The CI Aggregator is a compilation of recent stories regarding the hockey world, The Carnegie Initiative, our Board members, other industry influencers, similar organizations doing work to change the culture of the game, related issues, and anything aligned with our important mission to make hockey more inclusive, supportive, and welcoming to all.
A new edition is posted each Friday.
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WEEKLY RECAP: Friday, September 15, 2023
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Sitting Bulls Sled Hockey to take the ice in Altoona
Olivia Bosar, WTAJ Altoona, Sept. 15, 2023
The Sitting Bulls Sled Hockey Team is gearing up for a weekend of fierce competition.
Sitting Bulls will be hosting the Northeast Sled Hockey League (NESHL) at Galactic Ice in Altoona the weekend of Sept. 23 and 24. There will be three other teams in attendance, traveling to the area from Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Columbus, Ohio.
Blackhawks Strengthen Commitment to Illinois Amateur Hockey Community
Team celebrates expansion of Fifth Third Arena, announces ‘Try Hockey for Free’ event and updates to High School Rivalry Series, High School Championship and Northern Illinois Hockey League Championships
Chicago Blackhawks, Sept. 15, 2023
As the Chicago Blackhawks celebrate that hockey season is back, the organization is proud to announce growing efforts to celebrate and advance the amateur hockey community in Illinois; along with new investments, programs and resources to help make a more accessible introduction to the sport. This expanded commitment coincides with the news of the City of Chicago’s recent approval for the expansion of Fifth Third Arena – the Chicago Blackhawks Community Ice Rink, which strives to create a hub for Midwest youth hockey and local community-based programs with the addition of two ice rinks and added event spaces.
Pure Hockey Continues Its Growth with The Opening of a New Store in Springfield, VA
PRNewswire, Sept. 15, 2023
Pure Hockey, the largest hockey equipment retailer in the United States, announced today the opening of its second Virginia location; it will be located in Springfield.
With over 70 retail locations across the country, Pure Hockey continues to strengthen its commitment to serving the hockey community with the largest selection of the highest quality hockey equipment, exceptional customer service, and unwavering support for the growth of the sport.
“Carnegie Corner,” (Issue No. 7)
The CI Newsletter, Sept. 14, 2023
Q&A with Renee Hess of Black Girl Hockey Club; Bernice Carnegie’s welcome, Hockey Indigenous adds two boards members …
Bringing Back the Boise State Women’s Club Hockey Team
Resurrecting a team after COVID
Alexander Huddleston, Idaho News 6, Sept. 14, 2023
A group of women at Boise State University are coming together to re-launch the women’s club hockey team that started in 2018, but after COVID has struggled to get back in the air.
Annabella Royer is an officer for the club. Royer explained a women’s team was started back in 2018. However, after 2 successful seasons the club like many other things shut down due to COVID. For the last two years, the club has been more of a small group of women who enjoy hockey.
“This year we are restructuring the club starting literally at ground zero,” said, Royer
Grand Strand Youth Hockey grows in popularity despite Myrtle Beach’s lack of ice
Teagan Brown, Myrtle Beach-Florence WMBF-TV, Sept. 14, 2023
When you think of hockey, you probably don’t think of Myrtle Beach, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to play here.
While Grand Strand Youth Hockey League players don’t put on traditional hockey skates, or skate on ice, they still learn how to play and love the sport.
With a pair of rollerblades, an outdoor skate rink in Market Common, League Commissioner Chris Mowder leads kids ages 4-17 in practices and games throughout the week.
PWHL draft will reintroduce feeling of year-long team camaraderie to women’s hockey
Bulk of 6 original rosters to be filled out in 15-round selection process on Monday
Myles Dichter, CBC Sports, Sept. 14, 2023
For the last four years, many women’s hockey players like Renata Fast missed one simple thing: teammates.
Yes, there was the national team. And for the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) members like the Canadian defender, there were Dream Gap Tour squads as well.
