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UPCOMING GAMES
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DATE:
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03-13-10 |
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TIME:
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7:00 PM Wakota |
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VS:
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Granite City Lumberjacks |
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(Home) |
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DATE:
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03-14-10 |
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TIME:
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2:00 PM |
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VS:
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Granite City Lumberjacks (if needed) |
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(Away) |
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| Playoffs and Beyond |
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Four teams are currently still eligible to qualify for the USA Hockey National Tournament which will take place in Marlborough Massachusetts at the end of the month.
The Northern Lights needs to win Round 2 against the Granite City Lumberjacks this upcoming weekend (best of 3 games).
Friday night is at 7:30 in Granite City. Saturday will be at Wakota Arena in South Saint Paul because Bloomington Ice Garden does not have ice available. If a third game is necessary, we will go to Granite City again on Sunday for a 2 PM game. REMINDER: It's DAYLIGHT SAVINGS WEEKEND AND WE LOSE AN HOUR!
If we advance to round 3 against the winner of the Ice Hawks/Mustangs division, then we would play Friday away, home on Saturday and away on Sunday if game three were needed. Both teams that play in round three are the representatives to the national tournament.
If the Northern Lights qualifies for nationals, we would leave March 24 in the wee hours and take a coach bus to Mass. We would have a practice on Thursday 3/25 before the round robin competition which is a guarantee of three games (Fri, Sat, Sun). The winner of each bracket and a wild card advance to the semis on Monday. The championship game is on Tuesday. Our team would leave on whatever day we are finished competing in the tourney. If we went all the way, our players would be gone from the 24th to April 1.
The Best of the Rest tournament is held concurrently with the national tournament. Several Northern Lights players have been selected to represent our league if our team does not qualify for the tournament.
Good luck to our young men this weekend!
Link: New England Sports Center
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| MNJHL Showcase December 15-17, 2009 |
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Based on winning percentage through the seasons first three months, the nine MnJHL clubs will be sepreated into three divisions for the three-day tournament, which will be held Dec. 15-17 at the Schwans Super Rink on the National Sports Center campus in Blaine, Minn.
The Blue Division will consist of the Granite City Lumberjacks, the Twin Cities Northern Lights and the Rochester Ice Hawks. White Division teams are the Edina Lakers, Wisconsin Mustangs and Minnesota Owls, and the Red Division will be made up of the Minnesota Flying Aces, the Hudson Crusaders and the Minnesota Wildcats.
Games begin at 12:15 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 15, and conclude at 12:45 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 16.
Here is the complete schedule:
Tuesday, Dec. 15
Twin Cities Northern Lights vs. Granite City Lumberjacks, 12:15 p.m. on South Rink 1
Edina Lakers vs. Wisconsin Mustangs, 12:30 p.m. on South Rink 2
Minnesota Wildcats vs. Hudson Crusaders at 12:45 p.m. on South Rink 4
Wednesday, Dec. 16
Minnesota Wildcats vs. Minnesota Flying Aces, 12:15 p.m. on South Rink 4
Twin Cities Northern Lights vs. Rochester Ice Hawks, 12:30 p.m. on South Rink 2
Edina Lakers vs. Minnesota Owls, 12:45 p.m. on South Rink 1
Thursday, Dec. 17
Minnesota Owls vs. Wisconsin Mustangs, 12:15 p.m. on South Rink 4
Minnesota Flying Aces vs. Hudson Crusaders, 12:30 p.m. on South Rink 2
Rochester Ice Hawks vs. Granite City Lumberjacks, 12:45 p.m. on South Rink 1
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| Feed My Starving Children |
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We are excited to support Feed My Starving Children for our fifth year. FMSC is a Minnesota nonprofit organization that packages meals for children around the world and we go work in the warehouse for a couple hours...which will feed several thousand children. Each meal costs approximately $1 and can feed six children. Our group will go serve during our season and pack meals on Monday Sept 14, Monday Dec 14 and Monday March 8. If you'd like to serve with us, please contact our office to find out if space is available with our group. 952-888-4311 We encourage everyone to get a group of people together and serve at FMSC at some point this year!
Link: Feed My Starving Children
Link: About the Meals
Link: Countries Served
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| Rake and Run Scavenger Hunt : Sat Oct 24 |
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This year for National "Make A Difference Day" the Northern Lights, Rotaract Club of the Athlete Village and Bloomington DayMakers Rotary invite your team of five people to the "Rake and Run" Scavenger Hunt. We will be helping families and seniors who need assistance with raking their leaves in Bloomington. Your team will compete for prizes -- most number of leaf bags filled, most scavenger hunt points etc. More details to follow... Mark the date now!
