The Annual Meeting of the NorthEastern Midget Hockey League (NEMHL) was held on Saturday, September 6, 2008 at the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center in West Springfield, Mass.

The meeting was duly called to order by President Dave Luke at 10:05 AM. He then stated that a quorum was represented and that the meeting was completely organized and ready to transact any business before it.

The following members and directors were present:

Affiliation Member/Director/Officer

NEMHL David R. Luke, President/Commissioner

Joan Maxam, Vice-President & Executive Secretary

John Leimonas, Vice President & Director of Scheduling

Maria Morris, Vice President & Director of Legal Affairs & Chair of Rules Committee

Linda Smith, Vice-President & Chief Financial Officer

Scott Springli, Vice-President & Director of Playoffs

Ray Schmitz, Vice-President & Director of Business Development

John Mishoe, Director

John Maxam, Director

Bay State Buccaneers Erik Tondera, Head Coach

Clifton Park Eagles Joe Moffre, Midget Director

CT Chiefs Brandon Johnson, Head Coach

Griffin Flames Dave Gaudreau, Head Coach

Dan Allaire, Team Mgr

Ted Mathews, Asst. Coach

New England Jr Falcons Lincoln Flagg, President

Kevin Kilelee, Team Mgr

Saratoga Blue Knights Derek HasBrouck, Director

South Windsor Knights Alex Holmes, Head Coach

Paula Herlihy, Team Mgr

Troy/Albany Rivermen Gary Labelle, Head Coach

Mike Bennet, Head Coach

Tom Cooley, Head Coach

Watertown Red Wings Carl Bard, Head Coach

Mark Mansour, Director

West Hartford Wolves John Ritchotte, Head Coach

Jennifer Ritchotte, Team Mgr

Welcome (David Luke):

David began the meeting by welcoming 12 teams into the League’s eleventh year! David welcomed the following new teams: CT Chiefs, New England Jr. Falcons, and two additional Troy/Albany teams, including a Jr. River Rats team. He also reviewed the results from last season:

Division 1: Regular Season Champs Watertown Red Wings

Playoff Champion Bay State Buccaneers

Division 2: Regular Season Champs Albany Capitals

Playoff Champion Griffin Flames

Division 3: Regular Season Champs Hamden Dragons

Playoff Champion Wallingford Hawks

David noted that there were only 10 Abuse of Official calls last year while there were 77 the year before, likely due to the monetary fine imposed last season.

Changes from Executive Committee Meeting (May 2008):

The League will divide teams into two divisions by November 1^st instead of waiting until January 1^st. This will be done to prevent too many games with a large goal differential and make the games more competitive and interesting for the players and coaches. The League Playoffs will be held the weekend of March 13, 14, and 15, 2009 in the two Saratoga rinks with some games played in other nearby rinks. The League will not schedule any games the weekend before the Playoffs.

The Executive Committee was concerned about the high cost of gasoline and the long distance travel between some of our teams, and has asked John Leimonas to target the number of required NEMHL games to 30 for the season. John will also target scheduling teams to only two long distance weekend trips. Teams will be allowed 8 blackout dates to accommodate the newly formed Connecticut Valley Midget Hockey League.

Team commitment to the League:

There was robust discussion at the meeting about how to handle teams who cancel a game at the last minute and leave the home team unable to cancel or re-schedule and thereby incurring expenses for referee fees and ice time. There is a procedure outlined in the League rules that simply needs to be enforced to correct this problem.

The other topic of concern was how to make sure that all teams are committed to staying with the league for the entire season. Consensus was expressed that each organization should submit a monetary bond of $2,000 at the beginning of the season to ensure each team's commitment. Any team that leaves the League either by their own desire or as the result of a serious rule violation as determined by a majority vote of the Executive Board, will forfeit its bond and the money put into the League’s scholarship fund. Teams who finish out the season, would use their bond money towards help pay for the playoff fees. The membership voted unanimously to have the Executive Committee design the details of this new rule which will be effective on October 1, 2008.

Treasurer’s Report (Linda Smith)

Total income for the year was $40,631.60, including $1,715 in donations, $1449 from the silent auction, $661 from the raffle, $1,150 in penalty fees and $2,350 in program ads. Total expenses were $35,530.49, including $1,114.64 to maintain our website, banquet costs for players and coaches $4,139.91, and total costs for playoffs (ice, refs, banners, trophies, T shirts and jerseys) $16,031.

Website (Dave Luke):

Late last season, a Suspension List was added to the website. Now teams can review this list before a game to find out if anyone on the team they will be playing is serving a suspension and know who should not be playing that game. The new website also allows teams to put photos of each player on their team. Watertown has already used this feature in the past season.

