Category: Announcements

Our Response to the NHL Pride Ban

Hockey is for everyone. Hockey should be for everyone.

The Madison Gay Hockey Association’s central mission is to provide opportunities to play hockey for people who have historically felt marginalized in traditional sports settings. We’re committed to putting those people in pads, giving them a stick, and teaching them to love the game as much as we do.

The NHL’s recent decision to ban Pride jerseys and Pride tape is directly contradictory to our mission, and makes our work so much harder. How are queer and questioning athletes supposed to feel about hockey when one of the premiere hockey organizations in the world is loudly proclaiming, “you’re not welcome here”?

Getting queer folks to play hockey is hard. Most of us have grown up being taught that team sports are not for us and that we’re not welcome, hearing as much from coaches, from classmates, from opponents – and now also from the NHL. The MGHA works tirelessly to convince people who have grown up hearing this to give hockey a try. It’s hard work – there are a lot of scared faces the first time a new cohort steps on the ice, and some quit before they even get that far.

And the people who stick it out? It can be life-altering. At the end of each season, our players have the opportunity to respond to the essay prompt “What Gay Hockey Means To Me.” They write about how much the hockey community has come to mean to them, how they’ve grown as people and as athletes, and how hockey has become a positive and empowering force in their lives. We hear about the positive impact hockey can have, year after year after year.

The MGHA is the largest gay hockey league in the world. We have 270 skaters for the 2023-2024 season and are fielding 18 teams. Our organization is steadfastly dedicated to the idea that hockey is for everyone, and we’ve been incredibly successful in convincing our community that there is a place for them in hockey.

The NHL has the opportunity to be a part of this. The NHL is in the best position to make hockey a welcoming, inclusive space. The first step: reverse the Pride ban. Let our community know that you’ve heard us, and that there’s a space for us in the NHL. You started the “Hockey Is For Everyone” initiative – prove to us that you mean it.

The NHL has been a force for good in this space, and can be again.

#hockeyshouldbeforeveryone

2023 MGHA Preseason – Team Reveal Night and Scrimmage Sign Up

Schedule

Sign up for one session. If there are spots still available in the 24 hours leading up to sessions, you may sign up for another.

  • 4:30 PM – MGHA Classic-Style Scrimmage (L1 and L2 Welcome!), Rink B
  • 5:10 PM – L1 Style Scrimmage, Rink A
  • 5:40 PM – L2 Style Scrimmage, Rink B
  • 6:20 PM – L3 Style Scrimmage, Rink A
  • 7:40 PM – TEAM REVEAL
  • 8:30 PM – L2 Style Scrimmage, Rink A

Sign up for 10/15 - Team Reveal Night

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New player social, t-shirt designs, play-with requests, and other hockey logistics!

Hey y’all! Great to see so many of you on the ice as we gear up for the season! We have a few more (yes, more) announcements to help us kick off the MGHA season. Links to polls and pages for your input are highlighted in yellow.

First, the fun stuff! 

New player social

We’re excited to get to know each other on the ice and off, so we’ll be scheduling a new player social at I/O Arcade Bar in early October. We need your help to pick a date! Fill out this poll by next Wednesday, Sept. 27 and we’ll get it on the calendar! All players welcome, but we’ll prioritize the time that works best for new-to-the-MGHA folks. 

Rinkside social time during the season

We’re also looking for a few volunteers interested in coordinating regular meetups at Cap Ice on Sundays as the season gets going (think board games, crafts, or other low-key activities upstairs in the Eagle’s Nest between ice time). If you’re interested in helping with this, reach out to the Board or me (Greta).

T-shirt designs!

All MGHA players get a comfy, colorful t-shirt as part of your participation in the league, and this year we’re opening up the design process to you! If you’re interested in volunteering a little hockey-related art, submit your design using the guidelines on this form by Friday, October 8. This league runs on volunteer labor—it means a lot that you’re willing to share your design skills! We’ll open the designs up to league-wide voting the week of October 11, and share the winning design at team reveal night on October 15, and we’ll credit the winning designer for this year with an announcement on our website and in your player profile. Contact Gene or Gabby if you have questions about t-shirts.

And now, some gentle reminders and logistics!