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| Legend of the Northern Lights |
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Throughout generations, the peoples of the north have passed on the legend of how the Northern Lights, as we call them today, originally came into existence. A long time ago, a fox with a beautiful red coat was running over the somewhere in the far away north. It was getting tired from running, because the massive snowdrifts were causing it to sink. The fox had to rest its tail because it was too faint to bravely hold it up anymore. Then, as the fox was hurrying over the hills, its tail hit the snow, forming thousands of little sparks that flew across the night sky and brought about a spectacle of colors and forms.
Legends around the northern lights, or the Aurora Borealis by their scientific name, are many. The northern lights have always been respected and feared. In Finland, people used to believe that it was dangerous to say the name in Finnish, "revontuli" aloud. According to one old belief, laughing at this nocturnal phenomenon could even be lethal!
Reindeer are known to gather in large groups when the northern lights appear and even wolves become scared and wary under their spell. For hunters, a glimpse of the Aurora Borealis used to be a promise of a good and wealthy life. Still, their wives were always told to keep quiet and stay indoors, because you could never know what would happen if you were to say the wrong thing while the lights were dancing up in the sky.
Despite the fearful respect that the Finnish people used to have for the Aurora Borealis, the Sámi people, the original inhabitants of Lapland, believed that they had some kind of power over them. It was believed that if you whistled under the northern lights, the sound would make them move toward you. If you needed to predict the weather, important events or good fortune in hunting or war, the answers were "read" in the colourful display of lights.
Similar kinds of legends about the northern lights can be heard of all over the world wherever the northern lights are most visible... See announcements for more
Link: Video
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| Letter from NL Veteran Player |
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Smith’s & Organization of the Northern Lights,
I was in my office today and ran across a note from a former teammate of mine Mike Stone. He spoke about how much the Northern Lights helped him with his hockey career, by getting him prepared to play college and pro hockey. That inspired me to send this to you also. As you know I’m an Assistant Coach with the Waterloo Black Hawks in the USHL. When I left the Lights I started coaching high school and moved my way up the coaching ranks. Ever since I was playing for the Northern Lights, it inspired me to coach at the Junior hockey level & further. That was my goal... Because of my experience with you, everything I’ve work for has all come true. I’m proud to say that I was a part of the Northern Lights for 2 years. I want to thank all of you and hope that I will see you soon again. Thank you.
Jason D. Dobes
Waterloo Black Hawks
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| February 14 |
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You're welcome for not scheduling a game on Valentines Day this year... :-) With the USA Hockey roster freeze on February 10, our final roster is set and the final push for playoffs begins.
League playoffs begin March 2 and culminate in two teams advancing to the national tournament. The league champion of the regular season gets an automatic bid and the second bid is determined through playoffs. Each weekend will include a best of three series with the first game being played at the lower seed site and the second (and third if necessary) being played at the higher seed site. Good luck as you battle for final standings and head into the playoff stretch!!
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| January 20 |
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Four point of six for the weekend. We are pleased to have finally landed in the Win Column after a very long drought. We normally peak twice in a season and lose a bunch in December as bodies crash but then regroup and shine for playoffs. Our crash time just kept going after break this year, so we're pleased to see the guys smiling and finding the Northern Lights confidence again. Healthy bodies and a full game roster helps tremendously too!
We welcome Drew Chaney who had his debut in net on Monday night, sadly during the melee game of the season. But somewhere in there a game was played and he stayed focused to stop 19 of 20 shots and will be in net again on Friday night.
We also welcome Matt Summers and Ryan Pittman, both forwards. Normally at this time our roster is locked in but with player advancement and life circumstances, we had some open spots to fill. We're pleased that these young men will have an opportunity to come into our organization and earn the chance to don our jerseys.
Coming up this weekend, Wildcats again -- this time at their place -- and a home game against the Ice Hawks.
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| Charging onwards... |
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The Northern Lights played two strong games this past weekend although the win/loss column does not reflect their effort. We look forward to this coming weekend with an away game 1/10 against the Owls and a home game 1/11 against the St Paul Lakers.
Player Updates: Kevin Anderson and Brock Pedersen have left the team to pursue college full time at the University of St. Thomas. John Neisch has elected to return home. Donnie Iverson is returning from a family vacation and we're pleased to see that our players continue to heal up from injuries and return to the active roster. We look forward to the return of Kyle Vesling later this month after sustaining a hand injury. Look to see some new faces as we replace those who have permanently left our team.
The Smiths will be out of town and the office will be closed 1/10-1/15. Please contact head coach AJ Degenhardt 608-385-8409 while they are gone if you need a response before 1/16. This weekend will be the first time that both of them will miss a home game since the Smiths founded the team seven seasons ago. Ross and Stephanie are especially grateful to the volunteers and staff that are able to pick up and run the show in their absence.
