov 13.

Remember everyone needs helmets with face guards to be on the ice.

This old fitting guide reference may be helpful, and here's a checklist I wrote up a few years ago.

Disabled Coaches Clinic: Oct 30, Coon Rapids Ice center

2011-10-19T22:27:00.001-05:00

From: Jane Cashin<jocashin@comcast.net>
Date: Wed, Oct 19, 2011 at 8:18 PM
Subject: Coaches clinic

All coaches and volunteers are highly encouraged to attend the Disabled Coaches Clinic.

Anyone that is on the ice with the players should consider attending this event.

When: Sunday, October 30th, 8:30 am until 3:00 pm
Location: Coon Rapids Ice Center

Each participant will walk away with a coaching certification card and a lot more information on disabled hockey.

Please let Joe Kelly know if you will be attending this event: joe@mnspecialhockey.org

Questions? Contact Joe or Bill Thielbar (hackeybirch@aol.com)

A preliminary agenda:

* Intro/Welcome
* State of Disabled Hockey: Stats on growth, awareness, what has evolved over the last 5-10 years
* USA Hockey/ADM overview
* Skating
* Puck Control & Passing
* Disability Awareness
* CPR
* Strength and Conditioning
* Teambuilding Exercise
* On Ice Session
Station 1 Skating Skills
Station 2 Puck Control
Station 3 Passing Skills
Station 4 Shooting Skills
Station 5 Small Area Games
* Wrap up

Facebook page for the Eagles (Eagles specific notice)

2011-10-06T21:33:00.001-05:00

Based on team interest I've created a FB "Page" for MNSH Eagles. The page is visible to anyone, but only Facebook members who "like" the Page can add to it. Please note: These kinds of FB "Page" are always public. Unlike a personal FB wall you can't restrict who sees what you post or comment on. FB comments are not anonymous, they include names and will show up in Google searches.

Note that there's also a (public) Facebook Page for Minnesota Special Hockey; you can see updates to that page on the right side of this blog.

I've had good results with using a FB page with my baseball team. Many people find it easier to track Facebook updates than email or posts to blogs like this one.

General MNSH news will continue to be posted here, but I'll link to it from the Eagles' Page. Eagles specific news and discussions will only be on the Eagles FB page. So if you follow the Eagles FB page you will see it all.

Eagles email won't be changing. The things I emailed before will still go out by email, but they will also show up on the FB Page. You can ignore the FB page if you like.

I hope members of the Eagles family will also use this Page to connect and share non-hockey information of interest to our community.

Season Kickoff meeting Sunday October 16

2011-10-04T21:55:00.001-05:00

Our season kickoff is coming October 16. Please see the flyer for details.

Here are some highlights.

Meeting 1:30-2:00pm (board members, coaches, etc)
Skate 2:15-3:45
Mariucci arena

This year we require skates, helmet and GLOVES.

No sticks or pucks (alas!).

Hockey equipment distribution Sunday Oct 9 at Xcel energy center

2011-10-01T12:17:00.001-05:00

I'm late spotting this, but there will be a free hockey equipment distribution Sunday Oct 9 at Xcel energy center from 9am to noon. I don't know if there's any special arrangement for MNSH players.

If you have equipment to donate you can drop it off at arenas and some retail stores (see below). Sounds like this has been a good dropoff season! I don't know if these donations are tax deductible.

Hockey Equipment Drive update | Minnesota Hockey
... An enormous success already, the 2011 Used Hockey Equipment Drive is reaching its final days, leading up to the distribution of equipment on Sunday, Oct. 9, at the Xcel Energy Center. From 9 a.m. to noon inside Gate 1, equipment will be available – first come, first served – for all individuals, families, teams and associations who are in need of hockey equipment.
Equipment donations will also continue to be accepted until Tuesday, Oct. 4, throughout the Twin Cities at select arenas and hockey shops.
A partnership between Let’s Play Hockey, the Minnesota Wild and Minnesota Hockey, the 2011 Used Hockey Equipment Drive has netted loads of new and used youth and adult hockey gear. Boxes of equipment were overflowing at Westwood Sports in Apple Valley and Chanhassen, and at arenas in Eden Prairie, Plymouth, Blaine and New Hope, resulting in the need to call in equipment drive sponsor Berger Transfer to pick up all the donated gear.
In addition, the Augsburg College women’s hockey program donated nearly a dozen sets of goalie pads and other equipment. “We couldn’t be more pleased with the response of the hockey community to the equipment drive for the third straight year,” Let’s Play Hockey publisher Doug Johnson said. “The need is so great today, and we’re hopeful that this drive will help kids stay in hockey or begin to play for the first time.”
Berger Transfer has placed drop-off boxes at the following arenas: Burnsville, Woodbury, Super Rink (Blaine), Eden Prairie, Plymouth, Lakeville, Bloomington, Eagan, Highland (St. Paul), St. Thomas (Mendota Heights), Stillwater, Cottage Grove, Maple Grove, Apple Valley, White Bear Lake, Braemar (Edina), Buffalo, North St. Paul, Tartan (Oakdale) and Minnetonka. Westwood Sports (Bloomington, Chanhassen and Apple Valley) and Boehm’s (Mendota Heights and St. Paul) are also drop-off locations...

I've added this event to the Eagles calendar (only one I can edit).

New teams: Alexandria and Burnsville

2011-09-24T17:18:00.001-05:00

Yay!

Minnesota Special Hockey
...We are adding 2 new teams! Alexandria is home to the Muskies and Burnsville will be home to the Rams.
If you are interested in registering for the program please contact President Jane Cashin at jane@mnspecialhockey.org or call 612-581-4483....

MN Special Hockey Registration is now open!

2011-09-16T13:42:00.002-05:00

Minnesota Special Hockey Registration is now open!

For more about MNSH please see our web site or visit our Facebook Page. We have players of all ages, sizes and genders. We have players with all ranges of cognitive disabilities, from ADHD and Aspergers through the autism spectrum to players with limited language ability. We have players who sit in chairs, players who can't skate (many learn!), and players who have played mainstream hockey competitively. We have players who always loved hockey, and players who followed their siblings.

There's help available for low income players. The time demands are limited -- typically 2 hours a week of game/practice. There are no volunteer commitments required.

Players:

Please follow the instructions on our website to complete the registration: http://www.mnspecialhockey.org/page/show/224315-2010-2011-registration-instructions

If you are unable to print your forms during registration, they can be found at: http://www.mnspecialhockey.org/page/show/348704-forms

Coaches and Volunteers over 18 years old:

Follow the instruction at the link above under the Coaches and Volunteers Registration.

Must register with USA Hockey (free for volunteers) if not already registered with another organization.
Then go to the MN Hockey link to complete a background check form. * Enter "Special" for Hockey Association name. * Enter "0" for MH District.
Then email your USA Hockey Confirmation number to Jane Cashin at jocashin@comcast.net

Minnesota Hockey Recreational League for some MNSH players

2011-09-14T21:52:00.001-05:00

The MN Hockey Rec League may be of interest to some younger MNSH players. It's a non-checking co-ed league with two age brackets.

I'm planning to try my son Tim F this year in addition to his MNSH participation. Coaches Bill Thielbar and Tom Illg from MNSH have also coached in the Rec league. It's not an adaptive league, but it is open to players of varying abilities.

The Rec League site provides some details:

12 combined games/practices from Dec - Mid March
The cost of the 2011-12 Rec League season will be $290.
There will be two age classifications: 15U and 12U. Both age classification will be co-ed and no-check.
There will be one(1) game per week, almost always on a Saturday or Sunday (never on Sunday mornings). There will also be a handful of practices and/or 90-minute game sessions. For 90 minute game sessions, the first 20-25 minutes will be a shared practice for both
Pre Season Skills Clinic
Target one event per week typically on Saturday
90 minute ice slots
Two referees in the upper age groups
All games played at Twin Cities area arenas
Centralized location in your Metro area (SW, NE, NW, SE)
Team Jersey to keep
Sign up as an individual or a team
Both leagues are no-checking and co-ed
Year End Celebration

Registration is through MN Hockey, it concludes in mid-October.

The official web site is pretty poorly organized, but I did find a phone number: "if you have questions about the MN Hockey Recreation League, contact Mike Snee at 651-602-5727.". I think this league is better at hockey than at web pages!

The 2011-2012 Season is starting - Open Skate Oct 16, Fund raising

2011-09-05T23:23:00.001-05:00

The 2012 season is starting, and events are being added to the official MNSH calendar. The list includes an event this week and a few in weeks to come. As in past seasons news will be posted here; Facebook members should be sure to "like" the Minnesota Special Hockey Facebook page.

First up is the Hendrickson Foundation Inaugural Fundraiser Friday 9/9 in Lakeville:

Minnesota Disabled Hockey has a great new opportunity for our organization to help raise funds for all our programs. The Hendrickson family (Darby Hendrickson and his father Larry) have formed a foundation with the primary purpose being to support Minnesota Disabled Hockey. They will be hosting their first fundraising event on Friday, September 9 .
It is a golf tournament at Crystal Lake Golf Club in Lakeville, MN.The Hendrickson Foundation has asked us to help support the tournament by passing on the attached flyer to any friends and family who would be interested in playing in the event. In addition, if you have any contacts who would be interested in sponsoring the event or providing silent auction items please share the attached sponsor letter with them.
Please contact Suzy Lindeberg, MN Special Hockey Board Member, if you have any questions regarding the event at slindeberg@comcast.net. Please help to support the Hendrickson Family Foundation raise funds for Minnesota Disabled Hockey. This is a huge new opportunity for our programs! Thank you.

On September 30th we will have Disabled Hockey Night at the Wild game -- a fun time and a way to raise money for Special Hockey by selling programs. There will be skating between periods.

The season really starts with an Open Skate at Mariucci arena on October 16th. We should also be getting registration information in the next 2-3 weeks.

More information to come as we get closer to the Wild game ...

Free skills and drills with U12 Ice Cougars Girls AAA August 13th

2011-08-08T23:04:00.001-05:00

Via FB:

The U12 Ice Cougars... (1): "The U12 Ice Cougars Girls AAA hockey team has invited us to join them for a scrimmage/skills drills/open hockey skate this Sat. August 13 from 9:45 - 11:15 am at Breck Ice Arena in Golden Valley. They will also be providing pizza immediately following the ice time. This is a free, fun, skate. They are opening it up to 15-20 skaters. We will take the first 20 that RSVP to Susie Miller at mnspecialhockey@gmail.com."

The Section 108 Golf tournament is coming Saturday Aug 27 - please volunteer and/or play

2011-07-28T19:05:00.003-05:00

It's that time of year again! Time for MNSH's biggest and best fundraiser from our friends in Section 108 ...

Section 108 Golf Tournament - Home
... Please Join us as we raise money for an exciting charity. This is a wonderful cause and a "hole" lot of fun. Special appearances by some of your favorite Minnesota Wild, Lunch, Golf, Live Auction and Much More. Golfers of every level are welcome to share in the fun. This BEST BALL tournament is an excellent way to get out, raise money and have a great time helping Minnesota Special Hockey...

The tournament is Saturday Aug 27th. This year it's at the Highland National Golf course in Saint Paul (easy to get too).

If you register to play by 7/31 you get a free polo shirt

Jane Cashin writes ...

Has everyone heard about the Section 108 Golf Tournament? It is a great opportunity to volunteer, golf or donate prizes!
If you are interested in volunteering: contact Susie Miller at mnspecialhockey@gmail.com.
If you are interested in golfing: go to http://www.section108golf.com/register-online.html. Invite your friends too!
If you have prizes to donate: contact Jane Cashin at jocashin@comcast.net.

This is the big one. It's a blast to volunteer at. We'd be there -- but we'll be on our big family road trip ...

Hockey approaches: July and August events, RSVP for Edinborough park 7/22

2011-07-11T22:25:00.001-05:00

The 2011-2012 season is almost upon us. The July Minnesota Special Hockey calendar shows 3 big events. The biggest event of all is coming in August, we'll get it on the calendar ASAP.

