Category: Announcements

2025-2026 MGHA All the Way Award Winners!

Here are this year’s winners and the nice things their teams had to say about them! Congrats to all the winners! 

Individual teammates submitted nominations and trophies were awarded on Championship night, 3/29 (if you are on this list and did not receive your trophy, your captain probably has it).

Be Grey, Do Crime: Ryan Pakula
He is the team’s biggest cheerleader and athletic supporter! He always has a positive attitude and a smile on his face. He is always down to help someone outside of the locker room. If I were describing Ryan it would literally be everything MGHA.

Blutonium: Ilana “Lani” Bar-av
Lani brings the good vibes! She cheers earnestly for everyone on the team. She’s always relaxed and doesn’t take the games too seriously. She’s a bundle of joy. They always try really hard and have an amazingly positive attitude!  

Chirps and Queso: Doug Lowe
Doug is a *grate* part of Chirps & Queso. He sets a Gouda example on the ice, playing with respectful intensity emblematic of the MGHA way. Doug always brings the fire as our fearless defense this season. No matter what the score – he gives it his all on the ice and stays strong through every period. He always has a great attitude on our team and in the league, is encouraging and kind to everyone. He keeps us smiling, laughing, and inspired on the ice to have fun and stay true to the spirit of MGHA every Sunday night. He’s given lots of feedback in helping the team grow hockey wise and brings a cheesy fun energy to every game. Doug truly goes all the *whey*.

Cirque du Sol-Gay: Hannah Hansen
Always bumpin music. Always smiling and happy for their teammates. Good vibes in the locker room. Type of person who can brighten someone’s day just by being there. Goes all the way on the ice, smart and calm on the puck, important to the overall success of the team. What a teammate!!

Chilluminati: Lindsay McElhenie
Lindsay is an incredible ambassador for the MGHA and for the sport of rec hockey in general. A welcoming presence, Lindsay really took the reins as captain by making us all feel valuable while teaching us about the sport. Her genuine enthusiasm for hockey and, maybe more importantly, for watching new folks succeed helped make my first year playing less intimidating and encouraged me to play better. It is for these reasons that I think Lindsay embodies the MGHA Way!

Clifford’s Big Gay Hockey Team: Syd Vossen
Syd dove head first into their first year of hockey and hit the ground running. They are an amazing teammate to play with and they always are working hard to improve their skills. They contribute to the amazing community MGHA has built and exemplify the MGHA way.

Cloud 69: Sarah Stellino
Sarah always has a great attitude in the locker room. Her effort on the ice is only surpassed by her focus on having a good time. Great teammate!  

Cookie Monsters: Aiden Ochoa
From Day 1, Aiden has fought to become a better skater and has been one of the greatest cheerleaders on the bench. He is always so excited to play, always recognizing others accomplishments, and always saying how proud he is of the team. His spirit is so bright and his excitement is infectious. He has improved so much as a hockey player, and has won a spot in everyone’s hearts.

Dairydevils: Kyle Kaczmarek
Kyle lights up the locker room, the bench, and the ice with his personality and humor.  He’s often providing the music and joking in the locker room and works hard during the game. Kyle is a really positive presence every week and he’s been really willing to take feedback and improve his game on the ice!

Gotta Check ‘Em All: Alana Katz
Alana ALWAYS has a smile on her face, is always ready to give support while busting a move on the bench. She is so supportive of all of our teammates whether it be on the ice or off the ice with a simple compliment about anything.

Gravity Storm: Brian Bischel
Brian is a consistent source of coaching and inspiration for our team, and I can’t thank him enough for everything he’s taught me about positioning and hockey. As a newer player on L2, Brian’s guidance has been invaluable to my growth as a player. Aside from that, his positivity and team-oriented “let’s do this” attitude, even in the face of incredibly difficult personal challenges, makes me proud to call Brian a teammate and friend.

Gravity Storm: Special GOAT Award: Kriona Hagen
Kriona is always there to cheer for you and hype you up! She is an outstanding player and skilled coach. As league president, Kriona also had the weight of the league and the outside world to deal with and carried it all with a smile and a hug for anyone who needed one!

Lawn and Order: Seth Johnson
Seth always has a good attitude in the net, and has good advice for the team or individuals before/during/after our games. He is also always happy to step in when another goalie or skater needs a sub.