But the camaraderie of a professional team, with all of its members located in one city, was glaringly absent.
New JV high school ice hockey team, Sarasota Ice Rays, makes debut Friday
Adaure Achumba, WTSP-TV Tampa-St. Petersburg, Sept. 14, 2023
Despite having a very successful professional team, Florida may not be the first place that comes to mind when you think about ice hockey.
But thanks to many transplants from up north who moved to the Sunshine State during the pandemic, the sport is starting to gain more popularity.
The Florida heat didn’t stop one Sarasota mom from finding a team for her sons to play on, even if she had to create it herself.
NHL Network, Sept. 14, 2023
Brian Burke joins to discuss being inducted to the 2023 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame.
Spanish women’s league players call off strike after reaching minimum pay agreement
Ben Church, Patrick Sung, Sammy Mncwabe and Amanda Davies, CNN, Sept. 14, 2023
Players competing in the top-tier of women’s football in Spain – Liga F – have called their strike off after reaching a minimum pay agreement, players’ union FUTPRO announced on Thursday.
The dispute between the five unions representing the players – including many of Spain’s World Cup-winning squad – and Liga F primarily came about because of a disagreement in the minimum salary for players and the wage gap which exists.
Plan to replace ice rink with basketball courts stirs up furor in Brooklyn Park
City officials are looking to remodel the Community Activity Center and determine how the facility can best serve residents into the future.
Tim Harlow, Star Tribune, Sept. 14, 2023
A plan that would remove a public ice rink and replace it with three basketball courts is creating angst in Brooklyn Park, where city officials are rethinking how the community center can best serve residents.
The north metro city is looking to spend up to $15 million to renovate the 40-year-old Community Activity Center and add gym space — a top priority since 2018 when voters approved a $26 million park bond.
To do that, a leading proposal calls for removing one of two ice sheets and converting it into space for basketball, volleyball, pickleball and special events. The community center, built in 1983 and expanded four times since, has one gym but shares the space with the Minnesota National Guard.
Olympic champions to college stars: 10 most intriguing players available in PWHL’s 1st-ever draft
Dissecting the most notable talent available as teams look to bolster their rosters
Karissa Donkin, CBC News, Sept. 14, 2023
Olympic gold medallists. College stars. Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) standouts. Players who’ve shined on the world stage, but never played professionally in North America.
Ninety of the best female hockey players in the world will find a new hockey home on Monday, when the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) holds its first draft.
Each of the new league’s six teams signed three players in a free agency period that ended last Sunday, taking big names like Marie-Philip Poulin, Sarah Nurse and Hilary Knight off the board.
On Monday, each general manager will add 15 more players to their roster, as they build their teams from scratch ahead of a scheduled January 2024 puck drop.
The draft will take place in downtown Toronto at CBC headquarters.
Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) Announces Canadian Tire Corporation as First Founding Partner
Canadian Tire Corporation joins the PWHL with a landmark multi-year agreement
PWHL, Sept. 13, 2023
The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) has announced a multi-year agreement with Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC), naming the industry-leading retailer the League’s first Founding Partner. This collaboration includes sponsorship of the League’s Inaugural Draft – where 90 of the best women’s hockey players in the world will be selected by PWHL teams on September 18 in Toronto.
Akwesasne Mohawk named new SUNY Potsdam women’s ice hockey coach
NCPR NEWS, Sept. 13, 2023
An Akwesasne Mohawk and former Division I hockey player is the new head coach of the SUNY Potsdam’s women’s ice hockey team.
Olivia Cook served as assistant coach last season. She replaces Greg Haney, who coached the Bears from 2020 to 2023, and is the program’s third coach since it was restarted in 2007.