Here's the summary followed by details on how to participate and volunteer

July

7/19: Minnesota Hockey Benefit Golf Tournament in Bunker Hills (this benefits all hockey in MN)
7/22: MNSH Summer Celebration at Edinborough Park (see prior post)
7/29; Wayzata Community BBQ fundraiser

August

8/27: Section 108 benefit for MN Special Hockey (http://www.section108golf.com/) - more on this next month

Details and volunteer requests for July

Minnesota Hockey Benefit Tuesday Tues 7/19 - 2-3 volunteers wanted

http://www.minnesotahockey.org/news_article/show/95578?referrer_id=80470

MN Hockey has been good to us. Susie Miller and Jane Cashin are asking for volunteers to help out ...

As a player of MN Special Hockey we hope you have an AMAZING experience on and off the ice. We feel we are a successful program, we have had a lot of success because we receive a lot of support from the State of Minnesota Hockey Community. As we were getting started we hit a lot of brick walls, however everyone time we hit a brick wall, someone from the "State of Minnesota Hockey Community" came through and knocked it down. It might have been an individual who stepped up to coach a team, it might have been a business who donated money, it might have been an organization that let us buy and even donated ice. Without the support we have received we quite honestly would probably not exist today. Periodically we ask for support from all of YOU. They like to see the skaters that are playing hockey, they want to know that they are giving to a great program that has great benefits. People who give us money prefer to see you, our players, at their events not one of us!...
.. We will be looking for a couple volunteers for the MN Hockey Annual Golf Tournament .... We might need just a couple people to help out and show our support for Minnesota Hockey. If you are interested, please contact Jane Cashin at jocashin@comcast.net.

Summer Celebration at Edinborough Park (7700 York Ave. S., Edina) Friday 7/22 from 6-8pm

Spend a night with your family and special hockey friends at Edinborough Park in Edina for just $5 per person. Cost includes Pizza, Beverages and park admission. Party is from 6-8pm.

Check in the main office to obtain your wristband for youth 12 months to 12 years old.

Please RSVP by Wednesday, July 20th to Jane Cashin (jocashin@comcast.net or 612-581-4483) with the number attending

Wayzata Fundraiser Friday 7/29 - skater volunteers wanted

Click this link for a flyer for a MN Special Hockey BBQthat one of our dedicated volunteers from the Section 108 Golf Tournament is putting on for our benefit through Keller Williams.

If you are able to help with this event, please contact Tom Schuneman at thomas.schuneman@michaelfoods.com We would like to see 3-4 skaters there to say THANK YOU!

11:30am - 1:30pm
Keller Williams
Realty Front Parking Lot
215 Walker Avenue S
Wayzata, MN 55391

Summer news: July 22 Edinborough party, skates, candy, coach for south metro

2011-05-29T17:26:00.001-05:00

Susie writes with some exciting summer news ...

Mark your calendars, we are planning our summer get together for Friday July 22nd. Spend a night with your family and special hockey friends at
Edinborough Park in Edina for just $5 per person. Cost includes Pizza, Beverages and Dessert. Party is from 6-8pm.
We are trying to coordinate some "meet and skates" throughout the metro. Watch our website and your email for specific times and locations.
Candy! Thank you all who helped out selling candy bars. We have 55 boxes out being sold. If all are sold that is $2750. YEAH! Many sold a box or two.
Biza, Rebekah, and Tyler are all over 6 boxes each. Truly AMAZING! If you still have money to turn in please mail it to: Cindy Coughlin, 7417 Kellogg
Ave. S., Edina, MN 55435. Please do not mail cash, if it is cash please call Susie at 612-325-3392 or Jane at 612-581-4483 and we will meet you to
collect the money.
Lastly, HELP! With all of our metro teams growing we are looking to add a team in the south metro (burnsville/bloomington/richfield). We need a coach
and a team coordinator (to help recruit players). If you or someone you know is interested in the please contact Susie to start the process.
THANK YOU for everything! Still glowing from the success of last year and looking forward to more success in the future.
THANK YOU!

Minnesota Special Hockey Albums: 2006 to 2011 including Alexandria Tourney and 2011 Disabled Hockey Festival

2011-04-03T22:34:00.001-05:00

This post includes links to the albums that are currently available online, starting with the 2006 Spring pre-season skates.

2011 Disabled Hockey Festival April 1-3, 2011 - @280 pictures, Eagles, Wild and teams we played from Opening Ceremonies through Sunday.
2011 MNSH Alexandria Tourney
2010-2011 Eastern Eagles season album
2010-2011 Eastern Eagles team photos
2008-2009 Stingers
2007-2008 Stingers
2006-2007 Stingers
2006 Minnesota Special and Sled Hockey: In spring 2006 there was one team and we practiced with sled hockey at Richfield Arena

How to download a full sized version of a photo

You can download a full sized version of any photo. Simply view the photo, then click the download menu item as shown below. If you install the free Windows or Mac (Intel Only) Picasa software you can download an entire album at once.

Fundraising - sell chocolate bars

2011-03-17T21:21:00.001-05:00

Susie Miller writes ...

Besides giving us free ice time (see regularly updated tournament post) the Anoka Area HOckey Association has given us 55 boxes of 50 candy bars which are sold for $1 each.
We will retain all proceeds; it's 100% profit with the ability to make $2750 for our program. We are hoping people would be willing to help sell the candy bars at ...
1. This weekend is the youth hockey state tournaments. There are tournaments all over the metro area. If you are able to spare a couple hours at any
point over the weekend visiting one of the rinks it would be a great way to make money for the program, PLUS market the program to other MN Hockey players.
2. Take a box to see at work, to family, at a local business, anywhere you feel you could.
If you think you could help with this please contact Susie Miller at mnspecialhockey@gmail.com or call 612-325-3392. I will be happy to deliver
or meet somewhere to deliver the boxes. Please, please, please help if you can.

USA Disabled Hockey Festival 2011 Summary Updated 3/18/11

2011-03-15T23:26:00.001-05:00

This USA Disabled Hockey Festival post will be updated as we head towards the festival. During that time dated material will be removed and new material will be added. Click links for more information.

Minnesota Teams

MNSH rules require us to field an "A team". We have two - the Wild and the North Stars. The Wild draw from the Polars, Eagles and The Raptors, the North Stars draw from Polars, Stinger and Wildcat.

The remaining Stingers and Eagles will play as separate teams in the 'B' division.

The remaining Polars will play in the 'C' division and the remaining Wildcats and Raptors are combining to make another team in the 'C' division.

Apparel Order and MN Wild game option

Minnesota WILD game offer: March 31st, 2011 Minnesota WILD ticket have special offer to all USA Disabled Hockey Festival participants. The Minnesota Wild is offering tickets to the game against the Oilers on Thursday, March 31st. All festival participants, families and friends who may be arriving on that Thursday can take advantage of this offer, that will also help to support the 7th Annual event. Just click on the link, www.wild.com/usa, to choose your tickets and enjoy the State of Hockey in what has been described as the best arena in the country.

Clothing and Festival gear will be sold on site (pre-orders have closed).

Game Events

Game Schedule: Games start Friday around 11:20am and end Sunday pm.

Social Event invitation - Friday April 1

Team Photographer with Stanley Cup and raffle

A schedule for team photos with the Stanley Cup will be ready the week before the event. We will hold a 50/50 raffle along with prizes for all those at the Super Rink that weekend.

Festival Transportation We will be offering accessible transportation between the hotels in Bloomington and Roseville and the Super Rink. The schedule is as follows:

FRIDAY, APRIL 1 & SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 2011

BUS	LOCATION
8:00 AM	Bloomington
8:30 AM	Roseville
9:00 AM	Blaine
10:00 AM	Bloomington
10:30 AM	Roseville
11:00 AM	Blaine
2:00 PM	Bloomington
2:30 PM	Roseville
3:00 PM	Blaine
4:00 PM	Bloomington
4:30 PM	Roseville
5:00 PM	Blaine

Return
9:00 PM	Depart Blaine
Drop at Roseville
Drop at Bloomington

SUNDAY, APRIL 3, 2011

BUS	LOCATION
7:00 AM	Bloomington
7:30 AM	Roseville
8:00 AM	Blaine
1:00 PM	Depart Blaine
Drop at Roseville
Drop at Bloomington

Disabled Hockey Event: Social RSVP, Buddy Teams, Apparel, Volunteers

2011-03-10T23:48:00.001-06:00

Lots of news from Jane Cashin on the national event ..

Order USA Disabled Festival apparel -There will be a very limited amount of apparel for sale at the festival… you must pre-order it at this website!

and

Invitation to Social Event Friday April 1 -7:30-9:30
All USA Disabled Festival Teams are invited to a social event after the Opening Ceremonies at the Schwan’s Super Rink on Friday night, April 1.
6:45 – 7:00 – Players and coaches seated in VIP/reserved area 7:00 – 7:20 – Opening Ceremonies 7:30 – 9:30 – Opening Ceremonies Social Event
Once the Opening Ceremonies are concluded the event floor will be open to all attendees.
The Social Event Includes: Food and beverages – hotdogs, chips, powerade and more! DJ and dance floor! Time for pin trading and getting to know players from other teams!
RSVP: In order to accommodate all of the teams in the VIP/reserved seating area, an RSVP is required by Sunday, March 27th.
Special VIP passes will be handed out to each team, all you need to do is respond with a number!
Please respond to Jane Cashin at jocashin@comcast.net with the number of coaches and players that will be representing their team.

and

Seeking local hockey teams as "buddy teams"
Buddy Teams are needed all three days of the event. Your group can sign up for one or more of the following times to volunteer to be a Buddy Team. Please select from the times below.
Friday April 1: 9:00 to 12:00, 12:00 to 3:00, 3:00 to 6:00
Saturday, April 2: 9:00 to 12:00, 12:00 to 3:00, 3:00 to 6:00
Sunday, April 3: 9:00 to 12:00, 12:00 to 3:00
Please email Suzy Lindeberg at slindeberg@comcast.net with a contact name for the group, email address for the group contact person, day/time you would like to volunteer and an estimated number of people you will be bringing with you.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - see attachment and read on -

We got a few volunteers to sign up on Sunday, but we need many more. I have said it before, the success of this tournament depends a lot on its volunteers. Please give some of your time to make this event special for all of the players and families! Please ask your friends and family to volunteer some of their time.

Contact Suzy Lindeberg at slindeberg@comcast.net

Provide the following information:

Volunteer Name:
Email address:
Team associated with (if any):
Day (Friday, Saturday, Sunday):
Time (Morning, Afternoon, Evening):

Schedule

All of the teams will be playing during the day on Friday. It is a great excuse to skip out of work and school! I will forward the schedule when it has been finalized.

Minnesota WILD game offer:

March 31st, 2011 game deal: Minnesota WILD ticket have special offer to all USA Disabled Hockey Festival participants. The Minnesota Wild is offering tickets to the game against the Oilers on Thursday, March 31st. All festival participants, families and friends who may be arriving on that Thursday can take advantage of this offer, that will also help to support the 7th Annual event. Just click on the link, www.wild.com/usa, to choose your tickets and enjoy the State of Hockey in what has been described as the best arena in the country.

Alexandria Tourney - Details and please reply Susie Miller

2011-03-07T21:02:00.001-06:00

This weekend we have an out of town tourney in Alexandria Mar 12-13.We have been making room reservations at the Holiday Inn, I know one family is at the Super 8. Details and directions are below. There's still time to join us!

Alexandria Tourney Questions - please respond to Susie Miller by Tuesday March 8th - mnspecialhockey@gmail.com

1. What team do you play for during the regular season? (Raptors, Eagles, Polars, Stingers, or Wildcats)
2. Susie will be making Door signs. What is your skaters number & name that is desired on the hotel door sign? i.e. #35 Joey
3. Are you staying at the Holiday Inn?
4. Are you interested in going to the Blizzard game? ($10 per person)

Event Summary

http://www.mnspecialhockey.org/event/show/21443349?dy=12&mth=3&yr=2011
March 12-13 Alexandria, MN
Hotel Rooms Reserved at Holiday Inn Alexandra $101.99 + tax 320-763-6577 Block: MN Special Hockey
Questions? Call Susie at: 612-325-3392

Alexandria Schedule:

Game Times: Saturday 1 p.m. & Sunday 11 a.m.
Pizza Party: Saturday 5:30 p.m.
AAA Blizzard Game (optional): Saturday 7 p.m. (http://alexandriablizzard.pointstreaksites.com/view/alexandriablizzard)

Runestone Community Center Arema

802 3rd Ave. West, Alexandria, MN 56308
http://www.arenamaps.com/arenas/1070.htm
http://goo.gl/maps/cftQ (Google maps)

Rink Directions (traveling from MSP)

• Take I-94 exit 103.