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| Happy New Year!! |
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Our management and staff wish everyone a happy new year! Congrats to Josh Shingler who is currently with the Kenai Brown Bears (NAHL). We are excited for his opportunity.
We are short on the roster after the break due to advancements and injuries, but are fully expected to keep on battling in league play as we continue to prepare for March playoffs.
Had a great staff meeting this week... And as always, the Northern Lights/Steers game was packed with fun. ALWAYS great to have our alumni back in the house!
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| Parents Weekend |
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We warmly extend a welcome to our player's parents and extended family for our home games November 8 and 9. We have been off (or on the road) for basically a month and we look forward to seeing everyone again. We encourage you to spend lots of time with your son but team curfew will still need to be honored and he needs to be at the rink 2 hours before games.
HOTEL: The Holiday Inn on 94th Street and 35W is the closest hotel to our rink and they continue to offer a great rate for our referred guests. Click on the link below which will automatically enter the ID for our negotiated rate.
SCHEDULE:
Sat Nov 8
1:30-3:00 Parents Reception
Come meet other parents, host parents, management and staff. Get the "inside scoop" on life with the team from the staff's perspective, details about Europe trip and college hockey. We will meet in the community room at the Bloomington Ice Garden (booster club room across from rink 2)
4:00 Game Time NL vs Minnesota Owls
8:00 Post game dinner Come enjoy a meal with your player!
Photos, video and some story telling. All host families and regular team volunteers are invited for lasagna and some great fellowship. The meal is provided by MN WI Baptist Convention of churches.
Sun Nov 9
11:30 Breakfast/Brunch with your parents & host family as you coordinate (For parents of players staying at the Fremont House: The players will host an open house 10:30 AM-12:00, cooking breakfast for you).
5:45 NL vs Minnesota Ice Hawks
No team post game meal...enjoy some time together
Parents who are unable to attend this weekend will get a summary sheet mailed to their home after the weekend. Thanks to all our parents and host families for choosing to invest in the Northern Lights team!
Link: Holiday Inn
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| Off Week October 16 |
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Transactions:
We bid farewell and good luck to goalie Matt Toter who is returning home to Chicago and joining the Chicago Force. We will announce soon the addition of player(s) that will be joining our team for this trade.
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| Stats Update 10.5.08 |
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The Northern Lights has a strong tradition of providing opportunities that have led to the advancement of goalies to college teams. So far this season in the first ten games of the year, our goaltenders have been in net 605 minutes, 6W 4L and an impressive 2 Shut outs. We have had 23 goals scored on us (2.28 GAA) while scoring 31 goals. Collectively our netminders have 297 Saves for an overall .928 Save Average. Many teams struggle to find one goalie who can perform while we have been blessed with three healthy, solid athletes who are eager to move up to the college ranks and who all have that potential.
NL veteran starting goalie Matt Toter has played in 3 games. He played 180 minutes 2W 1L with 8 GA (2.67 GAA) 96 Saves and .923 Save Average. Additionally, he had a stellar 96% save average against the Minnesota Ice Hawks at their home opener for one of his wins.
Josh Lehr has played seven games for the Northern Lgihts, two of which were shutouts. He has 300 minutes and is 3-2-2. He has 9 GA (1.8 GAA) with 137 saves and a .938 Save Average. He continues to gain confidence at this level and is showing great strength for a MJHL rookie player.
Zach Anderson has played 1 game 0-1-0 with 27 saves (.900 Save Average) 3G for a 3 GAA. He continues to train hard to attain more game time.
After a brief time with the Northern Lights (.925 Save Average0, Phil Cook moved up to the Fairbanks Icedogs (Tier II) in the NAHL where he is earning the starting spot. Cook has now played 5 games for a total of 272:07 min. He is 2-2-1 with 15 goals against (3.31 GAA) 155 SV fo a .912 Save Average.
Hats off to our goalies and to the rest of the team for a solid start to the season. Enjoy your weekend home!
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| October 5, 2008 |
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The Lights outshot the Lumberjacks 33 to 17 on Saturday but ended in a 0-2 loss at home. Both goals on the team were even strength during a well-played game except for the five minutes that two goals were scored. It was a highly disciplined game with only 8 penalty minutes per team the whole game. Great hockey! The team regrouped well in Little Falls against the Flying Aces on Sunday afternoon with Josh Lehr in net again who turned aside 32 shots in the shut out (his second of the season) Congrats Josh! Points were earned by Ryan Thorsland (Copely), Erik Ordahl (Percy) and Tyler Erickson (Windle and Percy). Nate Percy joined our team after starting the season with the Southern MN Express. NL veteran Tyler Pace returned from playing juniors in Canada and is eager to get back to work for the Lights. And finally, we wish Jeffrey Morris well after returning home this week.
