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UPCOMING GAMES
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DATE:
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02-10-12 |
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TIME:
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7:00 PM |
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VS:
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Dells Ducks |
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(Away) |
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DATE:
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02-11-12 |
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TIME:
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7:00 PM |
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VS:
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Dells Ducks |
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(Away) |
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DATE:
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02-12-12 |
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TIME:
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5:45 PM |
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VS:
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Hudson Crusaders |
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(Home) |
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USA HOCKEY NATIONAL TOURNAMENT 2003, 2006, 2010
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Goodwill Peace Ambassadors * Class * Discipline * Development * Advancement * Team Family *
Congrats to the team for their solid 36W-4L-1OTL season including five shutouts, currently still holding first place in the Minnesota Junior Hockey League With their two wins against the Ice Hawks and last weekend's win against the Owls, the current team has surpassed our franchise record of 32 wins in the regular season from back in 2002-2003 inaugural year at Bloomington. Very proud of your efforts gentlemen! NL Photos & League's Team Page The magic number is now to win THREE games in order to clinch the regular season title and a bye in the first round of playoffs. Good luck Lights!
Players News: We welcome goalie Nick Heimer who has come in because our other goalies (Wallace & Schluneger) have both been injured this past week. This week (D) Kris Yelderman requested a trade for more playing time and is now donning the purple with Edina Lakers...we wish him well. We've had a few players have left recently for financial / personal reasons, a hard reality of Tier III hockey. The trade deadline is quickly approaching (February 10) and all players need to be on our roster 6 games to be eligible for playoffs...and on the roster 8 games (can include playoffs) to be eligible for nationals.
Minneapolis Star Tribune article on the role of Junior Hockey leading to D3 NCAA College Hockey Read Article
Check out this video:Did you see the aurora's this week?
UPCOMING SPECIAL PROMOTIONS:
STEM Nights 2/12 & 2/19 (Science*Technology*Engineering*Math) Elementary Teachers can contact our office about STEM worksheets on the science of the zamboni and the math of hockey you can use for extra credit. Click HERE for some great links on the science of ice hockey. Three of our players were judges in the Poplar Bridge Elementary STEM science fair this week whose winners will be recognized at our 2/19 home game.
UPCOMING PROMOTION:
We have a special welcome to Rasmussen College faculty and students to our games on Feb 19th. The first 30 to show their ID get into these games for free. We've heard rumors that their mascot Moose will be joining us too.
COMPLETELY RANDOM: Don Cherry's hockey night in Canada piano desk:
Former NL Asst Coach Boyd Paavola's Caring Bridge site
For more information "KIDS TRY HOCKEY FOR FREE" ON FEBRUARY 18 , click here.
Recent Advancements:
NL Veteran head coach Josh Hauge was recently named the head coach of the TriCity Storm (USHL) joining Eric Fink, also a former NL head coach who has been on the Storm's staff for several years. Congrats to these fine coaches that had their start in the MNJHL!
Some season highlights so far:
*All three goalies have had a shutout (Keenan Wallace now has three!)
*Paul Parisot scored five goals in one game
*Winning handily on the road at Rochester and the extremely exciting game that went several players deep into the shootout
*Playing (and beating) St. Johns, Gustavus & St. Mary's University JV teams
*Eric Shand - MNJHL Defensive Player of the Month (October); Will Schluneger - MNJHL Goalie of the Month (September); Keenan Wallace - MNJHL Goalie of the Month (December)
*Dryland testing -- ok not really :-)
*Ben Henne getting his 30th assist of the year and 1/8 getting his 50th point
*Feed My Starving Children service projects
*The goal off the faceoff versus the Owls
RANDOM LINK:
SCIENCE BEHIND THE NORTHERN LIGHTS.
ABOUT OUR ORGANIZATION
The Twin Cities Northern Lights is a 501c3 non-profit organization based in Bloomington Minnesota, located in the southwest metro suburbs of Minneapolis - Saint Paul, USA. Our players who are 16-20 years old come from across the country to play in the Minnesota Junior Hockey League with the intention of training in order to hopefully move up to the college hockey ranks. We are motivated to develop everyone within the Northern Lights family and aim to provide learning opportunities for coaching staff and management interns who will hopefully advance from here to a full time career in the sports industry.
