Category: Announcements

2022 Summer Ice

We hope your summers are going well! We’ve got some fun summer ice opportunities coming up! Please read on for information on what’s happening and how to register!


WHAT:

Scrimmages – Separate L1 and L2 scrimmages – sign up for whichever you’re comfortable skating in. These will likely be more relaxed than the regular season pace of play. To start, please register for just one of the levels to allow more folks to play; if there’s space, you may sign up for (or sub in!) the other. 


Skills – Open to all levels – coached ice time to work on skating, passing, shooting, and gameplay concepts. Coaches will gladly take feedback on what folks want to work on. (If you are interested in coaching, reach out to Avery and/or Libs for more information!)


WHEN:

Skills: Tuesdays 7:50 – 8:35 (45 minutes) 

L1 Scrimmage: Tuesdays 8:45-9:45 (1 hour)

L2 Scrimmage: Thursdays: 7:50 – 8:50 (1 hour)


DATES:

10 weeks, June 21 – August 25 

Option to register for 5 week halves:

Skills / L1 scrimmage: June 21-July 19 // July 26 – August 23

L2 scrimmage: June 23 – July 21 // July 28 – August 23


WHERE

Capitol Ice Arena


COST:

Half summer scrimmage: $60

Full summer scrimmage: $120

Half summer skills: $35

Full summer skills: $70

Financial aid for summer ice is available – please fill out the financial aid form or reach out to the treasurer (treasurer@madisongayhockey.org


LINKS TO PAY/REGISTER (must be logged in to purchase!):

Notes

– Paying through the link will add you to the group you’re signing up for; no further action is needed at this time on that.

– If you are wanting to do the whole summer’s worth of scrimmages (10 weeks), you will need to purchase both items separately. Do not buy one session twice!

– At this time, only register for one or the other of the scrimmage groups. You may register for both a scrimmage group and skills!


L1 Early Scrimmage (June 21-July 19)

L1 Late Scrimmage (July 26 – August 23)

L2 Early Scrimmage (June 23 – July 21)

L2 Late Scrimmage (July 28 – August 23)

Skills – Early (June 21-July 19)

Skills – Late (July 26 – August 23)


Please reach out with any questions! We hope to see you on the ice this summer!

MGHA May 2022 News

MGHA Members elect 7 to MGHA Board of Directors for 2022-2023 season

The new board met in May to select their roles and focuses for the 2022-2023 season. Read more about the board and our individual responsibilities on the MGHA Board of Directors page. Contact us at any time – board@madisongayhockey.org.

Avery Cordingley, President

Leads the board of directors to implement programs that align with the league’s mission to sustain and grow the MGHA. Highest escalation point. Special focus on hockey operations, skills development and coaching.

Brett (Bront) Rojec, Registrawr

Manages USA hockey registrations, assists gear program and website development.

Christina Libs. [web]Secretary

Manages league-wide communication and documentation using the website, email, and meeting notes. Special focus to support hockey operations and coaching program development.

Gabby Grandin. HOPs Program Manager

Manages captains, coaches, mentorship programs, within Hockey Operations.

Gene Zadzilka, Treasurer 

Manages yearly budget, oversees Grant & Financial Aid Programs, bookkeeping, and sponsorships.

Laur Rivera, Conductor

Manages league-wide conduct standards, goalie operations, and recruiting.

Nat Carlston, Pro Socialite

Manages social communications, social media accounts, and recruiting.

New player applications are open

We recruit many players by word of mouth, so send your friends and fam to our Player Application Page at any time throughout the season. As always, the sooner the better – having accurate numbers help us budget and balance play as we grow.

Returning players will be able to reserve their spot for next season starting in June. Stay tuned here on our website and on email for more news and all the details for next season.

What Gay Hockey Means to Me” Essays released and winner announcement

This year we received four new essay responses – our players’ stories – in response to our yearly call to reflect on “What Gay Hockey Means to Me”. We encourage everyone to read each essay as they represent a unique blend of our community’s stories, and help us connect to each other off the ice.

Breanne Cyr’s Essay

Dexter Lane’s Essay

Leif Backus’ Story

Maggie Stack’s Essay

Join us in congratulating this year’s winner – Dexter Lane! Dex’s MGHA dues will be covered next year, and he’ll have a photo shoot to accompany his essay being featured in Our Lives Magazine.

 

Thanks for reading – we hope to see you out(side) in June! ☀

2021-2022 MGHA All the Way Award Winners

Here are your 2021-2022 MGHA All the Way Award Winners and the nice things their teams had to say about them.

End of the Rainbow: Sonny Graves
Watching Sonny’s debut as a goalie has been lots of fun and impressive. They always have an upbeat, positive attitude and their attitude is contagious. Sonny embodies what the MGHA is all about: the pure joy of playing the game of hockey in a friendly, positive, and supportive environment. They inspire me every week to be and do better. It’s a pleasure to be Sonny’s teammate this year!