Our website is a great place for businesses to advertise. Space is available for only $500 annually. Between August 3 and September 3, our website had over 23,000 hits and a total of 463,500 hits in less than one year. Also, all statistics of all games for the past 10 seasons have been populated into the website and available to review player statistics and game results/standings.

Fundraising Activities:

Ray Schmitz will be publishing a playoff program again this year. The sale of advertising for last year’s program netted over $2300. Each program had a team picture and roster, along with advertisements. This year’s program will be a smaller version in color versus black and white. Books will be available free of charge at the Playoffs. Ray will be sending out information about the program and the advertising he expects each team to secure.

We have been approached by the New York Islanders with a partnership opportunity to participate in their Pucks into Bucks. They will sell us a discounted game ticket which we can re-sell with a $10 profit per ticket. Team members thought this would be a great idea and we should try it. Joan will make arrangement to purchase 54 tickets (enough to fill one bus) and assess how difficult it is to sell the tickets and a bus seat.

Review of Rules and Bylaws (Maria Morris):

The League By-Laws need to be reviewed, modified, and presented at the Annual Meeting next season. Maria is looking for volunteers to help with this task. Anyone interested in helping, please contact Maria directly.

League game rules are published on our website (www.nemhl.org). All parents, coaches, and players should review these rules and be sure they understand them. Maria reminded everyone that when a player is expelled from a game, that player must be escorted to the locker room by a coach, assistant coach or a parent. That responsible adult must stay with the expelled player until he/she is dressed and escorted to the stands where the player must stay for the remainder of the game or leave the arena. The Head Coach is responsible for making sure that an adult is ready to take care of this incident for every game. Any questions about the rules, please contact Maria Morris or Erik Tondera. Any questions or concerns that players or parents may have should be addressed to their team representative and that representative will bring any issues to the League President/Executive Board.

Scholarship Committee (John Mishoe):

Every year, the League presents $500 scholarships to four players who will be continuing their education after high school. Academics are not the main consideration by the Scholarship Committee when evaluating candidates for this scholarship. The Committee also gives special consideration for a player’s performance in the League (e.g., accrued penalties), community activities (volunteer activities, a part time job), the player’s essay about what the League has meant to him/her, and the coach’s letter of recommendation.

Scholarships are funded by the money raised from the silent auction that is run during the banquet on playoff weekend. John asked everyone to encourage their high school senior players to submit an application. Applications are available on the website (www.nemhl.org). Application deadline is February 15^th, but applications can be submitted at any time.

Playoff Committee (Scott Springli):

League Playoffs will be held March 13, 14, and 15, 2009 in Saratoga Springs. Scott will make sure that each game has 90 minutes of playing time with 10 minutes of Zamboni time set aside between games. Championship games will have two hours of playing time.

Banquet/Raffle Committee (Linda Smith):

On Saturday night, March 14^th, the League will hold a banquet at the Holiday Inn in Saratoga. Players and a maximum of three League registered coaches are invited to the banquet free of charge. Other family members may join them by paying the cost of the meal. Remember that the banquet is a time to celebrate the accomplishments of our players!

At the banquet, the League presents its annual trophies and scholarships. A silent auction/raffle will also be held to help fund the scholarship program. All teams are expected to donate at least one item for the silent auction/raffle to support the Scholarship Fund (more details to follow).

Election of Officers and Directors (John Maxam):

On motions duly made, seconded, and unanimously approved, the following were elected Officers/Directors to serve for the 2008-09 season:

President/Commissioner David R. Luke

Executive Secretary; Vice President Joan Maxam

Vice-President, Chief Financial Officer & Director Linda Smith

Vice President & Director of Scheduling John Leimonas

Vice President & Director of Playoffs Scott Springli

Vice President & Director of Legal Affairs &

Chair of the Rules Committee Maria Morris

Vice President & Director of Business Development Ray Schmitz

Directors at Large: John Mishoe

Brian Testani

John Maxam

Erik Tondera

There being no further business to come before the meeting, on a motion duly made, seconded, and carried, it was adjourned at 1:20 pm.

David R Luke Joan A Maxam

David R. Luke, President Joan A. Maxam, Secretary

Executive Board Meeting

West Springfield, MA

May 3, 2008

The meeting was called to order at 9:40 AM by President David Luke. The following were also in attendance: Lee Barsom, John Leimonas, Linda Smith, Scott Springli, Ron Vajnar, Maria Morris, John Maxam, and Joan Maxam. Karen Ring, Brian Testani, and Ray Schmitz submitted regrets.