“I’m extremely excited for the opportunity to work with our student-athletes this season,” Cook said in a statement. “I was raised 45 minutes north of Potsdam on the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne. To be able to coach at this level, for a beautiful institution like Potsdam that’s so close to home, is such an honor and a dream come true …”
Ron MacLean is coming back to Okotoks to get roasted
Kevin Wallace, OkotoksOnline, Sept. 13, 2023
Legendary NHL broadcaster Ron MacLean is coming back to Okotoks at the end of the month.
He was last here in 2019 for a Hometown Hockey event but this time he’s coming back to get ‘roasted’.
It’s being put on by Hockey Canada and the Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation (WCPHSF).
Penalty box: Despite little funding, ASU women’s hockey club finds success
Chase Beardsley, Cronkite News, Sept. 13, 2023
TEMPE – The sounds of pucks banging off the boards, skates slashing over the ice and fans and teammates cheering when a player slaps a shot into the net can only mean hockey is back at Arizona State’s Mountain America Community Iceplex.
For the ASU’s women’s hockey club team, those are also the sounds of a program experiencing growing pains despite the team’s success last season in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA).
ASU finally broke through and won the Western Women’s Collegiate Hockey League (WWCHL) championship in 2022-23, which gave it an automatic bye into the ACHA national tournament. It is a feat that escaped the ASU women in the finals the past three seasons.
While the Sun Devils traveled to Boston to compete in the ACHA National Championships last season, it wasn’t without challenges. ASU had to set up a GoFundMe page last year to raise travel money. The good news for ASU is, the campaign exceeded its goal and helped the team make it without worries.
ASU women’s hockey coach Lindsey Ellis has overseen the team since its inception and has struggled to get the school to provide funding. ASU’s women’s hockey squad is a club team, meaning the school doesn’t provide funding like it does for NCAA teams.
The Boston Bruins announced an incredible All-Centennial team
Vincent Parise, Puck Prose, Sept. 13, 2023
The Boston Bruins are an incredibly old franchise rich with great history. Their 2023-24 season is going to be a celebration of 100 years of Bruins hockey.
Their centennial season is going to be a year-long party as they remember and honor those great moments throughout franchise history.
It will be a season that sees them honor players, staff, and all sorts of different times over the last 100 years.
Part of this celebration is the team naming the 100 greatest players in the history of the franchise. You can see those 100 names in this post:
There are plenty of notable names on here as they are considered to be the 100 greatest Bruins of all time.
Clearly, the Boston Bruins have a history loaded with great players …
… Willie O’Ree, the man who broke the NHL’s color barrier, also made the list as he should. Memories like that changed the league for the better forever.
The Rink Live named USA Hockey media partner for college hockey polls
National college polls are published in conjunction with the American Hockey Coaches Association
The Rink Live, Sept. 13, 2023
USA Hockey announced Wednesday that the USA Hockey/The Rink Live NCAA Division I college hockey polls will begin next Tuesday (Sept. 19) with the women’s pre-season poll, while the men’s pre-season poll will be released on Oct. 2.
Men’s polls will be released each Monday during the season, while a new women’s poll is available each Tuesday.
“When we first started The Rink Live we thought there was a need for more college hockey reporting throughout the Midwest based on Forum’s local markets throughout Minnesota and North Dakota,” said Bill Marcil Jr., CEO of Forum Communications and The Rink Live. “We quickly realized that there was a national need for more college hockey reporting and beyond.
Western investigating misconduct allegations within women’s hockey program, sources say
TSN, Sept. 12, 2023
Western University has hired an outside lawyer to investigate multiple allegations of misconduct within its women’s hockey program, four sources familiar with the matter told TSN.
Multiple players have made allegations of improper conduct against head coach Candice Moxley and Western’s strength and conditioning coach Jeff Watson, who works with the London, Ont., school’s 38 varsity teams.
Allegations made by players against Moxley include claims that she pressured players to play through injuries and did not act when players told her about Watson’s alleged misconduct.