ERIC SHAND NAMED MNJHL OCTOBER DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE MONTH! Shand had a hat trick last Saturday night against the Owls!
HOT OFF THE PRESS:
11/17 League story: "Combo-platter of smarts and firepower has Lights plugged in"
This month's community service includes Feed My Starving Children on Monday, and groups working at Bridging warehouse and serving meals to seniors/vets at the Creekside Community Center. ...Proud of all the players who are choosing to make a positive different with their free time while getting some great life skills.
LISTEN TO COACH LARGEN'S INTERVIEW
TEAM STATS BY THE NUMBERS 2011-2012 Season
(Last Update February 4, 2012)
Currently in First Place
League Games Played: 41
League Wins:36 Losses: 4 Overtime Losses:1
Shutouts: 5 (3 Wallace, 1 Schluneger, 1 Harer)
Goals Scored: 256
Goals Scored per Game Average: 6.36
Goals scored on the NL: 102
Goals scored on the NL per Game Average: 2.56
Shots on Opponents: 1868
Shots on NL: 1053
NL Goalie Save Percent: .903
Opponent Goalies Save Percent: .863
NL Power Play Percent: 23.1
Opponent Power Play Percent: 16.7
NL Penalty Kill Percent: 84
Opponent Penalty Kill:76.2
>UPCOMING SCHEDULE Hope to see you next weekend to support these great student-athletes who are chasing their dream by preparing here for college hockey.
All Academic Team
We're especially proud of the 19 Northern Lights players this season who have demonstrated exceptional academic potential and discipline!
We're especially proud of the 19 Northern Lights players this season who have demonstrated exceptional academic potential and discipline! We have included this honor on our roster with an asterisk or double-asterisk to indicate distinction of the highest grades.
ALL ACADEMIC TEAM*
(3.0 - 3.69 Grade Point Average)
Tyler Arnold #8 (1992 Defense, Fond du Lac WI)
Connor Bowman #27 (1992 Forward, Kansas City, MO)
Nick Edwards #10 (1993 Forward, Brighton IL)
Bryan Gunderson #4 (1991 Forward, Fairbanks AK)
Jeremy Harer #30 (1993 Goaltender, Cottage Grove MN)
Ben Hull #2 (1994 Defense, Centennial CO)
Luke Kucera #12 (1993 Defense, Plymouth IN)
Kevin Kussulat #21 (1991 Forward, Barrington IL)
Nick Kunes #5(1992 Forward, Melrose WI)
Alex O'Leary #15 (1992 Defense, Kansas City MO)
Dominique Shuttleworth #7 (1992 Defense, Fairbanks AK)
Keenan Wallace #33 (1992 Goaltender, Fairbanks AK)
WITH DISTINCTION**
(3.7 - 4.0 Grade Point Average)
Tyler Laiti #28 (1994 Defense, Fairbanks AK)
Cole Larson #22 (1992 Defense, Urbandale IA)
John McDonald #26 (1993 Forward, Brooklyn Park MN)
Paul Parisot #23 (1992 Forward, Arlington TX)
Kirby Quebodeaux #26 (1992 Forward, Cottage Grove MN)
Kris Yelderman #17 (1991 Defense, Kansas City MO)
Zac Winner #12 (1993 Defense, Fairbanks AK)
WATCH NORTHERN LIGHTS GAMES ONLINE HERE Games can be purchased pay-per-view and are kept in a repository for watching even if you can't catch it live. Consider buying a season pass for all league regular season games, including the Northern Lights.
TEAM SERVICE: Our first team-wide service project was Sept 12 when we returned to Feed My Starving Children to package food. Then on Sept 17 our team spent the afternoon at Bloomington Heritage Days and October 31 at the community Halloween Party, leading games with kids and handing out candy. Photos will be posted soon!