The Lights had tentatively planned a trip to Europe during this two week break in their league schedule but have opted to delay the trip to the end of the season to allow more time for fund raising. The players will enjoy two weekends off with no league games, allowing plenty of time to regroup, eat some home cooking, come back and train hard.
Thanks to the team for their participation in the annual "Walk for Thought" fundraiser and awareness walk at Como Park Saturday morning. Gorgeous weather created a perfect backdrop for the event as 1500+ people walked/rolled around the lake. We were touched by the stories of survival and miraculous recoveries as well as the hardships of those who have faced brain injuries from various causes. Our players were there to support Corey Koskie and his team called "If I Only Had a Cast." Organizers said they really appreciated the Northern Lights team coming out and supporting this great cause! The event included TV personalities from WCCO and Twins Baseball.
Enjoy the fall weather and we'll see everyone back in action in two weeks! Thanks to the Ordahl family who prepared a terrific meal for the whole team and the booster club room this weekend in honor of Erik Ordahl's birthday. Happy Birthday this week also to Stephanie Smith...
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| September 26 |
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Coaches feel they've had a productive week of practice and the young men are geared up for the home then away games (Hudson on Saturday and a road trip to Little Falls on Sunday afternoon). Happy Birthday to Asst Coach Dan Subra who celebrates a birthday on Sunday.
We have welcome new players to the team in the past two weeks inluding Lane Mahoney from Spokane Washing and Naverone Copley from Fairbanks Alaska. Josh Shingler has been with the squad for two weeks and is already contributing. Well wishes to Dan Shilts who is home mending...
Over half the team visited the Minnesota Science Museum and IMAX Omni Theater Thursday evening during a special program run through Tix for Tots. Quite impressive if you've never been in an IMAX theatre! Fun opportunity to go see Saint Paul and learn something too. Plus, who knew the Lake Superior sturgeon was so special??
Other upcoming projects include the Brain Injury awareness activity Saturday October 4 at Como Park. Players going to elementary school will be reading from "Brady Brady" books in the next few weeks. The community wide Halloween party is a highly recommended by Caleb and several players will be making an appearance. National "Make a Difference Day" will be October 25 (kids vote!) Thanks to those who have helped coordinate these opportunities for our players.
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| September 20 |
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Great effort Saturday afternoon against the Granite City Lumberjacks as the Lights fell just short by a goal in the final minutes. The game began after a tech glitch and spectators found themselves caught up in the moment, belting out a rousing national anthem together. NL Goalie Zach Anderson saw his first game action in net this season and new players Lane Mahoney (WA) and Naverone Copley (AK) found their stride wearing the white and navy. We missed Dan Shilts who home recovering from an injury sustained at the Ice Hawks game.
It was awesome to see the concern and support from both sides of the aisle for the two individuals who went to the hospital... Our thoughts and prayers go to the Lumberjack player whose hand was deeply sliced open by a skate blade. A Northern Lights volunteer was also hurt off ice and needed emergency transport but she is doing well after being discharged last evening. A big thank you to the Bloomington Ice Garden staff for their assistance with both situations and the extensive blood clean up.
Finally, a cheery thank you to the Iversons and Subras for providing meals this past week! We were excited to see Phil Cook perform well this week at the NAHL Tier II Showcase. He played three games from start to finish including contests against Traverse City and National Development Training Program (NDTP). His first win came against Springfield Junior Blues. After three games, Phil has a total of 97 saves so far and a 87% save average. Congrats and good luck this season.
We have a Sunday off and week to regroup -- we will be doing a service project Thursday evening with youth mentoring kids at the Science Museum/Omni Theatre. So we'll see everyone next weekend with a Saturday home game against Hudson and a road trip to Little Falls on Sunday.
Goalie Stats on our players pages won't save, so here they are:
Zach Anderson 1GP 60Min 30SOG 27SV 90.0% 1L 3GA 3GAA
Phil Cook 1GP 64:38Min 40SOG 37SV 92.5% 1W Shootout 3GA 3GAA
Josh Lehr 2GP 120Min 63SOG 58SV 92.1% 1W (shutout) 1L 5GA 2.5GAA
Matt Toter 2GP 120Min 56SOG 52SV 92.8% 2W 4GA 2GAA
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| Northern Lights Athlete Village bid for 2011 World U20 Championship |
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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.