‘Play with’ requests for forming teams

We’ll be doing evaluations over the next 3 weekends to help us create balanced teams, but we also take input from you! If you have a carpool buddy or someone you don’t feel safe playing with this year, this is how you let us know. We’ll do our best to honor these requests during the team creation process. There are three options: must play with, would like to play with, and would not feel safe playing with. All of this is detailed when you log in to your account at the link here. You do not have to fill this form out if you do not have any requests.

Update your profile with a photo and your USA hockey registration number

With 270 of us, adding photos to our player profiles helps us build community and recognize each other when we’re out of our hockey gear. You can edit your profile to add a photo and your USA Hockey registration number. 

League Fees

To pay the ice time bills, we need to collect league fees. The MGHA is committed to making hockey accessible to all members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and funds are available to provide financial assistance to players in need. To request financial assistance to help cover the cost of your league fees or gear, please complete our financial assistance form. If you have any questions, please contact Gene, our treasurer. 

Ok that’s it for now! Happy hockey!

Greta

she/her

2023 MGHA Preseason – October 8th Sign Up

Schedule

Sign up for one session. If there are spots still available in the 24 hours leading up to sessions, you may sign up for another.

  • 5:10 PM – L1 Style Scrimmage, Rink B
  • 6:20 PM – New-to-Hockey Structured Scrimmage, led by Tim T, Rink B
    • Hockey 101 will be held immediately after around 7:30 PM (likely in the Eagle’s Nest or lobby)
  • 6:30 PM – L2 Style Scrimmage, Rink A
  • 7:30 PM – L3 Style Scrimmage, Rink B
  • 7:40 PM – Make Up Evaluations for All Levels
  • 8:40 PM – L2 Style Scrimmage, Rink B

Sign up for 10/8 - Preseason

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2023 MGHA Preseason – October 1st Sign Up

Reminder: Help Hockey Happen – update your profile with interest to be a captain, coach, or gameday volunteer. We still need over 140 players to fill this out – help us wrangle y’all cats <3.

L1 and L2 Evaluations Night – Rink A and Rink B

Sign up for one 20 minute session, if you intend to play for either level.

  • 5:00 – 5:20 PM: Session 1
  • 5:20 – 5:40 PM: Session 2
  • 5:40 – 6:00 PM: Session 3
  • 6:00 – 6:20 PM: Session 4
  • 6:20 – 6:40 PM: Session 5
  • BREAK – Zamboni
  • 7:00 – 7:20 PM: Session 6
  • 7:20 – 7:40 PM: Session 7
  • 7:40 – 8:00 PM: Session 8
  • 8:00 – 8:20 PM: Session 9
  • 8:20 – 8:40 PM: Session 10
  • 8:40 – 9:00 PM: Wrap Up

Help Evals Happen – 90 1.5h shifts to fill

Sign up for a volunteer shift (4:30-6, 6-7:30, 7:30-9) to note results for an evaluation stations – show up on time and you’ll get direct guidance on what to do. If we don’t have enough people sign up for shifts, we will staff folks based on their responses to their profile preference.

Need help?

  • If you cannot attend evaluations, sign up for the general makeup evals scheduled for October 8th OR contact hops@madisongayhockey.org if you cannot make any time work with your schedule.
  • If you have issues with the signups, please contact the website@ email listserv.
  • If you have questions about which sessions to sign up for, check with your mentor, hockey operations (hops@) or the board (board@madisongayhockey.org).

Sign up for 10/1 - L1 and L2 Evaluations

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2023 MGHA Preseason – Sept 24th Sign Up

Reminder: Help Hockey Happen – update your profile with interest to be a captain, coach, or gameday volunteer. We still need over 140 players to fill this out – help us wrangle y’all cats <3.

Rink A: Goalie Evaluations

Sign up for one session, based on the level(s) you want to play in this year.

  • 5:00 – 5:40 PM: L1 or L2
  • 5:40 – 6:20 PM: L2
  • 6:20 – 7:00 PM: L2 or L3

Rink B: L3 Prospective Skater Evaluations

Sign up for one session if you want to play in L3 this year. We want to evaluate all players together this year.