Licorice Sticks: Rachel Sullivan
She was consistently a positive frame of mind in the locker room and on the ice, while still aiming to improve her play any time she was in the game. Considering it was her first year with the MGHA, she was a delight for all her team, and hopefully comes back for many more seasons in the future.

Mx Teal Yo Goal: Luke Kneubuehl
You’d think Luke has been in net for years, and yet you’d be wrong.
Luke never fails to bring his A game and a positive attitude to the ice every weekend, and his high spirits and quips in the locker room always make my day!

Purple Penguins: CJ Kendall
CJ is a ray of sunshine in the locker room and on the ice! Always smiling, always happy to be there, and always a force to be reckoned with on Defense!

Red Zeppelin: Matty Berteaux
He’s a quietly kind individual, bringing treats from Europe, offering to pay for people to play pick up hockey, having 0 negative talk. He’s a good representation of the foundation of kind and caring folks you need in a community. Someone you can depend on or go to in a time of need and he’ll just be like “yep, what do you need?”

Smashing Pumpkins: Charlie Houser
Charlie has been awesome all season at team building and a positive attitude on and off the ice. Charlie made our team flag fabulous with his Cricket. Then he made each of us personalized cups, too! A batch of homemade cookies didn’t hurt, either. Charlie is quiet and a bit reserved, but his team-first attitude speaks very loudly. I’m very glad I’ve gotten to play with Charlie this year.

Star GAYzers: Isaiah Lucre
We all love hockey, but hockey/skating newbie Isaiah stands apart from all others in L1 in just how much he has taken to the sport. His unbridled playing enthusiasm is inspirational to behold, and on the ice that manifests itself in 100% effort at all time, which lifts all of the Star GAYzers up.

The Margayritas: Spencer Christoffel
Spencer hurt his leg during team reveal night and is just now back playing. I was initially really bummed because I knew Spencer was a good hockey player. But Spencer made the most of a bad situation. He DJ’d a game at DeForest from his phone while also coaching our game. He showed up in a ridiculous green suit one night showing his team spirit. While Spencer hasn’t been on the ice with us, he has very much been an important part of our team. He has definitely gone “All the way”

The Orange Guys: Matty Brausen
Matty is always encouraging and offering advice to new players! They look out for opportunities on the ice to set up their teammates to try and make good plays. They’ve got everyone’s back!

The Rink Panthers: Logan Harper
I love being on a team with Logan. She is an incredible hockey player and teammate. She is a playmaker who effortlessly includes everyone in the action. She has a flow with her line that is rarely built over the course of one season. However, my favorite thing about Logan is the joy she radiates on the ice and in the locker room. She reminds me that the most important thing about hockey is the happiness and connection it brings to all of us in the MGHA.

The Wonderful Blizzard of Oz: Max Stillings
Max was the first person I met MGHA and I was so lucky to be on a team with them! Max makes an effort to get to know everyone in the locker room and on the bench. They’ve been a really welcoming and fun team member all around.

ToTEALly90s: Callie Freitag
Callie was one of the many new players on our team this year. She came in every week with a positive attitude for herself and the whole team. Always looking to improve every week, that’s exactly what she did. She lifted everyone with her upbeat positivity and she is one hell of a music buff!

Wicked On Ice: Meg Graemling
Meagan’s positive & enthusiastic disposition is infectious. Their attitude embodies the MGHA spirit. They were always willing to get out on the ice and try something new. Meg is such a joy to have in the locker room and on the ice. They have an exuberant energy that lifts everyone’s spirits and a constant smile.They’ve grown so much as a skater this year, and I hope they have many more years with MGHA in their future!

Championship Night 2026 Logistics

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.

Games from March 15th Rescheduled to March 25th and 26th

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

Games Canceled: March 15, 2026

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

Are you missing our emails???

Are your MGHA emails going to spam? Or are you not receiving them at all? We know that our email listserv isn’t getting to everyone, and we are actively trying to fix it, but there are ways you can help, too!

Here are some helpful tricks about our mailing lists:

1) Add all/some of the following MGHA emails to your contacts list:

Adding emails to your contact list tells your email provider that you are expecting to communicate with these emails, and thus are likely safe.

Highly recommended:

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Other recommended emails:

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(Note: There are plenty more lists, but these are the main ones you need to know about)

2) Confirm your email is correct on your player profile:

Go to https://www.madisongayhockey.org/account/ and make sure your email doesn’t have any misspellings. If ever you need/want to change your email, please do so, but also let the website team or the board know of the change so we can make sure it is reflected in all of the email lists. 