USA Hockey announced 8/22/08 that it narrowed the list of potential sites to host the 2011 International Ice Hockey Federation World Under-20 Championship to (alphabetical order): Buffalo, N.Y., Grand Forks, N.D., and Minneapolis - Saint Paul.
The official site visit took place this past week with NLAV bringing together representatives from UMN, Minnesota WILD, Minnesota Hockey, Wisconsin Hockey, National Sports Center and the convention bureaus of Bloomington, Minneapolis and Saint Paul to pitch why Minnesota would be a great host. The site visit cooridnated by NLAV CEO Stephanie Smith included touring arenas and propective host hotel. Fox Anchor Jeff Passolt also came to share why the media market and the passion of the hockey culture in the Twin Cities would be beat out the competition.
Jim Johannson, a two-time Olympian who serves as USA Hockey's assistant executive director of hockey operations participated in the visit. "The bottom line for hockey fans is, outside of the Olympics, the World Junior Championship is probably the best international tournament they'll ever get to witness," said Johannson. The 2011 IIHF World Under-20 Championship (otherwise known as the IIHF World Junior Championship) is a 10-nation tournament featuring the top men's ice hockey players in the world under the
age of 20.
"The World Under-20 Championship is a spectacular event that we're extremely pleased to be hosting again," said Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey. We had interest in this event from more than 20 different entities across the
country. We've narrowed the field to three very worthy finalists and look forward to reaching a decision before the end of the year."
"It will be a real treat for sports fans in our country to have the World Junior Championship back in the United States," said Ron DeGregorio, president of USA Hockey. "It's a very special event with an extremely high level of talent."
"The last time we hosted the World Junior Championship back in 2005, fans got to see players like Phil Kessel, Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin to name just a few," said Jim Johannson.
The United States has hosted the event four previous times, including in Grand Forks, N.D./Thief River Falls, Minn. (2005); Boston (1996), Anchorage, Alaska (1989) and
Minneapolis/St. Paul (1982).
The IIHF World Under-20 Championship was founded in 1977 ... USA Hockey has concluded all three site visits wand will name the winner in coming weeks ... The International Ice Hockey Federation granted USA Hockey the rights to host three IIHF World Championships in May of 2007, including the 2009 IIHF World Men's Under-18 Championship (which will take place April 9-19, 2009, in Fargo, N.D. and Moorhead, Minn.), the 2011 World Under-20 Championship and the 2012 World Women's Championship ... Tony Rossi, vice president of USA Hockey and a member of the IIHF Council, oversees all aspects of international competition for USA Hockey.
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| Lights Rattle off Two More Wins (source www.mnjhl.com) |
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September 16, 2008
The Twin Cities Northern Lights are off to a formidable 3-1 start, thanks in part to a pair of wins last weekend. “At this point in the season, I'm impressed with the willingness of the team to learn and the dedication the kids have shown,” said first-year Lights coach AJ Degenhardt. “We’ve thrown a lot of teaching at these young men and they’ve translated it into games pretty well this quickly.”
The Lights opened their weekend with a 4-3 shootout win over the Granite City Lumberjacks on Saturday. Tyler Sorensen scored the decisive goal in the shootout and assisted on Erik Ordahl’s game-tying marker in regulation, while Phil Cook turned back 37 shots between the pipes.
On Sunday, Josh Lehr stopped all 30 shots at Twin Cities blanked the Minnesota Flying Aces, 3-0. Jonathan Barrick recorded a goal and an assist in the win, with Tyler Erickson striking for the game-winner. Lehr, who played high school hockey in Appleton, Wis., last year, was on the Lights’ radar throughout the 2007-08 season. He played exceptionally well at the Chicago Showcase, according to Degenhardt.
“Josh was positionally solid in the net,” said Degenhardt of Lehr’s play last weekend. “Though he didn't have to face a ton of shots, there were some quality ones and he came up big when he needed to.” Just four games into the season, Degenhardt is encouraged with the prospects of his team.
“I like where we’re heading,” said the coach. “Right now, we’ve been playing in close games and putting ourselves in a position to win every night. We still have a lot to learn, but for the little time that we’ve had, the kids have shown great strides already. Our staff is looking forward to continuing to get better every day with this team.”
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| HOME OPENER WEEKEND: NEW HEIGHTS |
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Sept 6, 2008
Junior veterans played the strongest roles in the game Saturday evening at the Bloomington Ice Garden in front of an enthusiastic crowd. Garrett Windle (NL vet '07)has continued to step up his game in the past year and it also showed on our scoreboard right away. He had a very solid performance at the 2008 Chicago Showcase representing Team Philadelphia where he was the leading scorer in the showcase during round robin competition. He didn't disappoint fans as he scored twice and landed "Northern Light of the Game" honors to lead the fan salute and paint the first brick of the year in the locker room. Vet Donnie Iverson flew around the ice making things happen and notched a goal while vet Shawn Oelke also tallied the game winning goal. Some new names to the Lights organization also contributed points: Trevor Leonard, Tyler Sorensen, Erik Ordahl and Kyle Vesling.