The Necromancers: Mar Gosselar
Mar has been a phenomenal presence on the team, promoting team unity, compassion, and excitement. They’ve made our text chat a wholesome place and promoted a culture of caring for your teammates.

Skyfall: Peter Jones
Peter is our team cheerleader.  He always makes everyone feel like they have done their best. Peter has a positive, teamwork attitude that just makes people feel good! Whether from his kind words in the locker room, his silly “Get ‘em!” yells from the bench, or his screams & giggles on the ice when he wipes out, he is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face! Peter makes hockey fun and the overall MGHA experience special and memorable!

Green Eggs and WHAM!  Christy Churchill
Special message from Abby – I can’t think of anyone more well-suited for this award than my sibling, Christy. Their upbeat and positive attitude, even after a loss, was a critical fixture on our team. Throughout the season, they went out of their way to provide positive feedback to many members of our team after each game – they managed to observe individual players while in net AND make some wicked saves. In addition, their tremendous improvement over the season was inspiring to us all. Congrats, Christy, you deserve it!

Slippery When Wet: Bri “Fitzie” Fitzgerald
Fitzie always brings positive energy to games. From their willingness to play whatever position, to their friendliness to every teammate and sub who entered our locker room, to their attitude of “I feel like I have to sample the stick breaking in my next song” after a stick-breaking injury, Fitzie is the embodiment of positivity, and well deserving of the all-the-way award.

The Harvey Milks: Shiny!
Shiny is always a friendly and positive presence in the locker room and on the ice. He makes everyone feel welcomed on and off the ice. Shiny helped lead our practices and always has encouraging words for other players. He keeps a positive attitude on the ice and always looks for assists. He plays inclusively, supports his teammates, and always encourages folks to join him for post-game beverages!

The Fanta-Sticks! Sarah Johnson-Mehrkens
Sarah jumped in to play defense for the first time while learning new skills each week, and has continued to support the team from the bench!
Sarah has been an amazing asset to The Fanta-Sticks! showing flexibility, team spirit, and commitment to growth and learning.  When she was injured and it was clear that her season was over,  she put on a helmet and joined us on the bench,  providing coaching, encouragement, and cheers.  Even though she’s not physically with us on the ice,  she’s still with us 100% and we couldn’t be happier.  Sarah is totally MGHA All the Way!

The Abominable Snowpeeps: Alex Krajek
As a new player this year, Alex has fully immersed himself in the MGHA. He subs for multiple games, plays hard each week, and takes to heart any advice offered. His growth this year is absolutely amazing!

Caution! Trisha Adamus
Tricia exemplifies team spirit. She’s our team mom, always bringing snacks and making sure everyone feels comfortable. Trisha has an infectious enthusiasm for the game and for the league. She’s always inclusive, always modeling good sportsmanship, and she’s just a joy to play hockey with – exemplifying the MGHA way!

Sauce: Ames Barker
Ames has done an amazing job this season of leading by example, both on and off the ice.
Ames joined our team and immediately stepped into the role of mentor and took the time each week to help players learn. They are unselfish with the puck and have made it their goal of the season to try to be the supporting player and go for the assist first and foremost so as to get new players their first goal(s). Numerous times they have taken on tasks for the team and been an absolute support. They embody the league’s definition of the MGHA way. Our team is that much better whenever Ames is there to go All The Way!

The Red Flags: Gene Zadzilka
Gene is our team’s biggest cheerleader. He’s always willing to help, offering advice, and volunteering his time. His passion for the sport, the team, and this league is awesome!

Black Holes: Christina Libs
Captain Christina brought the encouragement, organization, and dance energy that made this season extra good—she went above and beyond to manage the challenges of balancing teams in L2, provided great feedback from the bench and recognized growth in teammates of all skill levels, and was calm and caring as we navigated the great unknowns of the pandemic (and deep space). Her organization of the super fun pond hockey tournament was top notch. She’s the holiest of the Black Holes!

Magic School Bus: Alanna Friscino
Alanna is always positive, promoting and accepting individuality. Alanna has been a wonderful teammate during her first season with MGHA. She is always excited to be on the ice and supports her teammates and captains with thoughtful advice and enthusiasm!

Violet Villains: Erica Fry
Erica has been an exemplary player on the Violet Villains all season. She always has wise and calming words for other players, both one on one and between periods to the team. She’s a smart player, level headed, and makes any line she’s on that much stronger.

Scrimmages and Clinics (Feb. 13, 2022)

Hey all! If you’re not planning to watch the football game on Sunday night, come join us for a night of hockey.

We’re initially planning 3 scrimmage games and a clinic for beginner / intermediate players. We have room to grow if there’s enough interest, though.

We’re still ironing out the details of the clinic, but we’re thinking it will be contact-focused. We’ll show the dos and don’ts of contact in the league along with some drills to drive home those themes. You may sign up for the clinic AND a scrimmage slot.