• At the stop light turn right onto Highway 29 north.

• Take 29 north through downtown to the stoplight at the intersection of 27/29/Broadway and County 82/3rd Ave. W.

• Take a left onto 82/3rd Ave. W.

• At the next stoplight take a left. RCC will be in view.

Holiday Inn Alexandria

5637 Highway 29 South, Alexandria, MN 56308
(320) 763-6577
wwwhialexandria.com
http://goo.gl/maps/TFTg (Google maps)

Directions from Rink to Holiday Inn

802 3rd Ave W, Alexandria, MN 56308
1. Head east on 3rd Ave W/Co Rd 82 NWtoward Fairgrounds Rd 0.7 mi
2. Turn right at MN-27 W/MN-29 S/Broadway St 2.2 mi
3. Slight left to stay on MN-27 W/MN-29 S 1.2 mi
5637 Minnesota 29, Alexandria, MN 56308
http://goo.gl/maps/Jtse (Google maps)

Feb news: Alexandria tourney, National Disabled Hockey Festival Apr 1-3, End of Season games March 6, Change in board and presidency

2011-02-27T16:39:00.001-06:00

Lots of news this month ...

1. Alexandria Tourney Mar 12-13
2. National Tournament Disabled Hockey Festival Apr 1-3
3. End of Season Celebration March 6th
4. Changing President of MN SH and 11 Who Care

1. Alexandria out of town tourney is on for Mar 12-13! Be sure to book your rooms. Since this is our first tournament, and many have vacation plans already, our teams will be small so we will merge teams together as needed. Next year we plan to schedule our tournament during the season and hope to have a much better turnout.

March 12-13 Alexandria, MN (Calendar entry)
Games: Saturday Afternoon & Sunday Morning.
Hotel Rooms Reserved at Holiday Inn Alexandra $101.99 + tax 320-763-6577 Block: MN Special Hockey
Questions? Call Susie at: 612-325-3392

2. Disabled Hockey Festival April 1-3 – At this point you should all know about the tournament and that we are part of the hosting committee. Each family should plan to volunteer 3-4 hours during this tournament. We will be in touch soon with specific volunteer opportunities. This tournament will be staffed 100% by volunteers from various organizations including ours. Remember, the success of every tournament is dependent on its volunteers.

Lastly we all know about the Disabled Hockey Festival April 1-3 (calendar). There's more information on the official site. We are sending 4 teams including many Eagles. We'll have more information closer to the event. Jane Cashin writes:

3. Our end of season games, celebration and team photo will be March 6th.

All families should plan to be at this event from 1:30 – 4:00 p.m. (First game starts at 1:50pm)
Please print out the Picture order form 2011 and be ready to order your pictures that day. Bring cash/checks.

What: End of the year celebration! And, Team Photos
When: Sunday, March 6, 1:30—4:00 p.m.
Where: Fogerty Arena, 9250 Lincoln St., Blaine
Please invite family, friends, and even potential new players! This would be a great opportunity for your friends to watch and see if this is something they would like to do.

Schedule

1:50 ~ Polar/Singers Individual Pictures – off ice, please be ready for pictures with jerseys on
1:50 ~ 2:25 Raptor Vs Wildcats
2:30 ~ 3:00 Total Organization photo and individual team photos on the ice!
3:00 ~ Raptors/Wildcats Individual Pictures – off ice
3:00 ~ 3:30 Polars Vs Merged Team of Players from the other teams
3:30 ~ 4:00 Eagles VS Stingers

4. Board position change over – Last fall, Susie completed her 3 year volunteer position as President/Executive Director of MN Special Hockey (MSH). Not wanting to give up total participation in MSH, Susie reran as a Board Member and will continue an active role with the MSH program. Jane, who has also been volunteering with this program since it started, agreed to take on even more responsibilities and become the new President of MSH.

Note from Susie Miller

As the outgoing President I can honestly say I have never been involved with such an amazing program and such an amazing group of people. Every time I am able to attend the Sunday afternoon games or practices I am thoroughly impressed with the active participation of the players, parents and other volunteers. On the ice, the skill development is so impressive, off the ice, the relationships that are developing are awesome! I have had the pleasure of getting to so know so many players and I LOVE to hear all of the stories of their reasons for playing.

I recently found out I am a recipient of the 11 Who Kare award. Bill Marshal (Becky’s ideaJ) nominated me for this award for founding MN Special Hockey. I am incredibly honored to receive this award, but it is also an award that should be going to all of the other volunteers and quite frankly, the entire program. Everyone here cares about their fellow teammates, coaches, and even opponents. This is what MN Special Hockey is and why I am so proud to be a part of it. For those that had known, I promised I would send out the times.

The show will air this Sunday during the 10 pm extra, Monday at 5:15am and the following Saturday morning between 8-10 am. Thank you again for being such an amazing group to be a part of. I am proud and I hope all of you are too. I am grateful to Jane for her willingness to step forward. We are lucky to have her lead us for the next 3 years!

Note from Jane Cashin –

As the new President I am very happy that Susie is remaining very involved. This program would not be what it is without all the hard work she has done over the years. I am very proud of this program and proud that I have been involved with it since the very beginning. I get emotional when I think about all the wonderful players, parents and volunteers that have made Minnesota Special Hockey the best hockey program in the State of Hockey! Please don’t hesitate to contact me with questions or suggestions.

Minnesota Recreational League - a consideration for some MNSH players

2011-02-13T18:55:00.001-06:00

Some Special Hockey players have played mainstream hockey, including Peewee C. Beyond Peewee level the physical game, and the complexity of play, are often limiting factors.

For some of these players (currently 14 and under), a new league may be a consideration. With one Saturday game and one practice a week it could fit well with MN Special Hockey (emphases mine) ...

League Details | Minnesota Hockey Recreation League | Minnesota Hockey Affiliates | Minnesota Hockey:
The MHRL plans to offer two age divisions for the 2010-11 season. The U11 division is for players age 9 through 11. The U14 division is for players who are 12 through 14 (this is your age as of July 1, [of the season start year]...though younger players may register and play up a level based on ability). Both divisions will be NO-CHECK and are for boys and girls.
COST: $340 for U11 and U14. Cost will include ~25 hours of indoor ice, referee fees, USA/MN Hockey fees, liability/excess medical insurance, game jersey/socks, and player medals. There is NO fundraising requirement.
*Full-time goalies pay only half price for the league fee ($150) plus the USA/MN Hockey Registration fee ($40).
GAME/PRACTICE SCHEDULE: Each team will play about 12 indoor games (typically on Saturday) and 12 shared indoor practices (generally mid-week evenings). There will be an opening season clinic for players and coaches.
TEAM LOCATIONS: The MHRL is planning to have six teams in each division, based on location (see below). Teams will typically practice near their home location. There will be some travel within the metro area to play other teams in the MHRL. Please note the locations are subject to change.
REGISTRATION: Due November 1st ... (registrations will be accepted after this date if space is available...see registration page)."

Registration is expected to be Nov 2011. I don't think my son Ben would go for it, but Tim might.

Hockey Monkey - clearance for good deals

2011-02-07T18:52:00.001-06:00

I've never tried it, but Nick of the Eagles tells me that Hockey Monkey Clearance Outlet is a good source for low cost equipment. Even better is the pre-season equipment donation site we do every year.

National Sports Center for the Disabled - summer and winter recreation in Winter Park, Colorado

2011-02-06T22:52:00.001-06:00

Susie and Mark Lindeberg tell me Colorado's National Sports Center for the Disabled is an amazing resource.

... Founded in 1970, the National Sports Center for the Disabled's mission is to positively impact the lives of people with any physical or mental challenge through quality adaptive recreation programs in over 20 sports. The NSCD’s impact on lives is direct, immediate and visible. Over 23,000 lessons are provided annually...

The NCSD is located in Winter Park Resort, Colorado (map info - route 40 west of Denver). They serve our community and they offer scholarships ...

ADD, Amputation, Arthritis, Autism, Behavioral Health, Bone Disorder, Brain Injury, Cerebral Palsy, Deafness, Developmental Disabilities, Diabetes, Down Syndrome, Epilepsy, Fragile X, Hemophilia, Learning Disabilities, Little People, Multiple Sclerosis, Muscular Disorder, Muscular Dystrophy, Nerve Disorders, Neurological Disorders, Paraplegia, Post-Polio, Quadriplegia, Respiratory Disorder, Spina Bifida, Spinal Cord Injury, Stroke, Substance Abuse, Vision Loss/Blindness...

Of course the winter activities (2010 brochure) are amazing. It's the place I'd take my family for a snowboarding or skiing vacation.

There are summer options too (2010 brochure)...

... NSCD Sports Camps, rafting, kayaking, canoeing, special camps, horse pack trips, therapeutic horseback riding, mountain biking, overnight river trips, fishing, camping, and rock climbing...

Larger groups can make "NCSD Broome House" condo reservations.

There is a specific weekend for kids with autism, and Suzy Lindeberg is working with them to develop a weekend for all kids with developmental disabilities. She tells us ...

... they see kids with developmental disabilities as having physical needs ... they know that our kids need physical and teaching method adaptations so they too can be successful ... I could go on and on about how great the instructors and volunteers were, how much fun our family had and the big smile John had on his face the whole trip but I am sure Mark shared that. This is a great resource that anyone who is looking for outdoor activities for their family should look at...

Definitely a resource worth remembering.

Update: Suzy sent me additional information. I've updated and corrected the post.

End of season events: Celebration, Tourney Mar 12-13, National tournament

2011-02-02T22:48:00.001-06:00

It's a busy end of season for MN SH. Here are a few things to keep track of

Our end of season games and celebration will be March 6th. Trophies will be given to all that day. There will be team pictures and cake.

Flyer: End of season celebration
What: End of the year celebration! And, Team Photos
When: Sunday, March 6,
1:50—4:00 p.m.
Where: Fogerty Arena, 9250 Lincoln St., Blaine
Please invite family, friends, and even potential new players!
This would be a great opportunity for your friends to watch and see if this
is something they would like to do.
http://www.mnspecialhockey.org/event/show/17085776?referrer_id=196809-calendar

Following the Mar 6 games and celebration we have just learned that there will be an out of town tourney in Alexandria Mar 12-13

Flyer: Alexandria Tourney
March 12-13 Alexandria, MN
Games: Saturday Afternoon & Sunday Morning.
Hotel Rooms Reserved at Holiday Inn Alexandra $101.99 + tax 320-763-6577 Block: MN Special Hockey
Questions? Call Susie at: 612-325-3392
http://www.mnspecialhockey.org/event/show/21443349?dy=12&mth=3&yr=2011

Lastly we all know about the Disabled Hockey Festival April 1-3. (See calendar: http://www.mnspecialhockey.org/event/show/18165653?dy=1&mth=4&yr=2011).