GM Ross Smith said "We're so pleased to see so many parents and family friends supporting these young men. We've really enjoyed getting to know them and we know the community will get behind them as they learn their stories and get to know them too. It should be a fun season together if the past few weeks are any indication. Congrats to our coaching and recruiting staff for bringing this team together."
Also of note: Former Northern Light Garrett Anderson notched two points for Hudson. We wish him well as he attends college at UW River Falls and has made the move to the Hudscon Crusaders for logistic reasons.
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| Northern Lights Report Date: August 24 |
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With our final tryout completed, our staff has been busy preparing for the fall report date of our 2008-2009 team which is August 24. We begin practice a few weeks earlier than some teams because of the community college start date. With Normandale College registration, job finding and host home /player matching, our team management is also quite busy helping our signed players to make the transition to junior hockey. We will not be posting our roster until early September but we will be well on our way to formalizing our team for the fall. GO LIGHTS! Welcome to our newest players!
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| Northern Lights begin 2008-2009 "Brady Brady" Literacy Initiative |
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The books series target readers are 4-8 years old by telling the story of Brady Brady and his friends who play hockey, baseball and pick up football in the neighborhood. The series was recently endorsed by USA Hockey as the two companies have created a partnership to help encourage youth literacy and increased sport participation. The Northern Lights players will be reading Brady Brady books to Kindergarten and first grade classes and "Northern Lights Glory" to the older elementary classes during their fall school visits.
"We are very pleased with our co-branded books as the Northern Lights works with Brady Brady to encourage children both to read and to find ways to be active," said Stephanie Smith who serves as the CEO of Northern Lights Athlete Village. "Our players will be able to connect with even more children in the community this year because of the younger target age of these books."
The Northern Lights organization is planning a book tour in early November with special events including presentations with illustrator Chuck Temple, the Brady Brady mascot and the possibility of USA womens hockey team olympians.
"We have enjoyed reading the stories with our son Caleb and have appreciated the positive messages conveyed through the creative story-telling and fantastic illustrations of Brady Brady and his friends," said Mrs. Smith. "The themes of integrity, sportsmanship, academics, teamwork, commitment and hard work are interwoven in these stories; we're pleased to find another partner that will help us encourage those traits in the young people in our community."
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| "Minnesota: State of Hockey" RNC Welcome Party |
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The Northern Lights Hockey team is hosting a welcome party for Republican National Convention delegates, media and guests Sunday August 31 at the Bloomington Ice Garden 1-4 PM. Our guests are invited to lace up a pair of skates, learn Minnesota and hockey trivia, eat the state muffin (blueberry) and try our "good sportmintchip" hot cocoa topping. Our team will be available to help novice skaters at this drop-in party scheduled at our home ice arena. Come enjoy Minnesota hospitality while cooling off for a few hours. Delegates will still have several hours to shower and rest before heading to the formal events Sunday evening. Many Bloomington hotels will provide free shuttles to this fun event.
For more details, contact Stephanie Smith in the hockey office 952-888-4311
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| "Flash" Mascot Appearances |
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"Flash" has been one busy dog the past two weeks, making appearances at Southdale Mall for the kidgits morning, Richfield parks for the evening pops concerts, Valley view park and Bloomington pool, Brye park for toddler Mondays and other places throughout Bloomington. His escort friends have been handing out information about Caleb kids club, Northern Lights kid tattoos and balloon animals. If you are interested in having Flash appear at your event, contact our hockey office 952-888-4311.
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| Seeking Host Families |
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Our organization is excited about the upcoming season and are currently seeking families who wish to be part of the Northern Lights family -- up close and personal. For the past few years our team has attracted an increasing percentage of players from out-of-town and we are anticipating similar numbers for this year. Home owners with an extra bedroom who wish to welcome a new "family member" for the season are desired for August 2008 through April 2009. Many student-athletes leave immediately at the conclusion of our season, but some players are enrolled in school and would desire housing through the end of the spring term at Normandale Community College. With morning practices followed by school or part-time job, the players are kept pretty busy, but a home cooked meal is always a treat!
Host family arrangements are set up much like international student exchange programs with the expectation of the player to be a member of your family for the season. The players commit to being drug/alcohol free during their participation with our team and sign covenant agreements with the family regarding expectations and damage deposits. Families receive a monthly fee guaranteed by the team which the players pay the team along with team fees. Host families receive free tickets to each home game and are invited to team activities just like the players' parents are. Get involved as much or as little as you'd like. For those who are interested in learning more, please contact our office and we would be pleased to meet with you at your convenience. Call 952-888-4311 for more info.