2007-2008 Season Review – Ron Vajnar

The League provided a safe environment for 17 midget teams (~300 players) to play hockey with a playoff tournament and banquet at the end of the season. The increase in League size resulted in growing pains for the League. We were disappointed by the number of non-players who approached the League with “their own agenda” instead of working for the good of all players. We also noticed an increase in team apathy with the number of cancelled games. The Executive Board recognized Lee Barsom for his hard work and dedication to the League in dealing with the thousands of e-mails he received over the season and rendering hundreds of decisions in response to disciplinary issues.

2007-2008 Playoffs Review – Scott Springli

Playoff weekend concluded with three very competitive divisional championship games, especially Division 1 which required overtime and a shootout to determine a winner. Some parents complained about having too many venues, but this is not easy to fix with the large number of teams we had in the League and limited available ice times in the Saratoga area. The League will continue to look at possibly moving the playoffs to either NESC or Olympia, but are concerned about the increased cost of ice and availability of volunteers to keep everything running smoothly during the games. Another option would be to play the first round of games the weekend before the Playoffs at various rinks used by League teams.

It was suggested that the All Star game be moved to a Veterans’ Day or Christmas showcase tournament. The Board decided to leave the All Star game as part of the Playoffs. The Board also wants to encourage Coach Johnson to continue with his plans to organize a Veterans’ Day or Christmas showcase tournament and encourage League teams to attend, but does not want to make attendance a requirement, nor have the games count in the standings. However, the Board will encourage scouts of Junior teams to attend the showcase tournament to apprise opportunities for Midget players.

2008-2009 Season Review – Dave Luke

The CHC is starting their own midget league this year and is requiring all Connecticut organizations to be a part of this new league. NEMHL teams are allowed to play in other leagues (such as Griffin has done for several years), but they must give priority scheduling to the NEMHL. Ron will draft a letter to all current teams explaining our situation and seeking a tangible commitment to the League for next season (including the $500 membership fee by May 31, 2008).

The deadline for making the divisional cutoff will be moved from December 31^st to November 1^st to match up teams by skill level and prevent the blow outs we have experienced in the past. Hopefully, this will also cut down on the number of cancelled games.

The Annual Meeting will be held on Saturday, September 6^th at the Clarion Hotel in West Springfield. Playoffs will be on the weekend of March 6, 7 & 8, 2009. (Post-meeting note: Linda Smith discovered that the Holiday Inn will not be available this weekend and we may need to move the playoffs to March 13 dependent upon number of teams and venue voted upon by the general membership at the Annual Meeting).

We were approached by a team from Saugerties asking to join the League, but would need to have some high school players included on their roster. The Board voted to not accept this team but advised that they should join with Bethlehem to roster a non-HS team.

Scheduling – John Leimonas

Concerns about the high price of gasoline will mean several scheduling changes. We will reduce the number of games for each team to 30. This will give teams more room to schedule other non-League games. John will be asking teams to provide at least 20 home ice slots to schedule 15 games to give him greater flexibility in scheduling. He will return any unused ice slots to the team so they can schedule other games. He will schedule a maximum of two long distance weekend trips (e.g., a CT team going to NY or vice versa). Each team will be allowed 8 blackout dates.

Rules – Lee Barsom

Each team in the League is responsible for self-monitoring of the rules. There is no NEMHL official present to make sure everyone adheres to the rules. Lee will share ruling decisions with all teams next year so they can all see how the rules are applied in difficult situations in the spirit of transparency and opportunity for player development.

The Board voted to continue using two officials at a game instead of three. The cost of three puts an unnecessary financial burden on member teams.

The Board also voted to continue the 8 goal differential rule. Stronger teams know in advance that they will be playing a weaker team. Coaches should be in control of these games and remind their players of the difficult situation they will be in if they score 8 goals in the first period. The change to November 1^st to initiate intra-divisional play should significantly reduce the number of “blow-out” games.

Lee noted that the abuse of official penalties decreased from 77 last year down to only 10 this year – likely a result of the monetary fine established by the Executive Board and ratified by the general membership prior to the start of last season. Sportsmanship is still the hallmark of the NEMHL.

Treasurer Report – Linda Smith

Balance at the end of the season is $15,194.97; $7,327.50 of which are monies raised for the scholarship program. We received $1,715 in donations. The League lost $2,695.11 on the Playoffs this year, as noted below.

Playoff Expenses Playoff Income:

Ice costs $7,149.00 Playoff fees 15,125.80

Referees 3,005.00 Banquet income

Trophies,Banners (family members) 8,167.50

T shirts/jerseys 5,877.00 Program ads 2,350.00

Banquet 12,307.41 Total $25,643.30

Total 28,338.41

There being no further business to come before the meeting, it was adjourned at 2:10 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Joan Maxam, Executive Secretary

Northeastern Midget Hockey League

Annual Meeting

September 8, 2007

The Annual Meeting of the NorthEastern Midget Hockey League (NEMHL) was held on Saturday, September 8, 2007 at Stewart’s Corporate Headquarters in Malta, New York.