The disabled festival needs volunteers, so please ask around for friends and family who might help. Jane Cashin writes:

As a representative of MN Special Hockey, I think all of us need to spend time volunteering for this event. In many typical hockey organizations everyone has volunteer hours that they must fulfill. Please find the time to volunteer for this event. We want to make this special for our players and the other players traveling from all over the country. Thanks,
Jane Cashin
Please ask your friends and family to help support our Disabled Hockey Festival -
The 7th Annual USA Hockey Disabled Festival is being held April 1-3rd, 2011 at the National Sports Center in Blaine, MN. Over 50 teams representing Sled hockey and Special Hockey will be coming from across the country to compete in this three day tournament. To make this event a success we need many volunteers! Volunteers are needed for game announcers, score keeping, rink managing, registration and more. Many times people ask how can I help your program; this is a great opportunity to support Disabled hockey and see some great games in action. Please consider asking your family and friends to volunteer tournament weekend. Many of our local players will be playing in the tournament so this will be their chance to see them play and give to a program that has become an important part of Minnesota Hockey. If you, your friends or family are interested in volunteering and would like more information please contact Volunteer Coordinator Suzy Lindeberg at slindeberg@comcast.net.
(We need many volunteers to announce the players and keep the score of each game! Please help us fill all these volunteer positions!)
Local Hockey Teams and Association volunteers needed
Do you know of a local hockey team looking for a rewarding volunteer opportunity? Minnesota Hockey is excited to announce that the 7th Annual USA Hockey Disabled Festival is being held April 1-3rd, 2011 at the National Sports Center in Blaine, MN. Over 50 teams representing Sled hockey and Special Hockey will be coming from across the country to compete in this three day tournament. We are looking for boys and girls hockey teams/players who would be willing to volunteer to be a “buddy team.” This buddy team would be responsible for providing fan support to the playing teams. We would like buddy teams to be groups of 5- 10 players willing to commit to a 3 hour volunteer period on one or more of the tournament days. We want all of the visiting teams to have plenty of fan support provided by our local hometown teams cheering on the games. If your team would like to put together a group(s) to volunteer as a buddy team, or for the many other volunteer positions, for the Disabled Hockey Festival please contact Volunteer Coordinator Suzy Lindeberg at slindeberg@comcast.net.
Corporate Support
We are looking for corporate support for the Disabled Festival. If you have a contact with a business who may be interested in financially sponsoring the event please contact Tournament Director Toni O'Brien at tonio@dakcom.org.

Disabled hockey tournament - April 1 to 3. You can still join.

2011-01-10T21:59:00.001-06:00

Update 1/15/11: We will have four teams. That means that anyone who would like to join can -- even if you originally said no or didn't respond. Thanks Jane for setting this up!

Please let your team manager know if your or your player will be attending the disabled hockey tournament. Jane Cashin writes ...

The USA Disabled Festival is fast approaching. We need to determine how many teams from MN Special Hockey are going to participate in the tournament. In order to do that, we need an RSVP from ALL of our players.
Please contact your team coach or manager to let them know if you will be participating or not. If you do not reply we will assume that you are NOT participating. This reply is necessary by Wednesday, January 13th.
A bit of information:
Where: Blaine Super Rink (most, if not all, games will be on the main 4 sheets of ice).
Dates: Friday, April 1st – Sunday April 3rd. There will be games during the day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Cost: None, MN Special Hockey is paying the registration fees.
Teams: This depends on the RSVPs, we hope to keep teams together while still trying to create ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ level teams.
Special Event: MN Special Hockey is hosting a social event after the Open Ceremonies at the rink on Friday night for all of the participants. There will be food, beverages, pin trading, and a DJ. This is a great opportunity of make new friends and have fun with your teammates.
Coaches: They have all committed to spending the weekend up in Blaine and are very excited about it!
The group of us that travelled out to Maryland for this festival last April had a blast. It created many memories for us, we talk about it all of the time. The Cashin Family will never miss one of these tournaments again.
Additional information is posted here:
http://www.mnspecialhockey.org/page/show/250640-usa-disabled-festival

Matching donations and Minnesota Special Hockey

2010-12-15T19:58:00.001-06:00

MNSH is a qualifying non-profit for many corporate matching donations.

If you've made a donation to MNSH and would like your employer to match it you may need our official listing:

EIN: 38-3738341
MINNESOTA SPECIAL HOCKEY ASSOCIATION
12809 CROOKED LAKE BLVD
NWCOON RAPIDS, MN 55448-1130

Eagles unofficial team picture will be January 9th, cancellation Dec 12.

2010-12-12T23:05:00.001-06:00

Our Dec 12 practice was canceled due to a tournament delayed by Saturday's storm.

We have a game next Sunday, then a practice Jan 2nd. Since some will be away that day we'll do our unofficial team picture on January 9th (4:35pm).

Meanwhile, Coach Joe is working to schedule a makeup practice in the field house next to the ice arena.

Minnesota Special Hockey - Garment Order due by December 7

2010-12-02T19:54:00.001-06:00

The Minnesota Special Hockey home page has a link midway down to a garment order form (PDF). Complete it and mail it to Jane Cashin per the address on the form.

The hooded sweatshirt is $52. The one I have is a few years old, it was very well made.

Bielenberg Arena scoreboard controller instructions

2010-12-01T21:40:00.000-06:00

These pictures show the Bielenberg Arena scoreboard controller and the instructions for operating it. I took these hastily with my phone camera; I might get better pictures later.

Brave volunteers who help with scoreboard control may want to print these out and review them prior to games. Click on the thumbnail for a full-size image.

Eagles team picture Dec 4 and unofficial picture Dec 12

2010-11-28T17:06:00.002-06:00

Official Picture

The official Eagles Team picture will be taken Saturday December 4th at 8am. Players need to be fully dressed and at the Bielenberg multipurpose facility by 7:45 AM (15 min early). For most players this means arriving there by 7:20AM.

1) Photos will be taken at Beilenberg in the multipurpose again this year.
2) Photos will be taken by Sunshine Photography again this year.
3) Order forms will be ready AFTER the photos are taken.
4) Please have your team there and ready 15 min's prior to the photo time. 5) ALL PLAYERS SHOULD COME DRESSED. We will only have one locker room available for all teams. It gets very crowded and items get lost with four teams useing it at once. We will not have any locker room in the afternoon at all.

Unofficial Picture

We expect some players will be unable to make the official picture. John Faughnan will do unofficial Team and Individual Pictures during practice December 12th. Print orders will be taken and digital versions will be made available for downloading. JF will try to offer sport mugs too. Note John F is an amateur photographer taking pictures in awful arena lighting. The official pictures will be significantly better.

Advice and Tips for the new season

2010-11-17T23:05:00.001-06:00

Practices are starting for many teams, please check your team site for more information (ex: Eagles).

This is a good time to review the MN SH Advice and Tips page. Webmaster Jane has links to material from our old site, including an equipment fitting guide, a pre-practice/game checklist, and a wiki on coaching for special hockey. I've just added a link to some MN Hockey Skills videos to the coaching page.

See you on the ice!

John F

Register now - prefer this weekend!

2010-10-29T23:21:00.002-05:00

The registration deadline is closing in. Please spread the information to your teams that we would really like all registrations in before Monday, Nov. 1^st.

This includes coaches registration. No one will be allowed on the ice without these forms completed.

You all know that you can sign up late… but why wait? I am asking for these to make my life (and Cindy’s) easier. Everything gets a bit busier when the season gets going. Also, we cannot ensure new or replacement jerseys for anyone that signs up late.

Follow the instructions at www.mnspecialhockey.org.

Thanks,

Jane Cashin

So far I have…

13 – Eagles

9 – Polars

8 – Wildcats

16 – Stingers

1 - Raptor

4 – unclaimed, waiting to see if can fill the Stingers roster.

Team calendars are on web site

2010-10-16T18:45:00.000-05:00

The official team calendars are online, including the Eagles calendar.

Although this is a bit geeky, you can subscribe to these calendars in Outlook 2007, Google Calendar, or OS X iCal (but not Apple's MobileMe). I even have this calendar on my iPhonej alongside my other calendars -- but that's tricky to do.

The subscription links are at the bottom right of the page. There is one problem however. The url for iCal style subscription starts with "webcal:". You need to change this to "http:" to add the team calendar to your Google Calendar. (Works as is with OS X iCal however.)

Facebook site is a good source for news and events

2010-10-16T15:42:00.000-05:00

I've mentioned the MN Special Hockey Facebook site before, but it deserves a reminder. It's at http://www.facebook.com/mnspecialhockey.

The page is public, so you don't need to to join Facebook to follow it. There's a public feed too, so if you're a geek like me you can get updates through your feed reader [1] even if you're not a Facebook member. I subscribe to that feed in Google Reader -- it's how I make sure I don't miss notices.

You'll also see a view of page activity on the right side of this news page.

If you're a FB member and you "like" the SH page you will receive updates on your "Wall" and/or by email and/or text message (SMS).

Highly recommended!

[1] Google Reader, Outlook 2007 or 2010, and OS X Mail are all good feed reader solutions. Internet Explorer 8, Safari OSX/Windows or Firefox are also feed readers, but their less ideal solutions. If you have a web phone you can use Google Reader Mobile or iPhone users have the excellent Reeder.app application.

PS. I think we may want to make the FB site our "news page" and retire this page, but I need to discuss that with Susie.

Season kickoff meeting for MN SH

2010-10-16T13:10:00.001-05:00

The season kickoff meeting for MN SH is tomorrow - Sunday Oct 17th from 2-4 pm at Mariucci arena.

I completely missed notification of this, I'll have to find out what happened. Might have been an email filtering malfunction, but it's also not yet on the official calendar.

There's a poster on our FB site. The meeting is 2-2:30, the skate is 2:30-4:00 at Mariucci Arena. Goldy will skate too.

The USA Hockey Disabled Festival blog is live

2010-09-25T14:01:00.000-05:00

The USA Hockey Disabled Festival blog is live! We're all looking forward to April 2011 in Blaine.

I'm going to add a widget for it so you'll see updates on our blog page.

You can subscribe to our calendar

2010-09-14T22:26:00.002-05:00

The MN Special Hockey web site has a calendar that you can subscribe to. That means you can view along with your own calendar on some phones (iPhone, Android) and with some calendar software (OS X iCal, Google Calendar, Outlook 2010).

Just use this Calendar address with the "add calendar" feature of your software:

webcal://www.mnspecialhockey.org/ical_feed?tags=196799

The right side of this news page also shows an agenda view of official calendar. You can click on the icon (+Google Calendar) to add it to your Google Calendar view.

Used equipment drive - Distribution Oct 10 at Xcel Energy Center from 1-4pm

2010-09-13T23:06:00.001-05:00

This is not limited to Special Hockey, but it is open to us. It's also a good way to donate old equipment. I don't know if the donations are tax deductible.

SAINT PAUL/MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The Minnesota Wild, Let’s Play Hockey and Minnesota Hockey today announced a partnership for its second annual used hockey equipment drive. The drive will culminate in a public distribution on Sunday, Oct. 10, at Xcel Energy Center from 1-4 p.m.

Sponsors and partners for the program, in alphabetical order, include Berger Transfer, Boehm’s, FOX Sports North, the Herb Brooks Foundation, Let’s Play Hockey, Minnesota Girls Hockey Coaches Association, Minnesota High School Hockey Coaches Association, Minnesota Hockey, Minnesota Ice Arena Managers Association, Minnesota Wild, Upper Midwest High School Elite Hockey League and Westwood Sports.

Berger Transfer will place drop-off boxes throughout the Twin Cities at select arenas and hockey shops, beginning Friday, Sept. 17, through Wednesday, Oct. 6. On Sunday, Oct. 10, the equipment will be distributed to hockey associations and individuals at Xcel Energy Center from 1-4 p.m. Goalie equipment, as well as sticks and helmets, are in the most need....

... The drop-off locations include the following arenas: Burnsville, Woodbury, Super Rink (Blaine), Eden Prairie, Plymouth, Lakeville, Bloomington, Eagan, Highland (St. Paul), St. Thomas (Mendota Heights), Stillwater, Cottage Grove, Maple Grove, Apple Valley, White Bear Lake, Braemar (Edina), Buffalo, North St. Paul, Tartan (Oakdale) and Minnetonka. Westwood Sports (Bloomington and Apple Valley) and Boehm’s (Mendota Heights and St. Paul) are also drop-off locations.

In addition, Xcel Energy Center will have drop-off boxes stationed on top of the Xcel Energy Center Box Office for the Wild’s pre-season game on Thursday, Sept. 22. Fans bringing in a piece of equipment on Sept. 22 will receive a discount voucher for any Wild 2010-2011 regular season home game. Vouchers must be redeemed in person at the Xcel Energy Center Box Office.

The Upper Midwest High School Elite Hockey League will donate used gear to the drive. Boehm’s hockey shop in St. Paul and Mendota Heights will be offering discounted cleaning coupons.

For more information, please contact Doug Johnson of Let’s Play Hockey at (612) 729-0023.