  • 5:00 – 5:20 PM: Session 1
  • 5:20 – 5:40 PM: Session 2
  • 5:40 – 6:00 PM: Session 3
  • 6:00 – 6:20 PM: Session 4
  • 6:30 – 7:00 PM: Session 5

Rink A L1 Clinics – Beginner Skills

  • 7:10 – 8:10 PM: New-to-MGHA Clinic, led by Mark N, Amanda T, Zach S, Doug L, John S
  • 8:20 – 9:20 PM: Returning L1 Player Clinic, led by Mark N, Ted J, Amanda T, Kriona H

Rink B: L2 Clinics – Intermediate Skills

  • 7:10 – 8:10 PM: L2 Early Clinic, led by Alanna F, Greta L, Paul W, Trisha A, Leif B
  • 8:20 – 9:20 PM: L2 Late Clinic, led by Alanna F, Greta L, Alex K, David H, Trisha A, Leif B

Help Evals Happen – 30 1.5h shifts to fill

Sign up for a volunteer shift (4:30-6, 6-7:15) to note results for an evaluation stations – show up on time and you’ll get direct guidance on what to do. If we don’t have enough people sign up for shifts, we will staff folks based on their responses to their profile preference.

Need help?

  • If you cannot attend evaluations, sign up for the general makeup evals scheduled for October 8th OR contact hops@madisongayhockey.org if you cannot make any time work with your schedule.
  • If you have issues with the signups, please contact website@madisongayhockey.org.
  • If you have questions about which sessions to sign up for, check with your mentor, hops@ or board@madisongayhockey.org.

Sign Up for 9/24 - Goalie and L3 Evaluations, L1 and L2 Clinics

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Help Hockey Happen! Please update your Account.

ACTION – Update your Player Account page with which role option(s) you want to help hockey happen each year.

Note: Your selections are not publicly visible and what you click does NOT automatically mean you will be asked to take on the role. Your input will be used by operations folks to get roles filled more quickly.

But, why?

Each year, MGHA puts on a large-scale, volunteer-operated season.

We have about 200 ice times, 130 games and over 250 players. We need ~40 captains, ~40 coaches and 520 scorebox shifts covered

With more MGHAing to do than ever before, we’re asking all players how they want to help hockey happen. Kindly read through each hockey-oriented role’s key responsibilities and reminders to decide how you can to help our MGHA mission and community thrive!

Captain Responsibilities:

  1. Select subs to balance gameplay by filling roster gaps.
  2. Lead team communication during pre- and post- game locker room time, period breaks, team emails/chat groups, and regular pass-down info from league-wide announcements.
  3. Set lines and strategy, requesting support from coaches as needed.

Coach Responsibilities:

  • Support Captains and be a second set of eyes so they can be present as skaters. As requested, share tips/tricks/notes at period breaks and in the locker room. Converse with players on the bench and be open to questions.
  • Coach to team- and player-specific goals by observing play, noticing patterns, and celebrating small and big wins that demonstrate progress.
  • Share hockey knowledge and be able to explain position-based strategy. Explain and show techniques, lead with why it matters.

These following roles require ZERO hockey skill. If you didn’t sign up for one above, please select at least one of these when filling out your /account page.

  • Evaluations Helper: Work a shift at evaluations skills station, instruct players on what skill to perform, hold a clipboard and write down the result. That’s it!
  • Scorebox Leader: Use your experience with score box and stats to guide and educate newer folks others.
  • Scorebox Support Staff: Show up to the score box on time, learn and perform hands-on tasks; keep time, update score, track shots on goal, play music, get pucks where they need to be, submit stats to website.

Thanks!

Official 2023-2024 MGHA Season Ice Schedule

It’s here! The Official MGHA 2023-2024 Ice Time Schedule for the year:

Preseason

SEPTEMBER

10th: New-to-MGHA Orientation

17th: New Player Skills, Returning Player Scrimmages

24th: Prospective L3 and Goalie Evaluations, Skills Clinics

OCTOBER

1st: L1 and L2 Evaluations

8th: Makeup Evaluations, Scrimmages

15th: Team Reveal, Scrimmages

22nd and 29th: Team Practices

Regular Season

NOVEMBER

5th: Team Games

12th: Team Games

19th: Team Games

26th: Thanksgiving Scrimmages

DECEMBER

3rd: L1 Practice, L2 and L3 Team Games

10th: Team Games

17th: Team Games

24th and 31st: BREAK for the Holigays

JANUARY

7th: Team Games

14th: BREAK – no games due to Madison Capitols tournament.

21st: L1 Practice, L2 and L3 Team Games

28th: Team Games

FEBRUARY

4th: Team Games (delayed start times for Madison Capitols tournament)

11th: Super Bowl Scrimmages

18th: Team Games

25th: L1 Practice, L2 and L3 Team Games

MARCH

3rd: BREAK – no games due to Madison Capitols tournament.