NHL Players and Their Love Affair With Golf
Paul Quinney, TheHockeyWriters.com, Sept. 12, 2023
Hockey players from beer leagues to the NHL seem to love golf. It’s as if golf is the one hobby hockey players have in common outside the rink. The relationship between the two games probably goes back to the very beginnings of hockey. It’s not hard to imagine hockey players 100 years ago turning to the links for offseason fun with their hockey mates.
Formerly Raleigh Iceplex, one of the city’s original ice rinks is getting bigger
Chantal Allam, News & Observer, Sept. 12, 2023
Polar Ice Raleigh, formerly Raleigh Iceplex, is getting supersized. One of the city’s original public ice rinks — and, at one point, the original practicing space for the Carolina Hurricanes — it’s now being transformed into a “twin-sheet” ice arena
Its owners, American Skating Entertainment Centers (ASEC) and Ammons Ventures, recently purchased six acres of adjoining land at 2601 Raleigh Blvd. for $2.5 million. They’re now spending $5 million for expansion upgrades to meet the region’s growing demand for ice sports facilities.
Northern Colorado club hockey team suspended on allegations of hazing, underage drinking
Anne Delaney, Greeley Tribune, Sept. 12, 2023
A University of Northern Colorado student-run club ice hockey team has been suspended for the next three seasons after the school investigated allegations of underage drinking and hazing, the team announced on a social media platform Tuesday afternoon.
The club disputes the allegations and is working to appeal the decision made by UNC as a result of its investigation, according to a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. The suspension runs through 2026.
Helping rebuild North Carolina’s oyster reefs, one broken hockey stick at a time
Rather than putting oysters on ice, a local group wants to use broken hockey sticks to build oyster habitat by hanging stick-made reefs from docks
Gareth McGrath, USA Today Network, Sept. 11, 2023
On the ice, a hockey stick is a multi-purpose, high-tech tool that can be used to shoot pucks at more than 100 mph, make pinpoint passes, block shots and even slow down or harass other players.
But a broken stick doesn’t have much of a purpose left except taking up space in a landfill.
A new group in Southeastern North Carolina wants to change that and use broken hockey sticks to help another multi-faceted player that occupies an important role in maintaining North Carolina’s vital and fragile coastal marine environment. And the idea already has a major backer in the chancellor of the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) who happens to have a marine science background and worked with Bob Wasno, who is credited with coming up with the rink-to-reef idea last decade that since has gained traction across the country.
CBA Is Step in Right Direction for the PWHL
By Elaine Shircliff (originally posted on Full Press Hockey), Yardbarker, Sept. 11, 2023
On August 29, the Professional Women’s Hockey League — PWHL for short — announced their official name, unveiled their new website, and disclosed their Collective Bargaining Agreement to the masses.
When a new league arises, one of the things athletes think about before signing a contract is whether or not the league or team they are signing with is set up for short-term and long-term success. For the 18 players who signed during the PWHL’s inaugural free agency this past week, it looks like the league is set up for longevity.
McLaughlin on takeaways from Beyond the Boards Summit: ‘This really is a journey’
SportsNet, Sept. 8, 2023
Hockey Canada COO Pat McLaughlin meets with reports at Friday’s Beyond the Boards summit to discuss what he took away from the summit and the importance of the uncomfortable conversations being had. (0:56)
Hockey Canada Names 46 Players To National Team Selection Camp
Hockey Canada named 46 players to their Fall National Team Selection Camp that begins next week in Thorold, Ontario.
Ian Kennedy, The Hockey News, Sept. 8, 2023
Hockey Canada will bring together 46 players to help build the 2023-2024 national team, beginning next week in Thorold, Ontario.
Among those invited were the nine Canadian players signed during PWHL free agency including Marie-Philip Poulin, Ann-Renee Desbiens, and Laura Stacey in Montreal, Emily Clark, Brianne Jenner, and Emerance Maschmayer in Ottawa, Blayre Turnbull, Sarah Nurse, and Renata Fast in Toronto, and Micah Zandee-Hart in New York.