Open Ice times September 2010

2010-09-13T22:59:00.000-05:00

The times in bold have a commitment from a MN Special Hockey representative (a coach and/or board member)
via Jane Cashin

Bielenberg

http://www.ci.woodbury.mn.us/parks/bsccalia0910.html

Sunday 9/19, 2:30 – 3:50 – Joe Kelly and Mark Lindeberg

Sunday 9/26, 2:30 – 3:50

Schwans

http://www.nscsports.org/facilities/superrink/pdf/sr_open_sched.pdf

Saturday 9/25, 12:30 – 2:40

Sunday 9/26, 5:30 – 7:00

Braemar

http://www.ci.edina.mn.us/PDFs/FallOS.pdf

Saturday 9/18, 1:45 – 3:15

Sunday 9/19, 8:30 – 10:30 am

Sunday 9/19, 2:15 – 3:45

Saturday 9/25, 1:45 – 3:15

Sunday 9/26, 8:30 – 10:30 am

Sunday 9/26, 2:15 – 3:45 – George Holden

Rogers

http://www.ci.rogers.mn.us/rac/OpenSkate/ES_Default.htm

Wednesday 9/15, 6:00 – 7:15

Sunday 9/19, 4:00 – 5:30 – Tom Schuneman

Wednesday 9/22, 6:00 – 7:15

Sunday 9/26, 4:00 – 5:30

Wednesday 9/29, 6:00 – 7:15

Plymouth

http://icecenter.ci.plymouth.mn.us/Open%20Skate/ES_Default.htm

Friday 9/17, 5:15 – 6:45

Friday, 9/24, 7:15 – 8:45

Saturday 9/25, 1:00 – 3:00

Richfield

http://www.cityofrichfield.org/Recreation/Arena/publicskating/ES_Default.htm

Wednesday, 9/15, 6:30 – 8:00 – Sean Slattery (Stingers) will be there! Sam and I might be there too.

Wednesday, 9/22, 6:30 – 8:00

Wednesday, 9/29, 6:30 – 8:00

Registration for the 2010 - 2011 Season is open

2010-09-09T18:18:00.000-05:00

2010 - 2011 Registration is now open. There's a new team in the New Hope area -- the Raptors

...The Raptors are a new team this year, their home ice is in New Hope. Please consider becoming part of this team, they are looking for new and existing special hockey players.

Oct 31 is a first registration deadline. Players registering after Oct 31 can't join a team with full roster, but we expect the Raptors will have room throughout the season.

Volunteers are also welcome to register now!

Minnesota Special Hockey: new web site operational

2010-09-09T18:15:00.000-05:00

The new Minnesota Special Hockey site is now fully open. Jane Cashin is maintaining the site as well as coaching the Stingers (go Jane!). Jane is also managing the domain mnspecialhockey.org.

We're planning to make this blog a part of the site, we're still finishing up that process.

Calvin Rogers of the Eagles died Aug 30, 2010, funeral services September 8

2010-09-02T22:41:00.000-05:00

Calvin played for the Eagles.

Toni O'Brien:

It is with great sadness that I write to you all to let you know that Calvin R., a player with the Minnesota Special Hockey Eagles team, passed away peacefully on Monday evening. Calvin had continued to struggle with his health this summer and in the end had made the decision to end treatments. he was surrounded by family and friends when he decided to leave us.

As soon as I get any more information regarding services I will pass that on to you all. Calvin really loved hockey and especially all of the new friends he made over the past 4 years. Thank you to everyone for all that you do and please keep his family in your prayers this week.

Laura Porras, Program Coordinator, Carmen Lane

I am very saddened to inform you that Calvin Rogers, who lived at Carmen Lane, passed away on Monday, August 30th. He was surrounded by loved ones. Calvin had an incredible spirit and exemplified kindness, humor and perserverence throughout his life. He will be greatly missed by many.

Funeral services for Calvin will be held on Wednesday, September 8th at the Washburn McReavy Funeral Home at 1600 Lowry Avenue North, Minneapolis. His wake will be from 11am-Noon on Wednesday and the funeral will begin at 12pm. Burial will immediately follow at Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery.

New web site coming

2010-08-27T11:45:00.000-05:00

MN Special Hockey is transitioning to a new web site provider.

During the transition period the web site and this news site may be transiently unavailable. I'll publish an update after the changes have been made.

Saints Game August 15, 2010

2010-07-31T19:26:00.000-05:00

Join us on Sunday, August 15, 2010 as we watch our St. Paul Saints take on the Lincoln Salt Dogs. Game time is 1:05pm.

Please RSVP to Joe Kelly if you would like to attend with the number of tickets you will need. Cost for this event will be $8 per person.

We have 50 tickets reserved so it’s first come first served. Hope to see you all there!

For further questions, please contact Joe Kelly at jkelly@schererbros.com or by cell at 612-685-1129.

Section 108 Golf Tournament - Aug 28 Highland National Golf Course

2010-07-31T18:14:00.001-05:00

The Section 108 Golf Tournament is right around the corner. This year the tournament has moved to Highland National Golf Course in St. Paul and will be held on Saturday, August 28.

MN Special Hockey is the sole benefactor of this tournament and they have been extremely generous over the past four years. This year we have taken on a more active role for the tournament and we are looking for participation on many levels.

Golfers, please send this link on to everyone and anyone you know. Golfers may still register today as an individual or as a foursome! We need more golfers!!!!!
Volunteers, we will need volunteers for registration, serving lunch, player interaction, raffle sales, etc... we will need lots of help. Please email Susie Miller at mnspecialhockey@gmail.com to volunteer.

Section 108 is a group of guys who are MN Wild Section 108 season ticket holders. They have teamed up with the Eagle Street Grille to put on a great tournament for us.

Thank you in advance for supporting this program. This Tournament isvital to MN Special Hockey as an organization. Without the financial support from this tournament we would be unable to have such a
successful program. The first year they donated $1200 - the exact amount needed for us to be able to upgrade our jerseys to the quality ones we use today. Last year, they donated $10,800.

Second open skating event - Plymouth Ice Center Wed August 4th

2010-07-31T18:06:00.000-05:00

We are NOT having a summer clinic due to the lack of participation from the previous years. Instead, we are planning “Open Skating” events at ice rinks around the Metro Area. These will just be very informal get togethers for anyone that wants to show up. The players and parents might want to wear their team colors (jersey, sweatshirt, t-shirt) to identify themselves. The arenas do not allow hockey sticks and pucks in the ice during open skating. It is a place to work on skating skills.

The event SECOND is going to be at Plymouth Ice Center on Wednesday, August 4th from 7:15 – 8:15 pm.

The fee for open skating is $4.00 or $3.00 depending on age.

Please see the following links for more information City of Plymouth : Ice Center.

Open skating events: first one at Braemar arena July 21

2010-07-17T08:55:00.000-05:00

We are NOT having a summer clinic due to the lack of participation from the previous years. Instead, we are planning “Open Skating” events at ice rinks around the Metro Area. These will just be very informal get togethers for anyone that wants to show up. The players and parents might want to wear their team colors (jersey, sweatshirt, t-shirt) to identify themselves. The arenas do not allow hockey sticks and pucks in the ice during open skating. It is a place to work on skating skills.

The first event is going to be at Braemar Arena in Edina on Wednesday, July 21st from 5:00 – 6:00.
The fee for open skating is $4.00.

Please see the following link for more information http://www.ci.edina.mn.us/content/facilities/braemar_arena/PDFs/SummerOS.pdf

Any questions? Contact Jane Cashin at jocashin@comcast.net

Please spread the word to any interested participants!

Also, anyone interested in planning one of these events in their area let me know. I will help get the word out!

Hope to see you on the 21st!

American Special Hockey Association - on Facebook

2010-07-02T20:54:00.001-05:00

The ASHA has a Facebook page. It's a good way to keep up with what's new across the nation in special hockey.

USA Hockey Disabled Festival - Blaine, Minn., April 1-3, 2011

2010-07-02T20:51:00.001-05:00

The Disabled Hockey Festival is is coming up -- it's less than a year away.

There's a great blog about it, I'll be helping contribute for MN Special Hockey.

You can read more at - USA Hockey Disabled Festival: Everything you need to know about the 7th Annual USA Hockey Disabled Festival in Blaine, Minn., April 1-3, 2011.

Wild 2010 Summer Bash - MNSH will be there

2010-06-21T15:22:00.000-05:00

MN SH will be at the June 24 party ...

Wild 2010 Summer Bash - Minnesota Wild | EMail Archives

Join us on Thursday, June 24 for the Minnesota Wild Summer Bash at Mall of America from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.

WCCO Radio live broadcast (6 – 8 p.m.)
Minnesota Wild Fantasy Broadcast Booth
Nordy Challenge (Fans of all ages are invited to play an interactive hockey game with Nordy)
Wells Fargo Booth
FOX Sports North Booth
Minnesota Wild Booth
KSTC Booth
Player photographs
Wells Fargo Booth
Minnesota Hockey / Disabled Hockey Booth
Minnesota Wild Foundation Booth
Minnesota Wild Booth
National Guard Booth
Player autographs
Wells Fargo Booth
Minnesota Wild Booth

Stop by the Wild Booth at the Sears Court and Bloomingdale's Court to register-to-win a player autographed jersey. Visit the Wild Booth in the Best Buy Rotunda to try your luck at the Spin-N-Win wheel and win a prize.

Work side-by-side with Dan Terhaar and Mike Greenly for a chance to interview a Minnesota Wild player at the Fantasy Broadcast Booth. Each participant will receive a free DVD of their performance.

Stop by the Photograph Booth to take your picture with Wid players and alumni. Don't forget to bring your camera!

Mike Max will broadcast live on WCCO-AM from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Wells Fargo supports Cell Phone for Soldiers! Receive a free puck or mug when you donate your used cell phone at any of the Wells Fargo booths. Cell Phone for Soliders will recycle the used cell phone and send a 60-minute phone card to a solider overseas for each phone donated.

Check back for information on when the Wild players, alumni and broadcasters will appear at each station!

All dates, times, locations and guests are subject to change.

Summer hockey camps for special hockey (Maryland and New Jersey)

2010-06-10T08:08:00.000-05:00

There are American Special Hockey Association summer camps in the New Jersey and Maryland this year, and possibly one in Colorado. We received email notification as excerpted below. This is probably of limited interest to Minnesotans, but it's an interesting example of what's going on nationally.

You can find the registration forms on the ASHA website -- those pages have the key information. Note that "northeast" and "southeast" are both "northeast" from our perspective.

Hearing impaired girls hockey camp

2010-04-13T07:57:00.005-05:00

We all know about special hockey and sled hockey, but there's also hearing impaired hockey. They are based in Chicago and run a hockey camp there. This year they're adding an all-girls team to the current boys and girls teams. We were asked to promote this request for girls teams players (I've edited the email to remove identifiers since this is a public site) ....

From: Jennie C
Sent: Sun, Apr 11, 2010 12:48 pm
Subject: Deaf hockey players

Good afternoon,

My name is Jennie C and I am an interpreter for the American Hearing Impaired Hockey Association (AHIHA). Our organization hosts an annual hockey camp in Chicago designed exclusively for deaf and hard of hearing players, the only camp of its kind. This year we are putting together an all-girls team, for girls over the age of 14. We are looking for more girls for the team, especially a goalie, who can compete at a high school-level of play.

If any of you know of any girls who are deaf and hard of hearing that might be interested, please ask them to contact me as soon as possible. Our camp runs from June 13-20, 2010, near Chicago, Illinois.

Thank you very much for your time, I hope you will be able to help us out.

Jennie C
AHIHA Interpreter

P.S. Visit our Facebook page for more information about our camp: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2223934733&ref=ts

If you're interested here's the contact information from their Facebook page:

Email: gintolim@sacredheart.edu
Website:http://www.ahiha.org
http://www.deaflympics.com

Kayla Borman selected as a Fresh Faces in the State of Hockey finalist!

2010-03-22T21:50:00.003-05:00

A Polars player will be featured at the 3/23 Wild game ...

Minnesota Wild & Mission Foods Fresh Faces in the State of Hockey

Congratulations to Kayla Borman of the Minnesota Special Hockey Polars Team for being selected as one of the honored players in the Minnesota Wild/Mission Foods Fresh Faces of Hockey contest. Kayla will be honored during the second period of the Minnesota Wild Game on Tuesday March 23, 2010 with a photo montage on the JumboTron, along with a short bio of her on-ice and off-ice accomplishments.

Coach Chris Winkel will accompany Kayla and her family.