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| Booster Club News |
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Join the Northern Lights Booster Club!! The Booster Club table will be set up at all the regular season games. Membership costs to join, per person, are: Adults-$15.00, students and children-$10.00 (K-17). Children under 5 are free. Family $35. Churches and groups are also encouraged to support the activities of the Booster Club; contact our office to learn details of how you can bless our players and the staff this season.
BOOSTER CLUB PURPOSE:
* To promote the Northern Lights Hockey Team.
* To improve the relationship of the Northern Lights Hockey Team with the general public in order to create a greater number hockey fans.
* To spread factual data and information about the Northern Lights Hockey team.
* To cooperate and participate in a relatively social atmosphere so that the Booster Club members may become acquainted with the Northern Lights staff and team.
* All funds raised are to be used to better the relationship between the Booster Club and the Northern Lights Hockey Team.
Here are a few things you will receive when you and your family or group join the Booster Club.
* Access to Booster club room between periods at home games
* Booster Club voting rights
* Special discounts on season tickets and merchandise
* Social events with the players/coaches
* Monthly email newsletter
* Opportunities to spend time with fellow Club members
* Information about one-time and ongoing volunteer opportunities
Where does your membership fee money go?
* Welcome Picnic
* Christmas Party
* Parents Weekend
* Team meals after home games
* Snacks on trips to away games (some purchased, some homemade). Sign up for something to donate or for which events you'd like to be part of planning/leading.
Thanks so much to those who have formally and informally supported our team in the past six years!!!
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| National Anthem Auditions |
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The Northern Lights announced today that the team will be hosting auditions for the opportunity to sing at one of the home games during the upcoming 2008-2009 season. The Lights will be accepting audition materials from Monday, June 20 to Saturday Aug. 4. Interested musicians must send either a DVD or a CD to:
Northern Lights Hockey
Attn: National Anthem Auditions
8109 Bryant Avenue South
Bloomington MN 55420
The team will review submitted audition materials and invite the final candidates to participate in a live tryout in August during the team tryout weekend. Over the course of the season, fans will be able to vote for their favorite singer/performer(s).
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| Team Dentist - League Coordinator |
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The Northern Lights welcomes Douglas Lambert, DDS, FACD, to our support services team. Dr. Lambert is in private practice in Edina, Minnesota with an emphasis on aesthetic, sports, and conprehensive dentistry. He lectures frequently world-wide and presented at the 199 IASD Annual Symposium in Toronto, Canada and the 2002 IASD Annual Symposium in San Antonio, Texas. He is the former team dentist for the Minnesota North Stars (NHL). He has received numerous honors and awards, the most recent being the Top Cosmetic Dentist by the Minneapolis / St Paul Magazine. He is a fellow of the American College of Dentists and the Pierre Fauchard Academy. Dr Lambert does clinical research for various dental manufacturers and is currently a trustee for the Minneapolis District Dental Society. He is published in many dental publications focusing mostly on aesthetic dentistry. Dr. Lambert also serves as the team dentist for the Minnesota Lynx Professional Basketball team.
More details will be posted under "STAFF" in coming weeks.
We are so pleased that Dr. Lambert is joining the Northern Lights family and bringing his colleagues along to help serve the other metro area teams. Welcome aboard!
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| Team Staff and Alumni Weddings... |
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Congrats to the following team and staff alumni on their engagements/weddings. We share in your joy!
Ryan Adams and Courtney Kelly (4/27)
TJ Lokken and Theresa Gau (5/17)
Josh Storm and Maegen Trebelhorn (9/13)
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| 2008 Team Awards Night (as voted on by their peers) |
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Most Class: Michael Scebold
Most Disciplined: Erik Olson
Team Servant/Most Unselfish: Derek Bishop
Community Service Award: Matt Toter
Best Moves: Erik Olson and Britton Smith
Top Forwards: Erik Olson and Britton Smith
Top Defense: Rob Jensen and Michael Scebold
Most Improved: Brandon Anderson (BA)
Hardest Worker On Ice: Donnie Iverson
Hardest Worker Off Ice: Derek Bishop and Colin Longren
Most Dependable Goalie: Matt Toter
MNJHL Defenseman of Month December: Garrett Anderson
MNJHL Defenseman of Month February: Josh Mandich
Finalists for All-League: Erik Olson and Britton Smith
Northern Lights Most Valuable Player: Erik Olson
Over the Hill Award (50 points/season):
Playmaker Award (30 assists/season):
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TOP AWARD FOR OUR ORGANIZATION
Northern Lights "Most Valuable Teammate" (Ryan Adams Award): Josh Mandich
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Other Kudos:
Parent of the Year: Mr. Scebold (for miles on the car and for assisting with dental surgery in St. Louis!)