10th: Team Games

17th: Team Games

24th: Championship Night Team Games

Who’s behind all this?

Tim T. (backed up by Avery C.) actively manages this schedule with Tyler at Capitol Ice. Ice times are budgeted and approved by the MGHA Board of Directors.

When ice time changes, affected players will be directly notified ASAP while the website and calendar will be updated passively.

Notice a website or calendar issue?

If you’ve added our MGHA calendar to your personal calendar AND you notice any issues or differences between the two tools, remove the calendar and re-sync it. If that doesn’t work, reach out to the website@ listserv and share what’s wrong.

Have schedule questions or comments?

Contact Hockey Operations leaders specifically or the bigger group using the hockey-ops@ listserv.

  • Christina L. for captain, coach, volunteer wrangling.
  • Tim T. for rink scheduling.
  • Gabby G. (also on the Board of Directors) for evaluations and skill development.

2023 MGHA Preseason – Sept 17th Sign Up

Reminder: To sign up, you must have this year’s USA Hockey # on your profile. Learn how to register and update your profile on this here post.

NEW PLAYER SCHEDULE:

4:00 PM Gear Up in the Locker Room

  • Mentors can join new skaters to support (their first!) proper gear fitting.

4:30 PM On-Ice Skills, Rink B, Leaders: Mark N, Ted J

  • All New-to-MGHA Players are welcome
  • These drills will train basic skills, designed for those new to skating or hockey.

5:40 PM On-Ice Skills, Rink B

  • These drills will train basic skills, regardless of your ice skating or hockey experience. 
  • Leaders: Mark N, Ted J

7:00 PM New Player Orientation (off-ice), Leaders: Amanda T, Kriona H, Mark N.

  • If you cannot attend either orientation (9/10 or 9/17), please check in with your mentor to get a recap.

—

RETURNING PLAYER SCHEDULE:

Please only sign up for one session below. If there are empty slots 48 hours prior to the event, we will allow signing up for multiple sessions.

5:00 PM L2 Returning Player Scrimmage, Rink A

6:10 PM L2/L3 Small Space Drills, Rink A

  • Limited to 60 skaters and 8 goalies for coaching and space constraints
  • Example drill: turn net to corner, everyone is the goalie’s enemy (4 goalies, 4 nets, 7 on a side, 14 skaters in each corner)
  • Designed by: Gabby G
  • Leaders: Avery C, Emily F, and 1 TBD (contact Gabby to help)

6:50 PM L1 Returning Player Scrimmage, Rink B

7:20 PM L3 Returning Player Scrimmage, Rink A

Scrimmage Reminder: If you have 3 or 4 goalies sign up to scrimmage, please work together to share time in net equitably and safely.

Need help?

  • If you have issues with the signups, please contact the website@ email listserv.
  • If you have questions about which sessions to sign up for, check with your mentor, hockey operations (hops@) or the board (board@madisongayhockey.org).

Sign Up for 9/17 - Preseason

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2023 MGHA Preseason – Sept 10th Sign Up

Important: To sign up, you must have this year’s USA Hockey # on your profile. Learn how to register and update your profile on this here post.

NEW PLAYER SCHEDULE:

3:00 PM New Player Orientation (off-ice), Leaders: Amanda T, Kriona H, Mark N.

  • If you cannot attend either orientation (9/10 or 9/17), please check in with your mentor to get a recap.

4:00 PM Gear Up in the Locker Room

  • Mentors can join new skaters to support (their first!) proper gear fitting.

4:30 PM On-Ice Skills, Rink B, Leaders: Mark N and Ted J

  • New to skating or hockey? Pick this session!
  • These drills will train basic skills – which most of our new folks are beginners to skating or hockey.
  • All new-to-MGHA skaters are welcome to this session, though we strongly encourage new-to-skating players to join this session. 

5:40 PM On-Ice Skills, Rink B

  • These drills will train basic skills, regardless of your ice skating or hockey experience. 
  • Leaders: Mark N, Ted J

Need help?

  • If you have issues with the signups, please contact the website@ email listserv.
  • If you have questions about which sessions to sign up for, check in with your mentor, hockey operations (hops@) or the board (board@madisongayhockey.org).

New Player Sign Up for 9/10 - Preseason

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