The Fair is open to both boys and girls from the Washington metropolitan area and beyond. Look to this ACCHL website for more information as we get closer to the date of the event.

Reminder as a follow up from last year,

We spent much of the year emphasizing sportsmanship and the need to cut down on Verbal abuse penalties, & Off ice incidents.

This year as last these penalties SHALL carry automatic review by the ACHA and likely additional games served to players showing this lack of control or lack or restraint or abuse of officials, on ice and office ice, fans’ etc..

• Items include altercations off ice
• Abuse of scorekeepers/referees on or off ice
• Abuse of fans
• Abuse by off ice players to on ice personnel
• Altercations during team handshake
• Unsportsmanlike conduct toward bench participants

This is not only a point of concern to the ACHA but it’s member school administrators.  Win , lose or draw there is no need or excuse for such actions.  And as always “regardless of the circumstances” each participant is responsible for his actions.

Not reporting such dq’s will ensure additional team sanctions.

Any questions regarding this policy contact me directly.

Mike Radakovich
ACHA Division II Commissioner
d2commissioner@achahockey.org

The crippling inability of Division 2 and Division 3 collegiate programs to offer scholarships and financial aid (in most cases) means top recruits flock elsewhere as professional hockey scouts follow.

Mike Sellitto, a 2010 graduate of FGCU and current member of New York Islanders affiliate the Bridgeport (CT) Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League (AHL) – a 30-team pro hockey league that serves as a developmental circuit for the NHL – refuses to share the skeptics’ rigidity.

“I’m excited to have made it to where I have and I know more players at FGCU can follow what I’ve done,” said Sellitto, the first FGCU alum to play minor league hockey. “Every kid who grows up playing a competitive sport dreams to play professionally and I’ve always carried that with me. I am lucky playing at FGCU was a step toward doing that.”

Without hovering scouts at games, Sellitto took initiative in finding an agent and sending videotapes to NHL organizations.

The Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers and New York Islanders showed interest, with the Islanders inviting him to their prospect camp July 7.

Reveling in the glare of the spotlight, Sellitto impressed, earning a contract with the Islanders organization for the upcoming season.

“It was an unbelievable experience playing with top prospects and rookies from all over the world,” Sellitto said of the Islanders’ prospect camp. “I really got lucky. I just kept working hard and took advantage of an opportunity and somebody saw me.”

FGCU hockey club president Jason Almcrantz saw firsthand the skills that separate Sellitto from other middling lower division prospects.

“He is a solid kid and a strong skater who will make the right play 99 percent of the time,” Almcrantz explained. “By the end of last year every forward was begging to be on his line because he makes everybody better.”

Players come into the FGCU program without the clout of a big money scholarship and Division 1 status, meaning the depth chart is determined by results rather then preconceived fallacies.

“This is not from firsthand, but I know when Mike first came to the team, he was barely dressing,” Almcrantz said. “But the coaches at FGCU give everyone the same opportunity and Mike took advantage, getting better every year.”

Born in New York, Sellitto began skating at three years old.

Though there are no hockey roots in his family, Sellitto’s father served as a mentor, pushing his son to relish the pursuit of success.

At 12 years old, Sellitto left the bounty of hockey opportunities and resources in New York for the nowhere of Florida.

Floridians’ preference for the sultriness of fields and waves make the state a hockey Siberia, shown by the fact that only three players in the NHL are from Florida, according to hockeyreference.com.

“That (The lack of hockey culture in Florida) definitely makes things 100 percent harder,” Sellitto said. “But we have a lot of good kids coming out now with a chance to make a name for themselves.”

Because of that lack of culture, Sellitto played club hockey, a move that might have better served his career. According to Almcrantz, the weighty, strenuous nature of Division 1 hockey can be diminishing, giving players false security.

“I have friends that play Division 1 that hate it,” Almcrantz said. “The captain of the UNH (University of New Hampshire) team was failing in school but was able to continue his studies so he could play hockey. There is this perception that club hockey isn’t great, but really it’s less stressful and allows for the growth of a well-rounded person.”

When a player does make it, club hockey is able to replenish its talent base, and sell itself as grounds for extending a dream.

“When we had our welcome meeting at the beginning of the year I was able to say, ‘Look at this guy’ (Sellitto),” Almcrantz said. “Club hockey is not the end of your hockey career if you don’t want it to be.”