Volunteers: Watkins, Freibe, Greens and Knipp Families
Host Families
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| DECEMBER 2007 - MJHL Players of the Month |
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Anderson named December's best
January 9, 2008
Twin Cities Northern Lights defenseman Garrett Anderson and Minnesota Ice Hawks forward Ryan Goodmanson and have been named the Sande Hockey Defensive and Offensive Players of the Month, respectively, for December.
Anderson, a Bloomington, Minn., native, tallied five goals and three assists (eight points) for the Lights, who fashioned a 6-2 mark in December. After 32 games this season, the 19-year-old has eight goals for 17 points.
“Garrett’s play over the month of December was very strong, even when he didn’t contribute a point,” said Northern Lights coach Tony McGee. “He shows up for every game and practice ready to go and has proven to be one of our top defensemen.”
HONORABLE MENTION: Northern Lights forward Britton Smith (11 goals, 8 assists).
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| Volunteer Opportunities |
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February 2008 Event: Our Northern Lights family is invited to come be part of the St. Paul Winter Carnival. We have signed up to help in the Torchlight Parade on Saturday, February 2nd from 4-8 pm. Our volunteers will be Vulcans, banner carriers & snowflakes in the parade. We'll meet at the Bloomington Ice Garden 3:00 PM to carpool down (limited parking). Those meeting us there, go to the Atrium of Golden Rule Building 85 - 7th Place East, St. Paul no later than 3:30 PM and await our group for check-in.
March 17, 2008 Event: Feed My Starving Children
8-9:30 PM at the Eagan Warehouse. Sign up in the booster club room to secure your spot for this fun night supporting our official charity for 2007-2008. To fill the shift we will take the first 40 who sign up.
Link: Legends of the Carnival
Link: Vulcans Krewe
Link: Feed My Starving Children
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| November 4, 2007 - Veterans playing college hockey |
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Congrats to Northern Lights alumni who are lacing the rosters of several college teams this season:
Erik Largen (G) playing Division I hockey at University of Alaska Fairbanks; Nick Henkemeyer (D) returns at Marian College; Mike Stone (G) starting again at UW-Stout; Jake Pernula (F), Andy Kent (G) & Ben Roberts (D) are at Augsburg; Matt Wanvig (G) at Hamline; Eric Adams (F) is playing again for Bethel; Ryan Miech (G) returning at UW-Stevens Point; Becker College sophomore Matt Oster (F); Ryan Hampson (D) at St Olaf.
Jesse Felten (F) is currently the leading scorer for Briercrest College in the Alberta College Athletic Conference with 3 goals and 9 assists in eight games! That puts him at #3 scorer in the league. Congrats Jesse!
Will Such, Kelly Kranz and Erik LaRock, all NL veteran defensemen are united at St. Mary's University in Winona. Michael Turbitt (F) is a new freshman at Concordia (WI) University while ex-teammate Isaac Vatnasdal (D) plays for Concordia in Moorhead.
Here's the story from the Gustavus website where NL vets Josh Swartout and Pat Dynan are playing:
"The Gustavus men's hockey team jumped out to a 3-0 lead and never looked back as the Gusties opened their 2007-08 season with a convincing 7-0 win at Lake Forest College. Junior forward Mike Carr (Jr., Mahtomedi, Minn.) scored two goals (the first goals of his collegiate career) and freshman goaltender Josh Swartout (Fr., St. Louis Park, Minn.) made his first collegiate game one to remember as he picked up the win and recorded a shutout.
"Sophomore transfer Patrick Dynan (So., Maple Plain, Minn.) gave the Gusties a 1-0 lead with a power play goal at the 4:31 mark of the first period. Assists were recorded by Josh Pauer (So., Spring Park, Minn.) and David Martinson (So., St. Louis Park, Minn.). James Leathers (Prior Lake, Minn./Blake) assisted on Carr's first goal and Tim Ornell (Sr., Lino Lakes, Minn.) picked up the assist on Carr's second goal. Gustavus led 3-0 after the first 20 minutes.
"The score remained 3-0 for most of the second period, however the Gusties tallied two goals in the final four minutes of the period.
"Gustavus out-shot Lake Forest 44-20 in the game. Swartout turned in a very solid effort between the pipes making 20 saves. Scott Campbell made 37 saves for the Foresters."
Link: St. Mary's roster
Link: Gustavus roster
Link: University Alaska-Fairbanks
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