TGHA Update

April 1, 2008

Board Meeting

Surveys Due ASAP

Congrats to 13Us

National Champion Alumnae

USA Hockey Tournament

Brampton Tournament

Syracuse University News

Board Meeting

Thursday April 3

7:00 pm

Cayuga Heights Fire Station, Pleasant Grove Road

All welcome to attend

Surveys Due ASAP

The TGHA Board wants to hear from YOU!

Attached is a survey that was also distributed at the banquet in paper form. Please let us know how you feel about TGHA and its programs; your feedback will help us plan for the future.

Detach optional slip with your name and contact info, and return both pieces to TGHA to be entered in prize drawing. There are several prizes (including $25 gift certificate from Instant Replay Sports) that will be awarded to randomly-selected survey-responders who reply by the April 3 meeting.

Return directions are on the survey. Thank you very much.

Congrats to 13Us

During the March 29-30 weekend, the 13U Ithaca Shooting Stars girls hockey team played in the Don Vetter Memorial Tournament in Canandaigua. They finished in second place behind the Binghamton Blizzard and ahead of the host Canandaigua Knights

The Ithaca girls defeated Canandaigua twice, 4-0 each time. In the first game Bridget Derraugh scored two goals assisted by Hannah Wilson and Ismini Ethridge. Rachel Brock scored assisted by Grace Ulinski, and Ethridge scored assisted by Derraugh. Alex Stagliano had the shutout in goal. In the second game Grace Ulinski scored a hat trick with assists from Ethridge, Wilson and Derraugh. Brock also scored with an assist from Risa Ulinski. Sophia Hunt recorded a shutout in goal.

They lost in their first meeting with Binghamton, 7-1. Brock scored the one goal unassisted. Hunt was in goal. They met again in the tournament championship game. Ithaca lost 4-3. Derraugh and Brock each scored unassisted. Hunt scored assisted by Zsofi Szegletes.

National Champion Alumnae

Two Ithaca women's hockey players who had their start in TGHA, Michelle Harman Coates and Torrey Dennis Jacobs, were among the scoring leaders for the Syracuse Warriors team that won the USA Hockey National Championship at the Senior B level on March 30 after four days of competition in West Chester, PA.

In the final game vs. Michigan O'Leary Hawks, the undefeated Syracuse Warriors won 2-0. Jacobs had an assist. She tallied one goal and five other assists during the tournament. Coates and Jacobs each recorded assists in the semi-final win (3-2) over the Minnesota Blue J Hawks. Coates finished with one goal and four other assists. They defeated the Palm Beach Predators, Oakland Seals, Philadelphia Freeze, and finalist Michigan team during the preliminary round.

Coates, Jacobs and Abby Webb were members of the silver medalist Central Section Open Division Women's Hockey team that played in Lake Placid in February. They each had a goal and an assist in the team's games.

http://www.empirestategames.org/winter/results/ice.htm

Nationals photos and story here:

http://www.usahockey.com/Youth_Nationals_2008/default.aspx?AV=AF_14&id=225764&DetailedNews=yes

USA Hockey Tournament

Three Ithaca girls will be competing with the Syracuse Stars 14U Tier 1 team representing New York State at Nationals starting Wednesday April 2. Follow Nitsan Goldstein, Emma Marshall and Lucy Marshall at www.usahockey.com. (Note the Buffalo Bisons represent NYS at 12U and 19U, and Troy Albany Ice Cats at 16U.)

Brampton Tournament

Some Ithacans playing in the world's largest female hockey tournament March 20-23-- the 41st Annual Brampton Canadettes Tournament. Brampton is northwest suburb of Toronto. This year Easter weekend saw 428 girls and women's teams playing in 37 divisions (by age and level). The Ithaca Sirens women's hockey team won the Senior Women Rec 2 division on scores listed below. The women who played are current and former members of the Sirens.

Round Robin games:

Sirens 2 vs. Michigan Iron Maidens 2

Sirens 2 vs. Smith Falls Ontario Wildcats 0

Illinois Vixens 0 vs. Ithaca Sirens 4

In addition, a team of girls from across NYS were semi-finalists at the Midget BB level. Jenni Hamel had four shutout games against Canadian teams before the team fell 3-2 in OT to the eventual champions from North York, Ontario. Erin Grainger played defense and Gabe Klick forward. The team was coached by Paul Zarach.

Syracuse University News

Flanagan to lead new SU team

TUESDAY, APRIL 1, 2008

SYRACUSE — After guiding the St. Lawrence University women's hockey program to five NCAA Frozen Fours, head coach Paul Flanagan will now try to accomplish the same feat at Syracuse University.

SU director of athletics Daryl Gross announced the hiring of Flanagan for the school's upstart program on Monday evening. Syracuse will begin playing competitive hockey in the College Hockey America Conference this fall. Flanagan, a Canton native, compiled 230 wins in nine seasons at St. Lawrence. He led the Saints to their fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament this year.

With Flanagan's departure, St. Lawrence announced that Chris Wells will become the Saints' new women's hockey coach as of May 1. Wells spent the past nine years in the men's hockey program. Most recently, he was the team's associate head coach for five seasons.

Flanagan is currently fulfilling his duties as an assistant coach for the U.S. women's hockey team, which is competing at the world championship in Harbin, China.

"One of the things that impressed me is that the Syracuse athletics administration wants to do things the right way," Flanagan said in a statement released by SU. "This is an opportunity to build a program the right way. You do that by bringing in quality people with character. I think it will be a lot of fun and hopefully something that the university and Syracuse area can be proud of."

Flanagan, a former player and captain for the Saints' men's team, helped catapult St. Lawrence to the first NCAA women's championship game in 2001. The Saints won the ECAC Hockey regular-season title in 2003-04 and won the 2005-06 championship outright. He recorded eight straight 20-win seasons, coached over three dozen ECAC all-stars, and had 10 players receive All-America status. This small portion of his résumé wasn't the only thing that attracted Gross.

"I am so impressed with his credentials and his character, and we can't wait to give him the support he needs to develop our program and culture to be the best in the country," Gross said in a statement.

Wells will be the fourth head coach to lead the Saints' women's program. Wells, a Canton native and former SLU player, was an assistant coach at Colgate and Western Michigan University before returning to his alma mater as an assistant in 1999. He could not be reached for comment Monday night.

St. Lawrence athletic director Margie Strait said in a statement that the university is grateful for the tradition and dedication Flanagan instilled in the program. She also said Wells is the perfect candidate to maintain most expectations.

"He is an outstanding teacher of the game, and will help us make a seamless transition to the next chapter while maintaining a rich tradition for women's hockey at St. Lawrence University," Strait said.

http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20080401/SPORTS03/24365296/-1/sports

Mary
Mary M. Grainger
421 Highland Road
Ithaca, NY 14850
Phone 607-257-3268
Fax 607-257-0483
Cell 607-280-4380