Hey MGHA family!

Last year, our league size skyrocketed from 18 to 24 teams. This year, we’re poised to expand by another two teams!

For the 2026-2027 season, we’re renaming our levels. Read on for what’s changing, why, and what it means for you.

What’s Changing?

After coordination with the Board, Hockey Operations has decided to change the levels for the 2026-2027 season to L1/L2/L3/L4. Here’s what to expect with each:

• L1: Very similar to L1 from the previous years. No major changes.
• L2: The bottom half, skill-wise, of our previous L2 level. You can expect more experienced players, but at a pace in between last year’s L1 and L2.
• L3: The top half, skill-wise, of our previous L2 level. You can expect players who can skate more in control and have some hockey experience. Play will be faster. You must be able to skate in control.
• L4: This will be the equivalent of last year’s L3. The goal is for L4 to remain the same as last year’s L3, skill-wise.

These levels will be self-selected. Choose the levels where you would feel most comfortable. Unless you opt to check multiple checkboxes on your profile, Hockey Operations will NOT be choosing your level for you (outside of an initial assessment of those who already have selected their levels online for the 2026-2027 season). HOps does, however, reserve the right to move you from a level if we do not feel that you can safely skate in that level.

For those who have already selected their skill level online (thank you), we will do the following. If you have chosen:

• L1: We will leave this option selected.
• L2: We will attempt to select either L2, L3, or both, based on your evaluated skill level.
• L3: We will change your option to L4.

You can always change your requested skill level up until the Sunday before team creation. That date and information will be released soon.

ACTION: The website has been updated with these new levels. Please update your level preference now on your profile page. Be sure to sign in.

Why the change? 

We have heard a few pain points over the last few years and we think this is the best way to address them. Here are some of the challenges we’re trying to overcome:

• Bulging at the Middle: Our league has always been sort of a bell curve when it comes to skill. We have some people at both ends (beginners and super skilled) and a ton of people in the middle.
• Wide Range of Skills in Each Level: L2 has become a land where we have skaters who have years of experience alongside some who have just graduated from L1 and are still learning. It’s also difficult to balance teams with such a wide range of skill levels. Having an extra level means skating with more like-skilled players. This means a safer experience, as well.
• Running Out of Colors: If we add more teams to L2, we don’t have a great option for color combinations. We want to keep our jerseys colorblind-friendly and adding more teams makes that challenging.
• Better Stepping Stones: It can be a challenge to make the leap from L1 to L2 because L2 has such a wide swath of skill levels. By introducing a new level, we can bridge that gap a little better.
• Previous 4-Level Success: The tournament has had success with using a 4-level system in the past and we are confident that its success will translate to the full season.

One more thing: cross-level subbing will continue to be permitted. Subs are chosen based on skill level and you will always be subbing for a like-skilled player.

Change is hard and we’re going to do our best to make this transition as seamless as possible. If you have questions or are unsure about anything, please reach out and we’ll help as best we can.

Thanks!
Tim (he/him)
on behalf of HOps

Deposits for returning players for the 2026-2027 season are open!

The deposit secures your spot in the league for the upcoming season. The full cost of the season will be $385 ($100 deposit, remaining $285 due before you set foot on the ice). Note: this season, you will not have to pay for a USA Hockey registration – the MGHA is in the process of switching to private insurance. This will reduce the overall cost of your season fees by $50.

As always: cost should not be a barrier to playing hockey with us! If it is, reach out – we have a financial aid program to help make the cost of playing hockey easier. If you want to play with us but need some time to figure out the finances, that’s fine! Let us know and we’ll hold your spot in the league.

-Kriona, on behalf of the MGHA Board

Some action items for championship night:

• Mark yourself as absent and let your captain know if you cannot make your game. Please make sure you’ve marked yourself absent or have signed up to sub by 9 AM on Sunday. Captains will be getting their sub desk emails at 10 AM due to the earlier schedule. Have your phone nearby if you’re looking to sub.
• Sign up to sub if you want some extra hockey. This is your last chance.
• Be on the lookout for scorebox opportunities for Sunday. We’ll need your help.

In addition to the games, we’ll have our league photo taken. Please show up on time for this as we have a very limited window. Also, please wear your team’s jersey. Take the ice in your team’s location based on the image below:

Championship Night Logistics

Here are a few things to know about championship night:

Pre-Game: After the warmup, the announcer will ask that both teams line up on their respective blue lines at the same time and we will read off the names. When your name is called, give a wave. Subs can hang back on the bench. Anniversary pucks and the All The Way Award winners will also be announced during this time.

Overtime: For the championship games only (1st vs 2nd), if regulation time ends and the game is tied, it will go to a 5 minute 5-on-5 sudden death. If there is still a tie after that, it will go to a 3-round shoot-out, then to a 1-round shoot-out. All bench players must participate in the shoot-out before a player is allowed to shoot twice.

Food: Social is working on getting us some food for the night. More to come.

That’s it. We hope you had a fantastic season and so much fun. While Sunday ends this season, the next one is right around the corner and we hope to see you back for the 2026-2027 season.

While we didn’t want to take away your hockey on Sunday night, it ended up being the right call. As promised, we’ve been working hard to reschedule those games.

Your updated schedule has been posted to the site. Note that this is only possible because high school hockey is done for the season. We normally do not have weekday availability.

PLEASE UPDATE YOUR ABSENCES. Absences will have carried over from the canceled games. That means that if you marked yourself absent on the 15th, you are marked as absent for this game.

More information will be coming about scorebox shifts. You’re also able to sign up to sub for these games now. Please sign up to sub as we’ll likely need some extra subs this week.

That’s all I have for now.

If you have questions, please reach out!

Best,
Tim (he/him)
on behalf of HOps

You know what they say… beware the ides of March. Unfortunately, the storm is enough today that we’ve decided that all games are canceled tonight, March 15, 2026.

As you look out your window, you might question this decision. I get it. Right now, it’s just rain and it doesn’t look too bad. The issue is that rain will later change to freezing rain and a wintry mix. That changeover looks to happen as we start our games. Then, around 6 PM, the changeover to snow will happen and it will likely be quick. The snow rates will likely be very heavy, leading to quickly deteriorating roads and dangerous travel.

To make sure I have the best information possible, I have been consulting with multiple meteorologist friends over the last two days to better understand this storm and they are all in agreement that it makes sense to cancel these games based on the current model output.

Know that we don’t WANT to cancel our games. It makes more work for us and is a logistical nightmare. We’re working with the information and data that we have right now and that’s the best that we can do. Do we have 100% confidence in the forecast? No. And that’s what makes this so hard. That said, we have to make the decision early enough to cancel our ice time and referees for tonight. And for this storm, with what we know right now, the safest play is to sadly cancel all games.

I’m very sorry if you wanted to play tonight (I wanted to play, too!), but we have to put the safety of our league first. This was not an easy decision and we did not take it lightly.

On a positive note, we are trying to find a time to reschedule these games. More on that once we get through the storm, though. One thing at a time. 🏒

Should you have questions, feel free to reach out.

Best,

Tim (he/him)

on behalf of HOps