Dunedin Ice Hockey Association

May 2009 Newsletter

From the President

After a very busy time for ice hockey in Dunedin with the World Champs, there was a bizarre break when curling took over the rink and no hockey was played at all. It’s all picking up again now with Easton Cup last weekend, two Sundays of Southern Ice Hockey League games, and Thunder starting their campaign next month. I wish all the players and teams representing Dunedin the best.

The club has recently appointed a new Professional Coach for the 2009 season and we are very excited to be able to continue to offer great coaching on the ice for all players. Sophia has just finished her first week of coaching and as she learns more about the players and their abilities she’ll be pushing them higher levels of hockey.

Appreciate your feedback on any of the items below.

Kyle Matthews
DIHA President
president@dunedinicehockey.hellyer.kiwi

New Professional Coach

The club is pleased to announce Sophia Leon de la Barra as our new Professional Coach for the 2009 season. Sophia will be working with our amateur coaches at practices, and running SNC, Kiwihockey, and Adult Beginner practices. Sophia has previously played and coached ice hockey in America, Italy, and Australia, and we’re very lucky to have such a well-qualified coach to take up the work of raising the skill level of all our ice hockey players.

Free ‘Try Hockey’ sessions Saturday 16 May

The club will be hosting two free sessions for people to try out ice hockey with some of our new coaches on Saturday 16th May.

Aged 13 and under – 4pm
Aged over 13 – 5pm

Turn up half an hour early to ensure you can be fitted for gear.

All club members are encouraged to tell their friends and family members to turn up and help grow the sport.

World Champs

A big thank you to all the club members and parents who committed their time and expertise to help with the recent Division III World Champs. We not only pulled it together to put on a great tournament, but hopefully soon the club will learn of some financial returns which we’ll be distributed to members as ice time credits.

Tournament Director, Graeme Glass has asked me to pass onto all who were involved how well the event came together and how impressed the teams and the IIHF were with the professional way that the event was run. The DIHA will consider bidding for this event again in a couple of years.

Lastly, a big congratulations to the Ice Blacks and particularly the two Dunedin-based members, Damion Watson and Rick Parry for their efforts over the past months which led to them being awarded the gold medal and promotion to Division II.

Friendship Games

A big congratulations to the Dunedin members of the Southern Friendship Games team that recently returned from Hachinohe Japan. DIHA members who made the massive commitment to the trip included Mitchell Keenan, Tom Offen, Joe Orr, Nick Patchett, Ben Roth, Justin Stevenson, Geordie Wheeler, Jaimee Wood and coach Larry Wheeler. We will have some photos from their trip up on the web site soon. [now available here]

Easton Cup Results

Congratulations to the Dunedin Penguins, who pulled off an incredible reversal from 4-0 down to beat the Dunedin Thunder in overtime 5-4 in the Easton Cup final last weekend. A fantastic weekend of hockey was had by all teams.

DIHL Underway

The Dunedin Ice Hockey League began on Tuesday, and will run for seven weeks with four teams competing. The Beasts and the Juniors started the tournament off in a winning mood, beating Oldtimers and Physed respectively.

All players who missed out on a spot on this competition this time around keep your eyes open for a second DIHL starting in August/September, and be sure to get your entry forms in early. For more information visit https://dunedinicehockey.hellyer.kiwi/dihl/.

Upcoming referee course

The New Zealand Ice Hockey Federation will be holding a Level 1 referee course in Dunedin on 20 June. This qualification makes able to line and referee games. Referees are crucial in our sport and we are always looking for more. It is also a great source of income to play for your ice hockey, referees get paid for their work. This course will also be free. Contact Michael Mitchell on referees@dunedinicehockey.hellyer.kiwi to sign up.

Upcoming scorers course

We will also be hosting a scorers course on 21 June. This will run over some of the issues that scorers face, help them understand the rules better, and work with referees. Contact Joyce Miller on secretary@dunedinicehockey.hellyer.kiwi to sign up.

Replacement VP Communications

Due to a resignation on the DIHA Board of Directors, the club is looking for a new Vice-President of Communications. This person takes the lead on promoting the sport of ice hockey and trying to get more people playing in our various grades, particularly Kiwihockey and Adult Beginner.

If you think you might be able to help fill this position, please contact Kyle on president@dunedinicehockey.hellyer.kiwi by 29 May.

Recent SIHL results

Congratulations to the various Dunedin teams that have already had Southern Ice Hockey League Games.

The Open Grade have played two tournaments, beating Gore twice, and splitting their two games against Queenstown. The final games in this grade are Sunday 24th May, here in Dunedin, so the Dunedin-Queenstown game should be great to watch.

The Midgets travelled to Queenstown in early April and lost to Queenstown, but beat Alexandra/Gore. They’ll play again here in Dunedin this Sunday.

The Peewees had their first tournament a couple of weeks ago in Gore, and beat Gore 22-0 and Maniototo 20-1. This team continues to have fantastic results and plays again here in Dunedin on 24 May.

Upcoming SIHL trials

SIHL Peewee trials we be taken place on the weekend of 23 – 24 May, in Dunedin. For more information contact the SIHL Manager Janine Hurring at practice.

DIHA taking over Kiwihockey, adopting Learn to Play

The DIHA has officially taken over responsibility for Kiwihockey, which is our introduction to ice hockey for younger kids. We will be running this with the support of the rink. As well as taking over the session, we have switched to the Learn to Play programme, developed in Canada and used internationally to teach kids to play hockey using lots of small area games and ensuring that hockey is fun.

Any members that have younger siblings or other family members or friends who want to take up hockey, Kiwihockey is fantastically cheap ($5/session) and great fun.

Know your Coach/Manager

Kiwihockey (Thursday 5pm)
Coach: Sophia Leon de la Barra
Assistant Coaches: Mike Wesseling and Ashleigh Rose-Black
Manager: Managed by Kyle Matthews in conjunction with the rink.

Peewees (Tuesdays 6pm)
Coaches: Kyle Matthews and Callum Wood, with Sophia Leon de la Barra
Manager: Pete Wallis

Midgets (Thursdays 6pm)
Coaches: Al O’Connor (about to take an extended holiday to North America), Larry Wheeler, Larry Martin, David Patchett, with Sophia Leon de la Barra
Managers: Larry Martin and Krissi Wood.

Juniors (Thursdays 7pm)
Coaches: Blake Sinclair and Stefan King, with Sophia Leon de la Barra
Managers: Jackie and Warren Teasdale

Senior Non-Checking (Mondays 9pm)
Coach: Sophia Leon de la Barra
Manager: Callan McLaughlin

Adult Beginners (Sundays 6pm)
Coach: Sophia Leon de la Barra
Manager: Karen Nicholas