Congratulations to Kayla and her many fans!

New MN Special Hockey Logo -- All Star Team

2010-03-06T19:53:00.000-06:00

Snazzy new logo! Click for full sized version.

Season ending event reminder - Mar 7 2010

2010-03-01T20:40:00.002-06:00

Toni Boelter reminds everyone:

Who: All MN Special Hockey Players, Families & Friends
What: MN Special Hockey End of Season Event
When: Sunday, March 7; 3:30 - 5:45 p.m.

Game #1 Eagles vs. Wildcats - 3:30 - 4:15 p.m.
4:15 p.m. Trophy Presentation for Game #1
4:30 p.m. Team Photos (we will take a photo of each team and a photo of the entire program)

Game #2 Polars vs. Stingers - 4:45 - 5:30 p.m.
5:30 p.m. Trophy Presentation for Game #2

Where:

Maple Grove Community Center
12951 Weaver Lake Road, Maple Grove
763-494-6500

Minnesota Hockey booth rep needed: March 12 and 13

2010-02-23T16:02:00.001-06:00

From Toni:

Disabled Hockey has been asked to have representatives at the Minnesota Hockey booth again this year during the Let’s Play Hockey Expo.

I am looking for just a few reps to be at the booths during the times below. It would be great to have someone from each of the programs there during those times to answer questions. We will be showing a video as well.

Please let me know by this Friday if you are able to be there and when.

Thanks everyone! Toni J

Disabled hockey reps at the booth:

Friday, March 12^th 3p-6p
Saturday, March 13^th 2p-5p

MN Special Hockey End of Season Event Sun Mar 7

2010-02-22T10:32:00.001-06:00

Who: All MN Special Hockey Players, Families & Friends
What: MN Special Hockey End of Season Event
When: Sunday, March 7; 3:30 - 5:45 p.m.

Game #1 Eagles vs. Wildcats - 3:30 - 4:15 p.m.
4:15 p.m. Trophy Presentation for Game #1
4:30 p.m. Team Photos (we will take a photo of each team and a photo of the entire program)

Game #2 Polars vs. Stingers - 4:45 - 5:30 p.m.
5:30 p.m. Trophy Presentation for Game #2

Where:

Maple Grove Community Center
12951 Weaver Lake Road, Maple Grove
763-494-6500

Questions? Contact your coach or email Susie Miller at
susiemiller35@gmail.com

This year we will not have a pizza party. With 71 players and guests it becomes very challenging! Join us for great hockey and trophy presentations.

Have a great day!

Susie Miller

Seasons end, Protect the Net and Maryland Tournament

2010-02-04T15:18:00.001-06:00

From the desk of Susie Miller …

Protect the Net for Youth Hockey

Tonight MN Special Hockey is the American Family “Protect the Net for Youth Hockey” beneficiary. For every save the Wild goalie makes $10 will be put aside for our program. While I hope the Wild win, I hope the Oilers get a lot of shots and I hope that Josh Harding steps up and makes the saves for MN Special Hockey.

Maryland

We are close to having enough players attend. Bus would be about $175 per person. Hotel $119 per night (3 nights).

We would provide $250 per player towards the trip (between special hockey and mn hockey).

The bus would transport us while we there, we could do a Cherry Blossom Tour, or other exciting events throughout Maryland. We are planning to host the tournament in Blaine in 2011, it would be great if we could send a team out there before! Please contact Susie at susiemiller35@gmail.com with any questions.

Additional thoughts form Susie Miller

We are entering the final months of our season, I have a few thoughts for those newer players who have not been with us the whole time. The 2009-2010 season is only our 4th Season as an association. In the past 4 years we have come a long way.

Administrative: Created teams including logos/jerseys, schedules, secured ice (which was one of our biggest challenges in the beginning).

Marketing: We are on the radar of most News stations (local cable and statewide). We have received publicity in the Star Tribune, many articles in Lets Play Hockey, and also a few local newspapers. We have been receiving more and more referrals from Special Education teachers and departments.

Fundraising: MN Special Hockey has developed amazing partnerships with a few incredible organizations that have helped us raise enough money to provide some security to the future of our program. As well as allow us to continue to offer our program without raising fees since our start up.

Relationships: We now have a relationship with MN Hockey and USA Hockey. MN Hockey has helped us create a relationship with the MN Wild, which in turn has helped us in fundraising and more fame as a program.

We are headed in the right direction, but still have a long way to go. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we experience growing pains and develop the program we know will be successful.

Volunteers needed: Let’s Play Hockey Expo March 12 and 13

2010-02-04T15:15:00.001-06:00

We will need help at the MN Hockey booth at the Let’s Play Hockey Expo (part of the boys high school state tournament) on March 12 & 13. Please contact Toni Boelter (tboelter@minnesotahockey.org) if you are able to help out either of these days.

Volunteers needed: Prairie Island (2/20) and Family Fun Day (2/20)

2010-02-04T15:12:00.001-06:00

February 20 we have two events that we need volunteers:

Prairie Island (Feb 20)

See the flyer for the Skate at Prairie Island.

This season they presented MN Hockey – Disabled Hockey Section a check for $10,000. We will be receiving some of these funds in grant form. They would like us to come down and skate at their arena. Our skate time is 4:30 – 5:15 p.m. W

hile this should be a fun event for your skater it is also a great time for us to say thank you and show Prairie Island exactly where their money is going and how it benefits us! If you are able to help with this event please contact Toni at: tboelter@minnesotahockey.org

Gillete Childrens Family Fun Day (Feb 20)

Gillette Childrens’ is hosting a family fun day at Buck Hill, they are looking for organizations to come and promote winter sports to their attendees. The time we would need to be there is 1-3 pm (on our way down to Prairie IslandJ). If you are able to help with this event please contact me at susiemiller35@gmail.com

Hockey for all – Yahoo Sports article about a New Jersey initiative …

2010-01-27T12:34:00.001-06:00

Published Jan 26, 2010 in a Yahoo Sports blog. It covers both Disabled and Special hockey (emphases mine) and references the EveryBODY skates organization …

Hitting 54 rinks in 54 hours, for one great hockey cause - Puck Daddy - NHL Blog - Yahoo! Sports

Josh Pauls, 17, is a bi-lateral amputee from South Plainfield, NJ, whose legs were surgically removed at 10 months old. He's also a heck of a hockey player.

Pauls is a sled hockey player for the Woodbridge Spinal Rangers, and has been a member of the U.S. Junior National Sled Hockey Team (2007-2009) before earning a promotion to the U.S. Men's Paralympic Team that will compete in the Paralympics in Vancouver next month. He's also a member of EveryBODY Skates New Jersey (ESNJ) -- an organization dedicated to creating opportunities for more athletes like Josh to break through barriers and experience the incomparable thrill of competitive hockey.

"People just think of sled hockey, and there are 300 other disciplines," said Jon Schwartz, who along with brother Andrew coaches and leads the ESNJ campaign. "Because hockey has so much stimulus, it helps. Especially with autistic kids."

On Friday, Jan. 29, as part of Hockey Weekend in America, EveryBODY Skates New Jersey will begin an ambitious journey through the Garden State: Visiting all 54 New Jersey ice rinks in 54 hours. The goal is to help convince those rink owners and operators that allocating just one hour of ice time per week to disabled hockey can make an enormous difference for this fledgling program and thousands of potential players across the state.

"We're going about 1,370 miles to prove a point," said Schwartz. "That hockey is the ultimate occupational therapy for people with disabilities."

The notion of "disabled hockey" is usually limited to sled hockey (or sledge hockey), which is played around the globe. (And even results in a fight or two sometimes, as we learned last year.)

But Schwartz said that notion ignores hockey for the deaf, for example, and hockey for players with developmental disabilities.

An obvious question: What does Autistic hockey look like?

"It's a little scary for parents to put a weapon in the hands of a kid who has Autism and put them out on a slippery surface," said Schwartz. "But I think it looks beautiful. There's no icing or off-sides. We just go. The scoreboard is like a nice decoration."

He said hockey is used to stimulate as well as inspire. Goals are arranged for young players to easily score. Eight-year-olds battle adults for face-offs. "Can you imagine at 16 years old getting your first [athletic] jersey?" Schwartz asked.

There are clear benefits to disabled hockey, and Schwartz said there academic studies underway to confirm them. The obstacle facing EveryBODY Skates New Jersey and other programs like it is the same obstacle facing so many other community hockey organizations throughout the U.S.: a little thing called "available ice time."

New Jersey's 54 rinks give preference to established travel teams and high-school hockey programs. They're businesses, so that's understandable; the challenge for ESNJ is convince some of them that, if given the opportunity, disables hockey programs won't simply be charitable ventures and will pay for themselves.

"Most rinks don't realize that disabled hockey programs can pay their own way. They just need a chance to access some ice time and gain some support from the community," said Schwartz. "We have a community in New Jersey that can mobilize its forces very well. If word spreads that Rink X is holding time for disabled hockey. If you build it, they will come."

This weekend, the word spreads over 54 hours. Among the group touring the state will be U.S. Paralympians Tim Jones and Josh Pauls; U.S. Amputee team member Joe Bowser and two U.S. Deaf Olympians, along with Schwartz and others. The trip begins at the NHL Store in Manhattan at 10 a.m. on Friday, with NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly and ESPN's EJ Hradek scheduled to attend. (Schwartz said 20-percent of store sales that morning will be donated to ESNJ.)

The final rink of the trip will be the Prudential Center in Newark on Jan. 31, where the ESNJ athletes will be honored before the New Jersey Devils take on the Los Angeles Kings.

ESNJ has a petition on its Web site to drum up support for the cause; there's also a complete schedule of their stops during the 54-rink trek (pdf). "Some stops might be a quick in and out," said Schwartz.

The transformative power of competitive sports is always a compelling subject. So is the battle of available sheets of ice for a growing program, which is something I experienced while covering the birth of a high-school hockey league in Northern Virginia, driving home from covering games until 12:30 a.m. on a Friday night.

Hockey is for everyone, or at least it should be; and whether it's EveryBODY Skates New Jersey or a program in your community, it's important to recognize the efforts of those who are trying to bring the Game to those it can inspire and encourage. Here's to safe and effective 54 hours in Jersey.

Maryland tournament update: Contact Susie before Jan 31.

2010-01-27T11:49:00.003-06:00

Update on Maryland Special Hockey tournament from Susie Miller:

MN Special Hockey is planning to send a team to Maryland. If we can get 40 people who would like to charter a coach bus we could provide transportation for less than $175 per person. The bus would leave Wednesday evening, April 7 and leave immediately following the activities in Maryland on Sunday, April 11.

Both ways the bus would travel through the night for ease of transportation. We would have 2 bus drivers to make sure it is a safe trip. The chartered bus would also provide our transportation around Maryland. We have rooms booked at SHERATON HOTEL COLUMBIA Rate is $119.00/Night + tax.

MN Special Hockey will give players $100 and MN Hockey – Disabled Hockey section will give $150 per skater. So $250 will be given towards the trip.

Please let me know by Sunday, January 31 (susiemiller35@gmail.com) if your skater is planning to go to the tournament (please let me know even if you have expressed an interest in the past), and if you would ride the chartered bus if we were able to have enough people interested.

Any specific questions please email me or call me at 612-325-3392.

Apparel forms for 2010 - including wildcats

2010-01-27T11:48:00.000-06:00

You can download and print the 2010 Apparel order form. Players should send in the form to Jane Cashin no later than February 8th.

Exhibition skate in Red Wing - Feb 20th

2010-01-20T20:59:00.004-06:00

Toni Boelter writes:

We will be holding an exhibition skate at Treasure Island in Red Wing on Feb 20th.

Special hockey will skate first. I need to know what players will be there and what coaches can attend. After that the adult sled team will take on the adult sled team from Chicago.

Treasure Island is holding a block of rooms for us if you would like to stay and celebrate after the games. Just follow the directions on the flyer. Please let me know if you have any questions!! This will be a great way to say thank you to Prairie Island for supporting Disabled Hockey in Minnesota.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to put the flyer online due to a Google bug. Toni and coaches should have the information.

Photos from open skate - Fourth season

2010-01-13T22:26:00.001-06:00

Jane has provided some photos from the open skate event.