INTRODUCING HEAD COACH ERIK LARGEN Returning to the Lights organization, Largen is the new Head Coach after serving two years with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs who recently won the North American Hockey League Robertson Cup. Largen holds a degree in finance from the University of Fairbanks where he played NCAA Division I hockey, after advancing through the Northern Lights to Owatonna (NAHL). We also welcome AJ Smith who will be joining Andy Wright who is returning as an Assistant Coach.
2012 COLLEGE PREVIEW:
We're pleased to announced that Justin Hale (D), Northern Lights captain 2010-2011 is attending University of Wisconsin Steven's Point after getting a call from their hockey coach. We're excited for this opportunity! Mike Falvey (F) is off to Iowa State to play ACHA D1 hockey this fall too. More NL vets to be showcased soon...
TEAM FAMILY NEWS:
Brandon Anderson (B.A.) is a veteran player who just participated in his white coat ceremony at the University of Wyoming. He formally begins pharmacy school this week and we couldn't be prouder of this fine example of a Northern Light. During his time with the team he was always focused on this goal of becoming a pharmacist and we're excited to celebrate this big milestone with him!
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CONTACT US: 952-888-4311
PO Box 20725, Bloomington MN 55420
Office Email: northernlightshockey@juno.com
Coach Email: northernlightscoach@juno.com
NORTHERN LIGHTS HOCKEY:
We exist to honor God as we provide our players with an environment that promotes hockey development, personal growth and academic achievement.
We aim to assist each student-athlete on our team to:
*Reach their highest potential in hockey
*Prepare for college, the workplace and life
*Become a positive influence in the community, specifically to challenge others to make smart health choices and to personally serve others
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MNJHL IS A SMART INVESTMENT FOR DEVELOPMENT:
1) OUR TALENT POOL
Division 3 colleges trust that MNJHL teams will develop their prospects and refer players here in preparation for advancing to their programs.
Elite players come to our programs from top high school and AAA programs from across the country.
Several teams actively recruit two international players including the Northern Lights.
2) OUR ALUMNI FAMILY
Young men that have been prepared on our teams have gone on to become successful, productive college student-athletes [Our alumni include All American goalie Mike Stone, Matt Summer with the Mississippi RiverKings (CHL), Jon Awe: Houston Aeros (AHL)]. Coaches are prepared for new professional opportunities in the hockey world and beyond. (Names like Hauge, Fink, Degenhardt, Dobes). Our teams recruit players that are interested in gain four year degrees while playing college hockey. Players gain the tools needed to balance university-level academics with the demands of college hockey
3) Our PROVEN BUSINESS EXPERIENCE
We boast nearly two decades of operation, including 4 core teams
Our teams are financially sustainable businesses that are part of the Minnesota fabric.
Our league management is experienced and ensures that prospective new teams are mentored, successful and sustainable and have spent the past half year fine-tuning its operations.
4) Our LOCATION
MNJHL teams are based in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metro area, across the "Great State of Hockey" and into neighboring Wisconsin.
Tier I, Tier II and College scouts from around the country are coming to our area and can easily scout our league. Because our players aren't living on the road, they can take community college classes, attend high school or hold a part time job.
5) Our COLLEGE RELATIONSHIPS
With Division 3 hockey programs located in our back door, MNJHL coaches have ongoing, good communication with college coaches.
Our teams have a long history of scrimmaging JV programs on these campuses and moving players up.
Additionally, we have arrangements with the community colleges for our players to take general education classes that you wouldn't have time to take in other leagues due to travel schedule. We have advanced players to this next level and so those college coaches recognize the strong product that emerges from the MNJHL.
6) Our MOTIVATION
All teams in our league are 501c3 youth development nonprofit organizations -- which
speaks to our values. And that's why our player's fees are significantly lower than you'll find in other leagues that partly exist to finance their affiliate team. By way of contrast, our teams exist to assist the players who invest their time developing in Junior Hockey on our OWN rosters not help finance affiliate teams at the Tier II level. Therefore our decisions are driven by the players (and their parents who help finance this step in their development) and to the community rather than for business investors.