(Note: Your email is only visible to those you want to see it. It is never public. Under the option “Who can see my contact information?” you can choose who can see your email and phone number. Either board members/my captains, current teammates, or any player and you can change this setting at any time).

3) Mark MGHA emails as “Safe” or “Not Spam”

If you find an MGHA email in your spam/junk folder, be sure to let your email provider know it is safe/not spam. Don’t keep it marked as spam and then delete it! This process helps more than just your email inbox receive the emails; it also helps train the email program as a whole that emails from MGHA are safe and shouldn’t be sent to spam/junk folders.

OPTIONAL: You can also add filters in your email to make sure that important MGHA emails are never marked as spam and always show up where you want them. This is also a great way to ensure you see all the emails!

4) Adjusting Your Listserv Settings

You may not have noticed this, but there is a way to adjust your listserv email options by clicking the link at the bottom of the email signature in any email from an MGHA list email. Feel like you’re getting too many locker-room emails? You can change from receiving to getting a single daily digest (summary) email instead. Want to unsubscribe from an email list? You can do that too with the same link. While we don’t recommend unsubscribing from mgha-announce and other important email lists, it is your prerogative if you want to do so.

P.S. Are you a Listserv/Email expert?

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MGHA Super Bowl Sunday (2/8) Sign-Ups

Hi everyone!

There’s a Bad Bunny concert with a side of football coming up on February 8th, which means we don’t have our regularly scheduled games. But don’t worry, we’ve still got plenty of ice time for all! We’ll also have a potluck and viewing party in the Suter Suite to add to the festivities.

Potluck Social – Sign-Up Here

If you’re interested in snacking and socializing between scrimmages, we’ll have an informal potluck upstairs in the Suter Suite. Sign up to bring a dish or volunteer to set-up/clean-up, or just come enjoy the food!

If you’re bringing a dish, please label your food (with ingredients and your name) and bring serving utensils. The league will supply some plates, napkins, and utensils.

On-Ice Schedule

Rink A

4:50pm – L1 Clinic & Goalie Clinic (any level) – Clinic for L1 players and goalies of any level, led by experienced coaches! The ice will be split between skaters (L1 only) and goalies (any level).

6:00pm – L1/L2 Scrimmage

7:10pm – Goalie Curious Clinic – If you’ve ever been curious to try goaltending, this is your chance! Gear is kindly provided by our goalie friends in the league.

Rink B

4:00pm – Stick & Puck

5:10pm – L2/L3 Scrimmage

6:20pm – All-Levels Scrimmage

2/8 Super Bowl Sunday Events + Party

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MGHA Thanksgiving Sunday (11/30) Sign-Ups

Hi MGHA-ers!

Due to the holiday this week, we don’t have regular games this weekend. Instead, we have ice available for clinics, scrimmages, and a stick and puck. Plus, we’ll have a potluck social up in the Eagle’s Nest to encourage cross-league mingling and fun! So if you’re in town this Sunday, come to Legacy20 in Middleton to skate, snack, and socialize with your MGHA friends!

Potluck Social – sign-up here

If you’re interested in snacking and socializing between scrimmages, we’ll have an informal potluck upstairs in the Eagle’s Nest. Sign up to bring a dish or volunteer to set-up/clean-up, or just come enjoy the food!

If you’re bringing a dish, please label your food (with ingredients and your name) and bring serving utensils. The league will supply some plates, napkins, and utensils.

On-Ice Schedule

Rink A

5:10pm – Goalie Clinic – For current goalies of any level. Led by an experienced goalie coach. Shooters and helpers needed!

6:20pm – L1 Clinic – Led by experienced players and coaches.

Rink B

5:00pm – L1/L2 Scrimmage, bench coaches welcome

6:10pm – L2/L3 Scrimmage

7:20pm – Stick & Puck, all levels

11/30 Thanksgiving Sunday Events + Potluck!

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Questions? Contact Maddy McKeown or Greta Landis from HOps!

2025 Games! Score box shifts, subbing, and scheduling

Hey y’all! Hope you’re excited for our first games this weekend!! A few friendly reminders about scorebox volunteers and subbing before we get on the ice!

