Hello MGHAers!

Tim here. He/him. Hockey Operations (HOps) lead and league scheduler for the past 9 years. You’ll hear a lot from me during the preseason, but I’ll always do my best to keep the message clear.

We’re so close to getting things rolling for the 2024-2025 season. I have a preseason schedule pretty much finished, but I’m waiting for a couple of small confirmations before I release the whole thing.

We’re officially 2 weeks away from the official start, so I wanted to get a quick email out so that everyone can mark their calendars for the first couple of weeks. I’ll be sending a full schedule and sign-up links in a future email, so be on the lookout.

Here we go…

September 8:

The first week is only for those who are new to skating or new to hockey. We’ll be looking for a few helpers for the first couple of weeks, as well.

• 3:30 PM – Orientation: If you’re new to the MGHA, you must attend one of our off-ice orientation sessions. 
• 5:00 PM – New-to-Skating / New-to-Hockey: This session is for those who are brand new to our league who have never played hockey before. We’ll have coaches and helpers to make sure you succeed. I promise… we’ve got you!

September 15:

The second week will be the first week of the season for returning players. There will be a second orientation session as well. For the scrimmages, players are welcome to try skating in whichever level they feel comfortable. If you’re looking to move up this season, consider skating in the higher level to get a feel for it.

• 6:00 PM – Orientation: If you’re new to the MGHA, you must attend one of our off-ice orientation sessions. 
• 4:30 PM – New-to-Skating / New-to-Hockey: We continue our session for new MGHAers who have never played hockey before. Similar to the first week, we’ll help you through the basics.
• 5:00 PM – L2 Player Scrimmage
• 5:40 PM – L2 Player Scrimmage
• 6:10 PM – L2-L3 Small Space Drills (led by L3 skaters to improve your skills)
• 6:50 PM – L1 Player Scrimmage
• 7:20 PM – L3 Player Scrimmage

The rest of the preseason will run every Sunday through 10/20, which will be our team reveal night! We’ll have two weeks of team practices on 10/27 and 11/3. Then, games will start on 11/10.

We’ll have a lot more information for you on all of that very soon, but for now, block off your calendars for what’s listed above.

Questions? Reach out and let me know.

See you on the ice soon!

Tim (he/him)

on behalf of HOps and the Board

Buncha’ Pylons (Orange L3) 

Joe Bartol – Joe brings encouraging energy and spirit to the bench in good times and bad! He’s the first guy to welcome you back after a shift and build you up, and he always has a positive take on what’s going on around him. Joe exemplifies the MGHA Way, where the quality of the company we keep and the fun we have together is #1

Encouraging both on-ice and off-ice, always happy to chat and either help someone feel more comfortable, or help someone develop more skills. I always enjoy having them on my team and I think he’s very much deserving of the award!

Dandy Lions (Yellow L3) 

Sherry Holly – This award belongs to Sherry Holly, the epitome of teamwork and inclusivity on the ice. Through steady support and encouragement, Sherry has fostered an environment where every teammate feels valued and respected. Her calm demeanor under pressure and reliability in critical moments have been instrumental in the team’s success. Moreover, her positivity radiates, uplifting the spirits of everyone around her. In a sport fueled by intensity, Sherry stands out for her unwavering composure. She has the ability to take a message from the captains or board and reconstruct it for the team, so it comes across solution oriented rather than deficit focused. She exemplifies sportsmanship and camaraderie, making her truly deserving of the All the Way Award for the Dandy Lions.

Déjà Blue (Blue L3) 

Emily Feinstein – Emily, simply put, IS HOCKEY. She represents everything I love about the sport: the strategy, the speed, the skill, and the ability to “leave it all on the ice.” As a captain and coach, she’s patient, kind, and focuses just as much on the “attaboys” as she does on the “ya-done-f*cked-ups” and has been instrumental in helping me and my teammates gain a better grasp on the game – especially at the L3 level. As a player, a coach, a captain, a mentor, and a friend, she is the whole package, and an asset to MGHA. Thanks for an amazing season, Emily!

Emily really stepped it up to take care of our teammates so far all season long.

Extremely Well Red (Red L1) 

Lizzie McBride –  She has come into MGHA for her first year and has always been positive. Very open to learning new tricks and trying new things.