7) Our COLLABORATION MODEL:
Teams work with MN Hockey and MN High School Hockey programs rather than recruiting talent away from their communities. MNJHL teams offer "before-after" opportunity for top high school players and actively recruit high school graduates.
8) OUR GAME/PRACTICE SCHEDULE
Junior A Hockey is a major time investment but with MNJHL games held most on the weekends
Teams are on the ice 6 of 7 days most weeks August to March -- a lot of practice to fine tune what you need to work on. We play 48 league games, scrimmages against JV college teams and March playoffs on the road to the USA Hockey National Tournament
9) OUR ETHICS
As a league we have chosen to hold member teams accountable for how they operate and sharpen each other, sharing best practices. We have committed to collect team fees equally from all participants and ensure that your college eligibility is protected and that you're not paying for someone else. We admit where we have made mistakes and will move forward to improve the league.
10) OUR PROMISE
We exist to create development and opportunity for the players who invest their time in
our league. Come develop in the MNJHL where players are treated as college potential -- not just means to a profit.
PROSPECTIVE PLAYERS
The Northern Lights team traditionally attracts players that were final cuts from Tier II programs, Division III university teams, participants in the Minnesota state high school tournament and other elite tournaments. We also have a track record of signing a handful of promising high school students to play before/after their high school season; our staff will consider this option if the situation is right. The MNJHL does not have a draft (To clarify, even if you are drafted by a league or have a tender in another league, these tools only dictate what team you would play for in THAT league should you choose to play for it. You may opt to play for another league even if you have been drafted in a league).
2012-2013 TRYOUT INFORMATION: To get on our coaching staff's radar, please complete the online profile. Information about our summer tryouts will be posted after the USA Hockey National Tournament in April, following USAH rules.
Click here for a helpful site about this level of hockey:NAVIGATING JUNIOR HOCKEY
Northern Lights Family/Alumni Summer Updates:
Northern Lights sending Nine More to School
Congrats to the following veterans who are attending college. (*Playing hockey)
We're very proud of each of you and wish you well as you embark on the next step of your journey!
Brandon Anderson "BA" - North Dakota Pharmacy program
Jon Barrick - Augsburg College MIAC (*F)
Rocky DeAngelo - Northern Arizona University (*F)club
Taylor Dornbier - Concordia University Wisconsin (*D)- also playing LaCrosse
Marc Gruber - University WI Stout
Trevor Leonard - Northland College (*D)
Trent Krueger - Western New England College ECAC (F*) after a year in NOHL
Kevin Medina - Milwaukee School of Engineering (F*)
John O'Connell - Marian College (*D)
Erik Ordahl - Augsburg College (*D) last team MN Icehawks)
Tyler Pace - University of MN Twin Cities Carlson School of Management
Dan Shilts (last team Hudson Crusaders) - Concordia WI *F
Josh Shingler - Bethel University *F
Tyler Sorenson (last team Janesville Tier II) - Bethel University *D
Matt Stolzberg - University of Oregon ACHA *D
Chris Weber - Minnesota State CT College
Garrett Windle - Bethel University *F
Some of our vets returning to the college hockey ranks for 2010-2011 include:
Britton Smith Saint Olaf *F (MIAC) Class 2012
Nate Percy Saint Mary's *F (MIAC) Class 2013
Will Such Saint Mary's *D (MIAC) Class 2011 MIAC All-Academic Team
Majoring in Sports Management/Marketing
Kelly Kranz Saint Thomas *D Class 2012
Nice article recently!
Cary Wood Bethel *G Class of 2012
Josh Swartout Gustavus *G Class of 2011. Top Goalie in MIAC for Goals Against Average 2009-2010 (973:16 Minutes 34GA 2.10 GAA, 338 Saves .909 Save Average
Shawn Oelke Concordia University WI Class 2013 Majoring in Business
Erik Olson Bowdoin College Class 2012
Ben Roberts Augsburg College Class 2011
Donnie Iverson (F) Dakota College at Bottineau (NJCCA) nursing student
Michael Scebold (D) Iowa State ACHA (Asst.Cptn)
Josh Mandich (D) Iowa State ACHA
Jonathan Boerger (G) South Dakota State NCCHA
Pete O'Hara (G) UW Superior class 2013
Matt Toter (G) Oakland University class 2013
Matt Wanvig (G) Hamline University
The Northern Lights Hockey team was formerly called the South Suburban Steers before it was moved across the metro area to the Bloomington suburb. Several alumni from our roots are playing in the pro ranks of hockey including:
Matt Summers: Mississippi RiverKings (CHL)
Jon Awe: Houston Aeros (AHL)to the Asian Hockey League
Sean Curry: Hamburg Freezers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).