They're in an online album: Minnesota Special Hockey 2009-2010.

The album password is the same as all our previous albums: mnhockey.

--
My Google Reader Shared items (feed)

WCCO story on Eagles and Augsburg

2010-01-06T23:08:00.001-06:00

From our active Facebook page comes a link to a story from WCCO ...

Giving Everyone The Opportunity To Play Hockey - wcco.com

Minnesota is known as the "State of Hockey" so a special organization is proving hockey is for everyone in the state.

Minnesota Special Hockey launched four years ago. Now there are four teams in the metro area.

If you ever need a pick-me up, check out the Woodbury Eagles. You can't help but feel good watching these athletes play their hearts out.

"I love playing it," exclaimed 11-year-old player Grant Jobe.

Each player is unique. Some skate and some are pushed by others. They range in age from five to over 40 year old. They all have developmental disabilities and they all love hockey.

"To me, it doesn't matter. Hockey is hockey. If you want to go out there and work the puck around, go for the net, that's what it's about," said Jill Pohtilla, Augsburg Women's Hockey Coach.

For the first time, the Augsburg College Women's Hockey Team hosted the Eagles. The college athletes offered pointers and played side-by-side with the special team members.

"It reminds you of how much fun it is and why we started playing and how awesome it is that anyone can play," said Augsburg player Toni Menth.

Being included has meant the world to Grant and his family.

"He would be sitting on the bench pretty much most of the time if he was playing with a regular hockey team. This way he gets to play a lot," said Grant's mother Jennifer Jobe.

The Eagles are improving their skills, but this league is about much more than the game. Coach Joe Kelly described a moment he'll never forget. When one of his athletes, nicknamed "Bomber", made a goal for the first time.

"When Bomber got back to the box, he started crying and that meant more to me than anything I've ever seen here. That's what this brings to these athletes. It's a chance for them to achieve some stuff that they've never achieved before," Kelly said.

Google has made major changes to our web site

2009-12-28T23:02:00.002-06:00

Google has migrated our Minnesota Special Hockey site to their new "improved" web platform. They were supposed to do this six months ago, but they've only now gotten around to it.

They made a mess of things but we've now recovered most of the site. Some web page URLs may have changed.

The pages will be fairly plain until we fix up the problems. If you find broken or missing links please email me: jfaughnan@gmail.com.

Disabled hockey videos and news page

2009-12-16T08:26:00.003-06:00

Toni Boelter has posted some videos to the Disabled Hockey -Minnesota Hockey page ...

... Disabled Hockey Programs are supported by USA Hockey across the nation and prove that hockey is for everyBody. These programs are divided into four disciplines: Standing/Amputee, Deaf/Hard of Hearing, Sled, and Special Hockey ...

The site has a news page with a feed. I've added a section to the left side of this page that will automatically display the last five articles published on the MN Hockey Disabled News page.

Fox 21 - Story on MN Disabled Hockey

2009-10-30T08:41:00.002-05:00

Fox 21 has a news story on MN Disabled Hockey, with embedded video. These tend to disappear from their site, so I've attached the story below, emphases mine. (It would be great if someone could save a copy of the video!)

Disabled Hockey: Everyone can play | FOX21Online.com 10/29/09

ST. PAUL - It's a way for those to play the game they love when they never thought they could. And now they may play in Duluth.

There are exciting developments to an emmy nominated story we first brought you this past spring.

Due in part to that broadcast, the 'Minnesota Special Hockey' program is growing. As are the 'sled hockey' teams. Proving once again that ours is a game everyone can play.

"11 year old Remington Veilliux could not play hockey. A rare brain condition kept him off the ice. A desire to skate but no northland league sent him south to the twin cities. A seven hour car trip for one game with the 'Special Hockey League.'

Now...

"It'll be nice to have something for him at home." Remington's mother Sherry spearheads the new I–Falls 'Border Breakers.' Along with Rogers, there are now two new teams in the league.

"We had three teams last year," says Minnesota Disabled Hockey director, Toni Boelter. "Now we have five teams, both of them, i'm happy to say are out of metro."

The hope is to have two more teams next season. Moorhead and Duluth. Toni tells FOX 21 that a Duluth area family is expressing interest in bringing the program to the Twin Ports.

"I know there's players up there. You can't tell me there's not."

Crusading for exposure, the September 24th 'Disabled Hockey Day with the Minnesota Wild' helped. Wednesday night's broadcast of that event on the Wild pre–game show is what caught the Duluth family's attention.

"This night will probably take disabled hockey farther than I could have in the next five years."

In addition to selling programs and collecting $20,000 in donations, players hit the ice during intermissions.

Luke Schmitz brought out the pre–game flag.

"I was in Iraq, we were deployed in 2005. I was injured july 26, 2006. I was injured by a secondary IED. Which is, you hit one, you jump out and they have another one."

The 25 year old Perham native never played hockey. Not until he was rehabbing at fort Sam Houston in San Antonio.

"I decided I didn't want to go to physical therapy today. So, I go to sled hockey, see what it's all about."

Impressed by its competitiveness, Luke used the sport as motivation.

"You've got something to work towards, you know you're not useless. Nobody is useless."

After returning to Minnesota, he joined the Minnesota sled hockey team, which later won the national championship.

Success and growth are filling what toni calls an 'explosive year.' Moving forward, they're still hoping for more. More teams, more players. More Lukes. More Remingtons.

"Hopefully, gain some more... Know it's out there now and want to participate. Hopefully just can grow it every year," says Sherry.

"I just think the sky's the limit," says Toni.

Wow. I didn't remember that MN won the national championship!

MN Wild feature on disabled hockey to run Oct 28

2009-10-25T17:47:00.001-05:00

The MN Wild feature on disabled hockey is scheduled to run Oct 28 during the pregame show.

The schedule may change however.

2009 MN Hockey at Wild - pictures

2009-10-19T08:34:00.000-05:00

Some pictures from the 2009 MN Hockey at Wild.

Open Skate at the Mariucci Arena – October 25 2009

2009-10-07T14:46:00.001-05:00

The start of our 2009-2010 season is quickly approaching and to kick it off we will once again be having our Open Skate. It is scheduled for Sunday, October 25 from 2:00-3:30 at the Mariucci Arena (home of the Golden Gophers!)

We encourage you to share this information with anyone you feel would be interested in joining our program. The more people we can give this opportunity to the better!

A couple of important notes regarding anyone who will be on the ice during the open skate and for the season:

All returning players must have completed and turned in their USA hockey and special hockey registration forms before the open skate.
Any new skaters on the ice at open skate will need to sign a liability waiver before going on the ice. After that, if they choose to play as part of our regular season, they will need to turn in all USA hockey and special registration forms prior to the first practice.
All coaches must register with USA hockey before the open skate.
Any volunteers and parents who plan to be on the ice at open skate will be asked to sign a liability waiver that day.

All skaters must wear a helmet to be allowed on the ice. No hockey sticks or gear will be permitted.

I hope you are all getting as excited as we are! Look forward to seeing you soon!!

For questions please call Jane at 612-581-4483 or email her at jocashin@comcast.net

Minnesota Special Hockey on Facebook

2009-10-03T22:36:00.001-05:00

Minnesota Special Hockey has a Facebook Page. It's a good reason to join FB, the page has several announcements and I expect we'll see some photos there as well.

Registration for 2009-2010 season is underway

2009-09-25T20:17:00.001-05:00

See the registration page for information.

Fox news story on disabled hockey to run Oct 14

2009-09-25T20:16:00.000-05:00

The Fox Sports North piece on Disabled Hockey will run during Qwest Wild Live before the Wild vs Ducks game on Wed, Oct. 14^th. The Qwest Wild Live will start that night at 8:30 PM.

Section 108 5th Annual Golf Tournament

2009-08-12T23:18:00.002-05:00

Suse Miller has written asking for golf help

On Saturday, August 22, Section 108 MN Wild Season Ticket Holders are hosting their 5th Annual Golf Tournament to Benefit MN Special Hockey. Last year this tournament donated $10,800 to us. They are asking for our help in a few areas.

1. This year with a challenging economy, they still have golf spots open. If you are interested in golfing, please email Susie Miller for more information (Susie Miller [mailto:smiller@ci.edina.mn.us] ). We can partner you up with others.

2. We are also still in need of raffle prizes. If you have time to hit the streets seeking donations, or if you have connections to obtain raffle prizes please try your best. Attached is a donation letter that you can use. Please feel free to make adjustments you see fit. Make sure to keep their information so we can send out thank you notes for tax purposes. Please contact me if you receive prizes I should pick up, or please mail them to me at 12809 Crooked Lake Blvd. NW, Coon Rapids, MN 55448

3. We need volunteers. We are seeking 2-3 families to sell raffle tickets the day of the tournament. This would be from 10:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 22. Please let me know if your family is available.

Disabled Hockey Night with the Minnesota Wild - September 24th

2009-08-07T23:00:00.002-05:00

The growth of Disabled Hockey in Minnesota has been quite significant the past few years. Several Minnesotans have been able to play hockey because of the efforts of the many volunteers that make Special, Sled, and Stand-up Amputee hockey happen. In spite of everyone’s efforts, there are still many people that could benefit (or know someone that could benefit) from playing Disabled Hockey that aren’t aware of it’s existence.

To help increase awareness for Disabled Hockey, the first ever Disabled Hockey Night with the Minnesota Wild will occur on Thursday, September 24th when the Wild host the St. Louis Blues in a preseason game. Highlights include:

Disabled Hockey participants and families will sell game programs before the game and will share in the proceeds of the program sales.
Luke Schmitz, veteran of the war in Iraq and member of the Minnesota Sled team, will skate the State of Hockey flag to center ice as the Wild and Blues take the ice.
One representative each from Special, Sled, and Stand-Up Amputee will all say Let’s Play Hockey” together to start the game.
First intermission – 12 Special /Stand Up Amputee players will play a 3 minute game on the ice. While this is occurring a promotional disabled hockey video will air on the scoreboard. Immediately after the Special Hockey game, Section 108 will make a ceremonial check presentation to Special Hockey. Section 108 is a collection of Wild season ticket holders that sit in section 108 – each year they host a golf tournament and donate proceeds to Special Hockey.
Second intermission – 10 Sled players will play a 3 minute game on the ice. The same video will play on the scoreboard during the game.
Concourse booth – Disabled Hockey will have a booth set up in the concourse during the game. The booth will be staffed by Disabled Hockey players/families and will feature the National Championship trophy won by the Minnesota Sled team.
Public Address announcements – Multiple times during the game, the Wild announcer will read Disabled Hockey promotional announcements and direct people to the concourse booth or minnesotahockey.org if they want to learn more.
Other exposure includes: disabled hockey story on wild.com, radio interviews during the broadcast, etc.
The Wild will be donating several tickets for the participants. They will also be offering a discounted ticket offer for the others that want to attend with a portion of that money donated back to Disabled Hockey.

The exact ticket offer will emailed soon. When you receive it, please forward this offer on to as many people as possible. It would be great to have a large turnout of Minnesota Hockey supporters showing their support for the Disabled Hockey players!

Registration open for 2009-2010

2009-08-05T19:57:00.001-05:00

Registration for the 2009-10 MN Special Hockey teams is now open. All registrations are due by October 31st, 2009.

See MN Special Hockey - Join and Register.

Calendar update and the MN Hockey site

2009-06-30T23:49:00.004-05:00

We now have an introductory MN Special Hockey page on the MN Hockey site. I've added this link to our web site reference and links page.

At least for now we're expecting to use the MN Hockey page for outreach, and the www.mnspecialhockey.org site for program information.

Along with this page we got some calendaring software. Toni Boelter is working with it. The good news is that I've integrated the calendar from the MN Hockey site onto the top of this news page and into our web site calendar page. Any changes made to the MN Hockey calendar will show up in these pages as well.

If you're technically savvy these web calendars can also be delivered to your desktop computer (Outlook 2007, OS X iCal, Google Calendar) or your iPhone or Palm Pre. The "web address" you need for that is shown on our MN Hockey calendar, it's:

webcal://www.minnesotahockey.org/event/ical_feed?tags=85015%252C85013

For example, I access all my calendars (about seven including this one) using Google Calendar and on my iPhone.