Lizzie started this season and brought both team spirit and learning multiple positions. She has shown the MGHA Way both on and off ice around all our layers.

Frozen Puckaneers (Sky Blue L2) 

Brian Juchems – He is always most welcoming

Brian is always positive, smiling, taking care of folks. He’s a joy to have around and makes the team a welcoming place! Brian has been nothing but positive and one to everyone and about everything this season.

Limelights (Lime L1) 

Evelyn Kahl – Evelyn plays as if she’s been a hockey goalie for YEARS! I’m so beyond blown away at how far she grew over the course of the season. She is also an amazing person off the ice, for example she led the charge to get pizza after our games. Love you Evelyn!

Evelyn has an excellent attitude; always upbeat and encouraging.

Maroon XV (Maroon L1) 

Paul Weber – Paul is always ready to hype up every little win or improvement that anyone makes and always leads the team in cheers from the bench. He exemplifies what it means to play the MGHA way in always supporting everyone and helping others grow. Also, his baking is second to none.

Paul brings an incredible energy to the bench and for the team. He brings baked goods just about every game just to get us feeling good. He also has created so many cheats for the team and continues to push a positive and fun energy to our group on the ice!

Paul is our team cheerleader and cruise director. His presence in the locker room brings light & joy. One of the very best teammates I’ve ever had.

Red Hot Chilly Puckers (Red L2) 

Jill “JJ” Hovden – She’s one of the biggest team players I’ve ever met, and I think she exemplifies what it means to go all the way. She never fails to uplift others and it’s literally impossible to be in a bad mood around her. I’m damn proud to be on her team.

In her first season in the league, Jill has been tremendously receptive to MGHA style hockey, friendly and welcoming in the locker room, and a positive teammate.

Mari Verbeten Sexy Train 2: The ‘Boose is Loose (Maroon L3) 

Mari Verbeten – This year, Mari embodied the MGHA Way and “walked the walk” of how to play L3 hockey. Through her ice skating/dancing through sticky situations and endless encouragement, backed with action to develop smart strategic plays, Mari showed us how it’s done. She acknowledges each small moment of progress for our Sexy Train, and celebrates teammates’ skills and accomplishments every week. Mari conducts with positivity and humble leadership on the ice, and lays the track for inclusive and joyful hockey. The MGHA is better off with her showing us how to hockey, and we are grateful for the friendship and high-speed hockey Mari brought to Sexy Train this year. Chugga chugga for now, choo choo forever. Thanks Mari!

Skeleton Crew (White L1)

Andy Girnau-Gomez – Andy shows up to every game, every practice, and every social event. He volunteers when he can and hangs around to watch games. He’s always down to sub when other teams are in need and helps out with both the Team Trans Friendship tournament and the MGHA tournaments. He’s a great friend and always checks in on his team mates.

When we found ourselves without a goalie in the middle of the season, Andy volunteered his time, resources, knees, and hips to learn how to play the position, which in itself is worthy of an All The Way Award. But Andy has also been a constant positive presence on and off the ice, offering helpful feedback during games and at open skates, and always offering to buy his teammates a beer – or a shot of malört!

Andy is the jolly, irreverent uncle we all wish we had. He keeps things light in the locker room, then goes and plays his heart out on the ice. He tried GOALIE this year, for crying out loud! I definitely think he deserves to be recognized for his team spirit and excellent attitude. Go Andy!

The Crows Have Skates (Black L2) 

Jude Denlinger – Jude is a talented player, an exemplary leader, and a fantastic teammate. They always emphasize inclusion and support of one another, while also finding a way to educate and motivate their fellow teammates.

This is Jude’s first year as a team captain and they did a great job leading the team and playing stand out defense. Jude is always reminding us to have fun, be safe on the ice, skate in control and play the MGHA way. We are very fortunate to have such a wonderful person leading the way for the Crows. CAAAW CAAAW!

They always have such a positive attitude and are always super supportive of everyone in the league.

Jude is an excellent captain. They are very supportive of everyone on the team and are always giving positive feedback. They also lead by example when it comes to playing the MGHA way.

The Yellowship of the Rink (Yellow L2) 

Drew Kohrs – He’s always upbeat and patient, especially helping me learn my first year on ice. I was always happy when he went out and played defense with me.