Double check locations and timing of your games, especially if you are subbing! You can sign up to sub or mark yourself absent before 8am Sunday morning to make sure you’re included in the subbing algorithm. Google Maps alleges that it takes 30 minutes to drive between rinks, so plan accordingly if you want to play in games in both locations!

Check out your scorebox shifts! Our league runs on volunteers, and all players are asked to participate in 2-5 score box shifts per season to run the clock (and music!) and track shots, saves, assists, and goals for each game, and upload score recording sheets to the MGHA website for season stats. More information about scorebox, and when your scorebox shifts are assigned, is on the MGHA Schedule page of the website. I marked up my schedule for next week to show you what it looks like. You need to be logged in to your MGHA account for this view!

If you’re new to scorebox, here’s the rundown! 

For each officiated game, there are 4 people total assigned to be in the score box, which includes one score box lead and three scorekeepers / timekeepers. Scorebox leads are folks who have been in the league for at least one year—they’re responsible for making sure a photo of the scoresheet is uploaded to our stats email and is signed by officials after each game, and are the points of contact if there is an emergency or any issues during the game. If you have questions about being a score box lead, reach out to HOps! Please read about the score box and how to perform your tasks here! We’ll be updating this page with information about the Deforest scorebox soon!

You can see ALL shifts for the season on the Score Box website page

Scroll down past the how-to’s and videos OR use CTRL+F to find a player or team name.

If you want to trade a shift, start here to see which players have a shift you’re able to cover.

You can also see YOUR SHIFTS the MGHA Schedule page

On each game night, you’ll see if you have a shift – a reminder about scorebox will go out on Wednesday. Shifts are auto-assigned based on your game time, then updated based on reported availability and individual shift trading.

Recommendations for trading shifts: Plan ahead if you can. Get your trades in before you head out of town. Start by asking your team, since scorebox shifts are based on your game times. Ask for help—we’ve already had folks using the locker room listserv, which is great! We’ve all been there, someone will step up to help – hops@, board@, team-name@, use listservs, team chats, etc. 

How to pick up a score box shift

If you want to pick up a shift from someone, then do the following: Click on the individual game from the MGHA Schedule and go to the specific game page. Click “take a shift” on the table. Click the “take” button – this will email the person you are taking a shift from and replace their name with your name across the website.

Thank you all for reading through this! Check out our website and reach out to our captains, coaches, HOps, or your mentor with questions!

2025 Preseason – October 26th and November 2nd Signups

For the two weeks after team reveal, we’re focusing on practices and team logistics. We need two weeks to get jersey information back from teams and get the jerseys back from the printers.

Every team in the league will have a dedicated team practice on one of the two nights. L1 and part of L2 will have their dedicated team practice on the first week while L3 and the remainder of L2 will have their practice the second week.

For those who don’t have a dedicated team practice, other on-ice events will be happening to keep you occupied.

So that others have a chance to sign up and participate with limited ice time, you may only sign up for one scrimmage or clinic. If you have a dedicated practice, please let those without dedicated ice sign up first.

Stick and puck is open to all, regardless of if you’ve signed up for another slot. If spots are remaining the day of the event, you may sign up for a second clinic or scrimmage.

Individual practice schedules are available on the MGHA Schedule page.

October 26th Schedule:

Middleton – Rink AMiddleton – Rink BDeForest
4:00 – 7:20 PM: Team Practices (See Schedule Page)

7:30 – 8:30 PM: L3 Scrimmage		5:00 – 7:10 PM: Team Practices (See Schedule Page)

7:20 – 8:20 PM: L2 Scrimmage		6:00 – 8:10 PM: Team Practices (See Schedule Page)

8:20 – 9:30 PM: Stick and Puck

November 2nd Schedule:

Middleton – Rink AMiddleton – Rink BDeForest
4:00 – 7:20 PM: Team Practices (See Schedule Page)

7:30 – 8:30 PM: L2/L3 Scrimmage		5:00 – 6:00 PM: L1 Practice (4 Teams, See Schedule Page)

6:10 – 7:10 PM: L1 Practice (4 Teams, See Schedule Page)

7:20 – 8:20 PM: Stick and Puck		6:00 – 8:10 PM: Team Practices (See Schedule Page)

8:20 – 9:30 PM: L2 Scrimmage

Sign up for 10/26 - Preseason

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Sign up for 11/2 - Preseason

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