We will also have a GOALIE CURIOUS clinic led by Gene where you can strap on the pads and give it a shot without the pressure of a game. These slots are limited since so much equipment is required. Equipment will be available and helpers to assist.

If we fill a slot and that is the safest slot for a different player, we may ask those who can comfortably play at another time slot to shift to make room for someone who fits better in that slot. Thanks for your understanding!

And please sign up early so that we have an idea of exactly how many slots we need. In an effort to be fully transparent, we’re keeping the number of slots low to begin with because we don’t normally get a huge turnout. If turnout ends up being greater than expected, we can and will assess and add a slot, likely at either 4:30 PM or 7:20 PM.

Remember that you must be logged in to sign up.

Scrimmage and Skills Night (Feb 13, 2022)

You must log in to sign up.


League Games 1/23/2022 !

Games! We will be holding regularly scheduled games this week! 

If you are unable to attend this week or are uncomfortable attending, please mark yourself absent on the website, or tell your captain so they can mark you absent on the website. We do have a number of absences this week for various reasons, so be sure to sign up to sub if you are able! Login to the website and go to Teams and Schedules to see the games and the checkboxes for subbing and absences https://www.madisongayhockey.org/teams-schedule/ The potential sub list and contact info email goes out to captains at noon on Sunday.

While you’re on the website volunteering to sub, please verify your contact info so Captains can reach you on Sunday afternoon. https://www.madisongayhockey.org/account/

Conduct and Inclusive Play – the MGHA Way

This is a quick mid-season reminder that in the MGHA, safety and inclusivity are our highest priorities. We are no-checking, but we are not no-contact. We also want everyone to be as safe as possible on and off the ice, so plays like intentional tripping, boarding, headshots, and slap shots are unnecessary and potentially dangerous. We are here to have fun and play hockey with our friends! We will be asking captains to reinforce this message in the locker rooms. 

COVID REMINDERS

Please stay home if you test positive (even if you feel fine) or are experiencing cold-like symptoms. If you weren’t already marked absent, let your captains know asap.

Submit your booster information or Ian will chase you down!

If you have not had the opportunity to get a booster, contact the board and we can help you get transportation to a vaccination clinic. If you are not yet eligible for a booster, let us know. We would like this info by the 22nd, we will extend a grace period until Jan 29th.

Google form submission: You can submit your vaccination card or state registry information in the google form https://forms.gle/ZrDnfKZLsH2k4WMo9. We will delete the information in the google form at the end of the season. This is the preferred method of submission (although we understand if you are uncomfortable with submitting this information in our google form. Please see options below).

E-mail/Text: Alternatively, you can email your booster vaccination proof to Ian Leach at Ian_Leach_18@icloud.com or text it to 734-775-4581. Please include your full name (as it appears in the MGHA website) in your message. While Ian will make every effort to delete these messages from his personal email and text chains, he cannot guarantee they will be removed by a specific date or they will not appear in deleted or archived folders.

In person: We will be offering in-person validation of vaccination information from 6:30-8:00 on Sunday 1/23 (permitting we have games or scrimmages on this day). If this time does not work for you, please reach out to Board@MadisonGayHockey.org for alternative arrangements.

Thank you for protecting one another, for protecting yourselves, and for making our league as safe as possible in these challenging times.

Scrimmages (Jan. 9, 2022)

Hey everyone! With the surge in COVID cases and an uptick in absences, we’re opting for scrimmages instead of games this week.

We have four slots currently scheduled, but, should the need arise, we’ll augment our schedule with an additional slot. If that happens, the first slot added will be at 4:30 PM. Please reach out if the slots are filling up and you don’t have a place to sign up.

In addition to the scrimmages, David Parter has volunteered to coach a clinic for beginner/intermediate players on positioning and basic skills. You may sign up for this clinic AND a scrimmage. Once the clinic slots are full, they are full.

If we fill a slot and that is the safest slot for a different player, we may ask those who can comfortably play at another time slot to shift to make room for someone who fits better in that slot.

Thanks for your understanding!

Remember that you must be logged in to sign up.

Scrimmage and Skills Night (Feb 13, 2022)

You must log in to sign up.


Scrimmages (Jan. 2, 2022)

Hey everyone! With the surge in COVID cases and an uptick in absences, we’re opting for scrimmages instead of games this week.

We have four slots currently scheduled, but, should the need arise, we’ll augment our schedule with an additional slot or two. If that happens, the first slot added will be at 6:50 PM with an additional possible at 7:20 PM. Please reach out if the slots are filling up and you don’t have a place to sign up.

If we fill a slot and that is the safest slot for a different player, we may ask those who can comfortably play at another time slot to shift to make room for someone who fits better in that slot.

Thanks for your understanding!

Remember that you must be logged in to sign up.

Scrimmage and Skills Night (Feb 13, 2022)

You must log in to sign up.