Drew is an exemplar of the MGHA way, on and off the ice. During games he can be found encouraging, coaching, and cheering on teammates from the bench. He’s even acted as an unofficial assistant captain when one of the captains is out. He always brings a positive attitude to the locker room and really makes it a fun team to be on.

Top Cheddar (Orange L2) 

David Hafner – David has been a leader on our team all season. He has great vision of the game both on the ice and on the bench. David is quick to offer advice to our team between periods and even quicker to acknowledge the good in his teammates. David is the GOAT…cheese.

I had a lot of fun playing with David this season. He is always upbeat and supportive of his teammates. He offered a lot of great advice and tips on the ice and off.

Trash Pandas (White L2) 

Sam Erickson – Sam joined the league after the skills assessments already took place and was placed on Trash Pandas after not really playing hockey before. He jumped in skates first ready to go, and has subbed a lot for other L2 teams! He always has the most positive attitude in the locker room before and after the games, as well as on the bench waiting to hop on the ice. Sam is also a big team player. Rather than taking shots on the goal all the time, Sam makes the extra effort to pass to his fellow forwards to give them the opportunity to score. (But to brag for him, he is one of our team’s leading scorers, so he probably wants to spread the love.) Sam is an all around great person to have gotten to know 🙂

Sam always comes with a positive, enthusiastic attitude. Sam is great about looking out for his teammates and cheering everyone on. Sam is a great asset to the team!

Under the Sea (Blue L1) 

Amanda Bloo Walker is wonderful–always cheerful, smiling, happy to be on the ice, and so much fun to have in goalie as a defender! We hype each other up on the ice and everybody’s always laughing when Bloo’s around.

Bloo has great team spirit and she’s always willing to learn, improve, and listen to her teammates. It’s been great to play with her this year!

Whose Lime is it Anyway? (Lime L2) 

Mandy Morrow – Mandy has led the team, organized lines, gotten subs (many every week), and maintained a positive can-do attitude throughout the whole season. You could say she’s really squeezing that lime. She lifts people up and generates a great sense of camaraderie so everyone feels valued and supported. Her ability to improvise with lines, devising a “sub-lime” line concept, as well as various fun cheers has really pulled the team together this year and been one of the most positive in my experience. All this on top of being injured and out for a good chunk of the season! Anyway, ayedeayedeayde I could go on, but really the points don’t matter with such a great captain who knows all the best lines for us limes.

Mandy has always been helpful giving advice to me for how to improve. She had an injury and still came to games, helping out and kept a very positive attitude despite not being able to play.

Wonka’s Winners (Gold L1)

Bre Cyr – Bre was a great social aspect of the team this year. She took the Wonka name to heart and bought team patches for everyone’s jerseys. She helped to organize a team outing to see the new Wonka movie and started the team Facebook page. She also took on a role as a scorebox lead. On the ice, she stepped up to sub more often this year and showed a lot of improvement in her play. She’s a great teammate to have and shows what it is to play the MGHA way!

Zambluenis (Royal Blue L2) 

Christopher “Wally” Walters – Wally arrives for every game with a big smile on his face. He’s encouraging and helpful on and off the ice and he’s willing to put it all on the ice with a laugh and occasionally a penalty?

TL;DR Please fill out All the Way Award nomination for your team by Thursday 3/7.

The survey has 3 questions (plus one optional) and the nice things you say about your teammate may be published in a post and possibly read out loud on Championship Night (3/24)!

Examples of previous nominations:

{Player} was new to the league this year, but immediately took to the concept of playing the MGHA way. As an experienced player, they quickly learned how to adjust their play style, and always worked collaboratively with their linemates to help create plays. On the bench and in the locker room, {player} was always upbeat and inclusive. They even dyed their hair blue to match our team’s jerseys!

{Player} exemplifies a team player. They volunteered to play whatever position was needed even though they preferred defense. Over and over they quietly explained the MGHA way, making everyone feel welcome and giving them a chance to succeed. 

Here is last season’s post about the winners for more examples https://www.madisongayhockey.org/2022-2023-mgha-all-the-way-award-winners/

We will be reaching out to captains to confirm their team’s selection after the nomination deadline.