MN SH summer events and the kick-off skate Oct 25

2009-06-27T19:43:00.002-05:00

I’ve added most of these to our Google Calendar which can be seen on this news site and on our web site.

This summary is from a Toni Boelter email (I’ve omitted events that have passed) …

Friday, July 24 - 2nd Annual, MN Special Hockey Saints Game. RSVP by July 1 and Board Meeting

NOTE: The annual board meeting will take place at Midway stadium starting at 5:45 pm.

Join us on Friday, July 24th, 2009 as we enjoy a picnic dinner and then sit back to watch our St. Paul Saints take on the Lincoln Salt Dogs. Dinner will be served inside the park beginning at 6pm, with a game time start of 7:05pm. Please RSVP if you would like to attend and the number of tickets you will need to your respective team coach. Cost for this event will be $8 per person, which will include your meal and ticket into the game. Hope to see you all there!

Eagles: Toni Boelter tboelter@minnesotahockey.org
Polars: Chris Winkel Christopher.Winkel@target.com
Stingers: Cheryl Caffrey chery.caffrey@target.com
RSVP’s must be received no later than July 1st. For further questions, please contact Toni Boelter at tonib@dakcom.org or by cell at 651-307-0660.

August 1 - Equipment swap. Minnesota Hockey will be opening up its storage shed to Disabled hockey only on Saturday, August 1st from Noon to 4pm. Come after our summer skate (see next item) and browse through the shed for new and used equipment. I have seen it...it is a gold mine! More information will be posted on the Minnesota Special Hockey website in the next few weeks.

August - Summer skate! We will be skating 3 times this summer.
http://www.mnspecialhockey.org/2009SummerFlyer.pdf
We hope to see as many of you there as possible.

August 22 - Section 108 Golf Tournament, information will be posted soon. http://www.section108golf.com/. We will need volunteers to help with registration and selling raffle tickets.

Sunday, October 25th - Mark your calendars for our kick off skate on October 25th - 2 - 3:30 p.m. at Mariucci. More information to follow.

President Susie email – Board meeting

2009-06-27T18:57:00.001-05:00

My name is Susie Miller. I am the President/Executive Director of MN Special Hockey.

Just a little history about our program. We started in the Spring of 2006. We held a 6 week mini program at Richfield Ice Arena. We had 27 skaters register. We were thrilled with the interest. That fall we started our first season. We had two teams. The South Stingers, out of Edina, and the North Polars, out of Blaine. The Stingers started strong with many of the spring session participants signing up. The Polars had less than 10 players attending on a regular basis. The 2007-2008 was the year we added the East Eagles. We had just a handful of players, but at this point the Polars and the Stingers both had nearly full teams. For 2008-2009 we did not add another team. We wanted to make sure all three teams were successful. Last season we found success with all three teams, so this fall we will be starting another team. The West Wildcats. They will play out of Albertville and Rogers. We are also planning on adding a team in International Falls this fall.

With the growth of the program MN Special Hockey organization has also grown and changed. As of March, 2008 we officially became a 501c3 Non Profit Organization. We are an organization with a 8 Member Board of Directors. Each year we are to have an annual meeting. At this meeting we will hold elections for our board of directors, as well as have a mini summary of the past year and receive a treasurers report. We are holding our Annual Meeting on Friday, July 24 at 5:45 p.m. at Midway Stadium in St. Paul (immediately before our summer Saints game celebration). We hope you are able to attend…

Summer and Fall 2009: Hockey camp, Wild funfest and more

2009-05-31T07:19:00.006-05:00

Toni Boelter has sent us reminders of summer events, which I've revised and included below. I've also added them to the MN SH calendar, which is now atop this news blog.

MN SH Summer Skating Camps (PDF) will run twice this summer for current and potential players. There are two camps - North and South. The North camp at the Rogers Activity Center will run for 3 Saturdays, August 1-15. The South camp in Eagan runs for 3 Saturdays from August 8-22. Click this link (PDF) for more details.

Minnesota WILD Funfest: June 25th, 2009. 5p-9p. This year Minnesota Hockey will have a tent at the WILD Funfest that will be dedicated to Minnesota Disabled Hockey. We are looking for family members and players who would be willing to volunteer at the tent this year. Come for a 2 hour shift and enjoy the funfest the rest of the time. Please e-mail me by June 10th to let me know if this is something you would be interested in doing. It is held in Rice Park and there will be players, food, and lots of fun!!

Equipment swap. Minnesota Hockey will be opening up its storage shed to Disabled hockey only on Saturday, August 1st from Noon to 4 pm. Come after our summer skate (see next item) and browse through the shed for new and used equipment. I have seen it…it is a gold mine! More information will be posted on the Minnesota Special Hockey website in the next few weeks.

Mark your calendars for our kick off skate on October 24th! Can you believe it!

Saints game! Back by popular demand, we will have a Special Hockey Saints game again in July. More details to follow.

Google is going to make a mess of our main site in June

2009-04-20T21:29:00.001-05:00

Google has sunset a product and will move this site to a different product in June. I expect the move will be painful and that the main site will be messed up for a while.

This blog will not be affected by the move.

Fortunately it's not September yet! I do have a site backup.

There's nothing we can do now but wait and see.

Remington featured on Fox 21 News

2009-03-19T20:31:00.002-05:00

A very determined MN SH athlete gets some media attention ...

Tonight at 9: efforts to bring Minnesota Special Hockey north | FOX21Online.com

INTERNATIONAL FALLS - In the State of Hockey, everyone plays. But, it’s not always easy to find a team.

This Thursday and Friday on FOX 21 News at 9, join Nick LaFave as he travels with a family from their home in International Falls all the way to the Twin Cities, just so their son can play the game he loves.

He’ll also explore the Minnesota Special Hockey program, and look at it’s efforts to expand to the Northland.

Unfortunately the Fox video clip was only transiently available, we don't have a copy at this time.

Season 2009-2009 is a wrap

2009-03-15T23:44:00.000-05:00

Another terrific season has come to a successful conclusion.

All the images in today's slideshow, and photos from the game and awards, are on the MN Special Hockey photo site. The albums allow anyone to get a full sized (hi res) copy of any picture and to order prints and other photo items.

This link will take you directly to page 20 or so of this year's album. That's where the final game begins.

We've added additional Stinger and Polars pictures from other photographers. If you have pictures you'd like to share please send a CD or email to

John Faughnan
1660 Stanford Ave
Saint Paul, MN 55105
jfaughnan@gmail.com

Slideshow for 2009 end of season banquet

2009-03-09T08:38:00.005-05:00

We'll have a slide show for the end of season banquet (John Faughnan's pictures are in our online photo albums). This post is to help organize the show, John will edit it as we finalize things.

We'd like more people to contribute photos and we'd like a projector.

What we've got:

Helping: Cindy Coughlin, Toni Boelter, John Faughnan
Laptop(s) and VGA converter cable: Faughnan
Power strip, extension cord: Faughnan
External display: Faughnan
Photos: Faughnan (Eagles, Stingers mostly)
Projector: Toni Boelter

What we could use

MORE POLAR pictures
Screen
Official team photos
Individual player pictures (ex. Eagle and Polar flyers)
A volunteer who's not tied down with coaching, etc
Secure room for gear

If we have a projector then we need to figure out how to consolidate images on the laptop. Copying GBs of images from a DVD can easily take over 30 minutes.

John will have to help with coaching and working with Tim and Ben, so we need to work on timing.

MN SH promotion event Friday March 13 - volunteers needed

2009-03-07T18:54:00.001-06:00

From Toni B: On Friday, March 13th, Minnesota Hockey has invited us to share their booth, hand out hockey items and share our story about Minnesota Special Hockey. The booth needs to be manned from 12 noon to 6pm, and we are looking for players and family members who will wear their jerseys and share their stories.

We will have a video that discusses disabled hockey, but the personal stories and presence are always the best.

Please e-mail Toni Boelter at tonib@dakcom.org and let me know what time you can be there, your names and how many people will be joining you. This will take place at the River Center the same time the boys state hockey tourney is going on. Thank you in advance! Toni Boelter

End of season game and banquet - TIME AND LOCATION CHANGE

2009-03-07T18:11:00.006-06:00

We've changed locations and times for the end-of-season game.

The new location is Breck Ice Arena is at: 4210 Olson Memorial Hwy, Golden Valley. You can see it in this Google Map view. There's parking in back of the arena.

From the new announcement:

Join us for the Final Games of the Year and the end of the season banquet!

Who: All MN Special Hockey Players, Families & Guests
When: Sunday, March 15, 2:30—4:00 p.m.
Pizza Party immediately following.

Where: Breck Ice Arena, 4210 Olson Memorial Highway, Golden Valley, MN

PLEASE NOTE TIME AND LOCATION CHANGE!!!
Questions, please contact your coach or call 612-325-3392

I've revised our web site calendar.

Eagles: Special pre-practice lunch tomorrow

2009-03-07T18:05:00.002-06:00

Toni has arranged for a special lunch prior to the Eagles practice Sunday March 8. It will be from 12-1 in the "viewing area" at Bielenberg arena. Jimmy Johns, chips and pop.

I've added this event to the unofficial calendar.

Pictures from Polars v Stingers Feb 15, 2009

2009-03-03T23:15:00.003-06:00

Our online album now includes Images from the Feb 15 Polars vs Eagles game. The link takes you to the first picture in the series. As always the token password is "mnhockey".

Great teams, great pictures.

Eagles - Practice time change

2009-02-21T19:05:00.001-06:00

The East Eagles will practice at 9:05 AM on March 1st instead of 6:40pm. The late practice was troublesome for our players so Toni worked to change it for us.

Game photos: Stingers, Eagles and Polars

2009-01-30T11:04:00.003-06:00

We've posted photos from 3 games so far this season. As usual you can view them by entering the password "mnhockey" when requested. You can also order prints from this web site, save a full resolution version of any image to your local computer, and add comments (such as the name(s) of your favorite players!).

All the photos are in one album, these links take you to the start of each game. You can also start from the beginning and page through:

If anyone has other photos they'd like to contribute or share, please email John Faughnan at jfaughnan@gmail.com.

Coaching tips pages for Minnesota Special Hockey

2009-01-24T00:05:00.002-06:00

We’ve created a set of pages with tips for coaches and volunteers. We hope to collect tips and best practices from all our teams and from other special hockey organizations.

Anyone who has an account with MN Special Hockey can log in and edit these pages. Many people have accounts but may not have used them, please contact john faughnan (jfaughnan@gmail.com) for a password reminder or to get setup with a free Special Hockey Account*.

We can also invite anyone with a Gmail account of any type to become a contributor. Please contact john faughnan (jfaughnan@gmail.com) if interested.

* Google gives us free Google Apps Education edition services.

Hockey Mom getaways and help for MN Hockey from Red Baron Pizza

2009-01-22T19:49:00.001-06:00

Red Baron pizza is a new corporate sponsor Minnesota Hockey and Minnesota Special Hockey. They’re also offering a Hockey Moms Relaxation Getaway …

Do you know a hockey mom that goes above and beyond? To recognize the hard work of hockey moms, the makers of Red Baron® pizza are proud to sponsor the seventh annual Salute to Hockey Moms. Players, families, and friends can nominate their favorite hockey mom with an essay of 150 words or fewer. Entry forms are available at the Red Baron® pizza freezer case in participating Cub Foods stores, or at www.redbaron.com.

Ten winning moms will be rewarded with great prizes including a $1,000 contribution to their child’s hockey association, a refreshing spa visit, a $50 Cub Foods gift card, and more — plus they’ll be introduced during intermission of the Red Baron™ WCHA Final Five Championship Game on March 21, 2009 at the Xcel Energy Center where one mom will win a relaxation getaway.

Encourage your players to nominate their favorite hockey mom today --- entries should be postmarked by February 14, 2009 and received by February 23, 2009! For more details, please see the attachment.

I suspect our Hockey Moms should be serious contenders …

Practice drill ideas from Special Olympics Floor Hockey

2009-01-18T21:56:00.003-06:00

Special Olympics floor hockey has a superb web site of drills that can be adapted for use in Special Hockey.

The sports skills list includes

There's a PDF on the page that summarizes all the skills teaching. I'm going to add these links to our reference page and to the Wikipedia article on Special Hockey.