The June 2010 USA Hockey Junior Council report states that in 2009-2010 the MNJHL again is a leader in advancing its players to NCAA Divison III programs: the NAHL (64) MNJHL (38) CSHL (25) WSHL (23) Norpac (0). The MNJHL also had two Division I players while NAHL had 67, CSHL had 6. WSHL and Norpac did not have any reported.
Catch up on some more veterans:
Matt Summers (F) Mississippi River Kings (CHL)
Jesse Felten (F) New York Aviators (FHL)
Lane Mahoney (D) Aberdeen Wings NAHL Tier II
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Minnesota Junior Hockey: League Site
Team Page on MNJHL
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Sometimes a picture tells the story best:
OUR 2009-2020 SERVICE MODEL
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Check out our workout facilities:
TEAM BLOG
We strongly encourage you to read information on the NEW MNJHL LEAGUE POLICIES FOR SIGNED PLAYERS on the league website about changes in paperwork and accountability this season to help ensure that your NCAA eligibility is protected.
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PHILOSOPHY OF JUNIOR HOCKEY
Junior hockey is the pinnacle of the skill development program of USA Hockey. It is available to male athletes who are 20 and under as of the 31st day of December in the season of competition. The program is available to high school students and graduates who seek a greater or different challenge than that which might be available through their prep school team, high school varsity or club team, or area midget teams. The principal purpose of this development program is to prepare the athlete for career advancement either in a collegiate or professional opportunity.
PURPOSE OF JUNIOR HOCKEY
1. To provide an opportunity for players in this age group to play organized hockey
2. To improve and develop the skills and abilities of the participants, including the players, coaches and officials.
GOALS OF JUNIOR HOCKEY
1. Skill Development To provide talented young men with the opportunity to develop competitively in an organized, structured and supervised environment
2. Quality Coaching To provide considerable training time, quality coaching and concerned supervision
3. Social Maturity To provide players with a healthy, constructive environment in which to develop socially
4. Educational Advancement To provide assistance and opportunities for the accomplishment of the participants' educational goals
5. Recruiting Exposure To provide players with exposure to collegiate and professional scouts and recruiters
6. Advanced Competition To provide players with exposure to national and international competition
7. Protection of Amateur Statues To protect, most importantly, the amateur status of all participants under the rules and guidelines established by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), USA Hockey, Hockey Canada, the NCAA, the NAIA and the National Federation of High Schools.
ANOTHER COACHING ADVANCEMENT
Congrats to Lights Head Coach (2010-2011) Jason Dobes for accepting an offer to join the NAHL Janesville Jets. "I am proud to say that I am a product of the Northern Lights program, both as a player and coach, and a product of the Minnesota Junior Hockey League," said Dobes. "Ross and Stephanie Smith have helped guide me while I was wearing equipment and also in a suit to be successful in this game. The friendships and relationships I have developed over the years in the MNJHL are ones that I will be able to continue for years to come. I am excited for the opportunities I have in my future and saying I am a product of the MNJHL and the Northern Lights just thrills me that much more."
Assistant Coach Brandon Knelson has returned to Canada to accept a coaching position. Assistant Coach Andy Wright will be returning to the Lights bench for the 2011-2012 season. The Head Coach position to be announced the second week in June.
"We are proud of Jason and excited that others have recognized the potential we have seen in him for years," said Lights GM Ross Smith. "This adds another member of our coaching family in the junior hockey ranks and that can only help advancement of players on our team and those of the MNJHL because Dobes is such a strong advocate for the product of the MNJHL."
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