While an academic-based program and a 40-game season traveled by plane can’t compare to an the humbleness of an 80-game grind full of bus rides, Sellitto feels FGCU has readied him for what’s ahead.

“So far, minor league hockey has been everything you can imagine but a lot harder,” Sellitto said. “We will work out an hour and a half a day and skate an hour and a half a day compared to playing four times a week with club hockey. But FGCU is what helped me move up in the hockey world.”

“The study does suggest,” says Willer, “that, regardless of whether young players are allowed to body check, unintentional contact with the board, the ice or other players are important sources of serious unintended injury. To avoid these accidents, hockey coaches must teach players to keep their heads up, rather than looking down at the puck.”

Read the full article at:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100729133440.htm

The ACC Hockey League is pleased to announce George Washington University will be joining the league for the 2010-11 season.  The GW Hockey Club has maintained close ties with the ACCHL over the years, regularly playing league teams each season.

Don Martin, ACCHL Commissioner, expressed his enthusiasm at the announcement, “The GW Hockey Program has grown and matured tremendously over the years.  I would like to welcome the GW Colonial players, coaches, fans and alumni into the league.  They play a great brand of quality hockey and have built a strong administrative and management foundation.  Simply put, they are a quality program and are a great addition to the ACCHL.”

GW and Georgetown have built a strong rivalry over the years.  This season, they again play a home-and-home series.  In October, the Colonials won at Kettler Capitals Iceplex 5-1.  On January 15 (10:30PM), Georgetown will attempt to avenge the loss at GW’s home rink, Fort Dupont.   With the addition of GW into the league, this rivalry is sure to grow.  Co-President of the Colonials, Jon Moynihan, explains how GW looks forward to the competition in the league, “The ACCHL provides GW Hockey with an opportunity to further grow as a club. The members of the team are excited to form new rivalries with such elite schools.  We are all particularly excited to be joining a league where we will have the opportunity to play two meaningful games each season with crosstown rival Georgetown.”

The George Washington program has worked hard over the years to elevate the quality of the program, not just on the ice, but also in the front office.  The organization, administration and support of the program greatly impressed the ACCHL schools and leadership.  Taylor Guidon, current GW Hockey Vice President and planned President of next year’s team discussed the opportunity to join the ACCHL, “After an extremely successful season and a half in the BRHC, the opportunity the play in the ACCHL was one that was too good for GW Hockey to pass up.”  Colonials coach, Tim Schliftman, recognizes the contributions of the team’s players, management and supporters, “I am proud of the accomplishments of both our recent alumni and current upperclassmen to bring our program to the point where an elite league such as the ACCHL has invited us to join.”

George Washington Hockey:  http://www.gwu.edu/~hockey

 http://www.usahockey.com/LinkedDocs/d/d/3/dd36f224-362f-42c6-a6d5-69d6373f1f84.ppt

FASTHockey will support the ACHA and all its member teams by offering its full suite of services including video streaming, multi-channel marketing, professional production, and content hosting.  The ACHA and all its member teams will be able to offer passionate fans live and on-demand access to games throughout the year.  Over 400 teams are expected to take advantage of the FASTHockey platform.

“We are incredibly excited to work with the ACHA and showcase this great college hockey to passionate fans world-wide,” said Marc Ruskin, CEO of FASTHockey. “Working with the University of Central Oklahoma last season gave us great insight into the ACHA and its brand.  We could not be more proud than to announce this long term partnership with the governing body of college “non-varsity” ice hockey in the United States.”

“We are thrilled to be working with a class organization like FASTHockey,” said Chris Wilk, Executive Director of  the ACHA. “FASTHockey is leading the pack in delivering a full suite of services—we were most impressed by their focus on ice hockey and ability to drive traffic with their enormous database.  We are also very pleased that our partnership includes the professional production and delivery of our National Tournaments and Special Events.  After watching FASTHockey’s exceptional coverage of the USA Hockey National Championships and World U-18 Championships in Fargo, we knew who we wanted to partner with.”

For more information on watching ACHA games this season, please visit: www.fasthockey.com.

FASTHockey.com is the premier online network for ice hockey players, coaches and fans to organize their hockey lives while developing personal connections rooted in shared hockey interests. FASTHockey.com provides the online platform so that athletes and coaches can create player and team profiles, upload videos and photos, track and view statistics, check out opponents before games, and discover the best ice hockey players in the world.

Saturday 1st Game
NC State 4
Virginia 0

Photos of the ACCHL Tournament are available at vthockey.imagekind.com/.