Dear SRI Players and Parents,
As sad as it is to see the summer start to wind down, we're just a few short weeks away from the start of the 2024-25 season and I *know* everyone is looking forward to that! We head into the new season hoping the rink difficulties of the last year are far behind us.
SRI has long been a cornerstone of youth hockey in Rhode Island, fostering not only athletic prowess but also instilling values of teamwork, discipline, and sportsmanship in our players. This year, we’re taking it up a notch with a renewed focus on enhancing player development at all age levels.
As the puck is set to drop on the new season, SRI remains committed to our principles of community and youth development. It's not just about the goals scored or the games won; it's about building character, fostering lifelong friendships, and creating unforgettable memories on the ice while developing the hockey skills that takes most of our players into high school hockey and beyond.
So, lace up those skates, sharpen those blades, and get ready - the new hockey season promises to be a spectacular display of youth sports at its finest. Let's cheer on our skaters as they embark on a journey of growth, competition, and fun. Here's to a great season ahead!
I’ll see you on the ice and GO JR RAMS!
Sincerely,
Mike Smith
SRIYHA President
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Parity season kicks off September 2nd. Schedules for parity have dropped into SportsEngine, please go take a look!
Parity games are not able to be rescheduled. They are designed to determine equal play across the divisions. Once the parity rounds are over, a competition committee (which consists of one member from each organization) meets to determine placements of all teams. It is possible for a team to either move down or up a division, depending on their parity performance, i.e. a B team which wins all games easily may be elevated to A. The league may also split a division into two halves if the committee deems it necessary in the best interests of equal play. There are no appeals to the movements once completed.
Once the committee meets and makes those determinations the league will schedule the remaining portion of the year’s schedule and release those dates.
Current standings can always be found on the SCHL website, along with the Parity Rules.
The USA Hockey Congress approved legislation during the recently completed USA Hockey Winter Meeting that requires neck laceration protection for players in all age classifications in practices and games, with the exception of adults, effective August 1, 2024. The neck laceration requirement also includes on-ice officials under the age of 18.
The legislation also strongly recommends the use of neck laceration protection by adult players.
(all dates subject to change)
September 2, 2024: SRI practices begin
September 2-22, 2024: Parity (All Divisions Sep 2-15)
September 20, 2024: Start of regular season (U8-U12)
September 17/18, 2024: Schedule release
November 3, 2024: End of U18 regular season
November 8-10, 2024: U18 Playoffs (Neutral location)
November 10, 2024: End of U14 regular season
November 15-17, 2024: U14 playoffs (Neutral location)
November 24, 2024: Start of U18 Second Season
November 28- Dec 1, 2024: Thanksgiving blackout period (no games)
December 2, 2024: 2nd season parity schedule released
December 6-15, 2024: 2nd season parity
December 16, 2024: Competition Committee Meeting (U14 2nd season)
December 18, 2024: U14 2nd season schedule released
December 20,2024: Start of U14 2nd season
December 23 – Jan 2: Holiday blackout
March 1-2, 2025: End of regular season
March 8-9, 2025: U8B/C Jamboree
March 7-9, 2025: Championship weekend
House League will be starting on November 2nd, so be on the lookout for registration links!
House League Info - Contact Emily.
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Coming this October, the Bruins Academy, in conjunction with SRIYHA, will be hosting a Learn To Play Hockey program at Boss Arena. This program is intended for kids who have not participated in organized hockey. Bruins Academy LTP program will provide a complete set of Bruins gear (skates included - $550+ value) and four weeks of Learn to Play sessions for $199 per child, who are ages 5 to 9 as of October 1, 2024.
Interested in earning some extra money? Think you can do better then the refs working your games? Why not start working our house league to get your start?
Please follow the below links on how to start or advance your officiating and reach out to Austin Maxwell (austinmaxwell@sriyha.com) with any questions.
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Our goalie development program, lead by Coach Jason, is set to kick off its most aggressive year yet! We are planning to hold clinics each month, throughout the entire season. In addition to our traditional goalie clinics, we'll be conducting "Try Goalie" sessions, designed to allow skaters who might show an affinity for goal to get in the crease and work things out! As always, new/young goalies can always get extra ice time during out house league.
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As with our goalie clinics, we are modifying our power skating and skills trainings - be on the lookout for additional sessions that will help develop individual skating and hockey skills outside of our team format. We're excited to be trying new things and are looking to increase the scope and impact of our player development program.
Our June golf tournament was great fun and a big success, earning over $8k for SRI. Look for information soon on this year's tournament and in the meantime ...
a big
THANK YOU
to our sponsors!
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A big part of team building and fun is participating in tournaments! Get your team talking about tourneys that look interesting - see some options below!
Lake Placid Youth Hockey Tournament
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One major item of note is that travel to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket is MANDATORY for all teams in the SCHL (provided your division has an island team). We understand it is a long day, but the schedulers will ensure that if your player's team has an island team in the division the trip will be for two games minimum on that day. If a team fails to fulfill its obligation to travel to the islands, it will forfeit the games and forfeit participation in the playoffs. When the regular season schedules are released, please circle those dates and plan ahead. It is a great team building day and can be a ton of fun when everyone participates.
We highly recommend downloading the SportsEngine app as many of the coaches use the app for communication and several use it as the ONLY method of communication. The app can be downloaded here for Apple and Android.
Please remember to RSVP using the app to ALL of your games, scrimmages and practices so the coaching staff can adequately prepare!
Integrating your team schedule into your google calendar:
Paste the URL in the URL field and click “Add calendar”
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SRI Newsletter, Issue v3.1 - Start of Season Newsletter #1 - August 24
Questions or comments about the newsletter?