The meeting was duly called to order by President David R. Luke at 10:15 am. He then stated that a quorum was represented and that the meeting was completely organized and ready to transact any business before it.

The following members and directors were present:

Affiliation Member/Director/Officer

NEMHL David R. Luke, President/Commissioner

Ron Vajnar, Vice-President & Director of Hockey Operations

Joan Maxam, Vice-President & Executive Secretary

Lee Barsom, Vice President, Chair of Rules Committee, & Director

John Leimonas, Vice President & Director of Scheduling

Maria Morris, Vice President & Director of Legal Affairs

Linda Smith, Vice-President & Chief Financial Officer

Scott Springli, Vice-President & Director of Playoffs

John Mishoe, Director

Dick Bernardo, Director

Brian Testani, Director

Adirondack Black Bears Giselle Giguere

Albany Capitals Don Torrico, Head Coach

Rick Finkel, Team Mgr

Bay State Buccaneers Erik Tondera, Head Coach

Duane Adams, Assistant Coach

Bethlehem Eagles Gary McCann, Team Mgr

CD Comets Patrick Crowley, Head Coach

Clifton Park Eagles Joe Moffre, Midget Director

CT Riptide Joel Jolles, Team Mgr

Bridgeport Riverhawks Cindy Lavoie, Team Mgr

Greater New Haven Warriors Nick Coppola, Head Coach

Tom Roche, Midget Director

Griffin Flames Dave Gaudreau, Head Coach

Dan Allaire, Team Mgr

Hamden Dragons Rick Orser, Head Coach

Chris Bukos, Assist Coach/Team Mgr

Middlesex Red Devils Mike Satagaj, Head Coach

John J. Smith, Assistant Coach

Saratoga Blue Knights Brian Sweeney, Head Coach

SEC Seahawks Scott Busey, Head Coach

Mike Meakem, Team rep

South Windsor Knights Alex Holmes, Head Coach

Paula Herlihy, Team Mgr

Troy/Albany Rivermen Mark Lahey, Head Coach

Wallingford Hawks Bob Vitale, Head Coach

Watertown Red Wings Charlie Mordenti, Team Mgr

Mark Mansour, Director

West Hartford Wolves John Ritchotte, Head Coach

Jennifer Ritchotte, Team Mgr

Welcome (David Luke):

David began the meeting by welcoming 20 teams into the League this year. This is the NEMHL’s 10^th anniversary season and a new patch has been designed to recognize this milestone. This new 10^th anniversary patch will be worn on the right shoulder of every NEMHL player, replacing the usual NEMHL patch worn by players in the past. David noted that both the Griffin Flames and Saratoga Blue Knights have participated in the League every season.

David is in the process of loading 10 years worth of history into our new website designed by SportsZone. When complete, a player search engine will be able to locate stats for any player who has participated in the League over the past 10 years. David also noted that both South Windsor and the CT Riptide have included information about the NEMHL on their own team websites.

Review and approval of revised League Rules (Lee Barsom):

Lee, Ron Vajnar, Maria Morris, and Jen Ritchotte have spent a great deal of time reviewing and rewriting the League rules so that they are not as voluminous and more understandable. The League will hold coaches accountable for upholding and following the rules. As was discussed at last year’s meeting, all NEMHL coaches must have their level 3 certification (as required by USA Hockey).

Lee then proceeded to review the rules, line by line, and answer all questions and concerns. League score keepers also need to understand the League rules. Jen Ritchotte pointed out that it is extremely helpful (especially for new teams) to have a representative from both teams in the scorekeeper box during the game to make sure that everyone understands and enforces the rules.

On a motion duly made, seconded, and passed by the member teams, an NEMHL League game will consist of three 15-minute stop time periods, except as noted otherwise in the rules.

On a motion duly made, seconded, and passed by the member teams, the revised rules are accepted with the amendments that were discussed. The Rules will be published on the website.

Review of ByLaws Change (Maria Morris):

During the April Executive Committee meeting, there was a discussion about whether it was advantageous to consider a change in the bylaws to restrict members of the Executive Committee to only people who do not have a child currently on a team in the League. Maria took a look at the current bylaws and discovered that the original bylaws were not the same as those on the website.

On a motion duly made, seconded, and approved, the member teams accepted the bylaws as they were originally presented by Bill Yoquinto at the organizational meeting on September 7, 2002 and with the modifications currently listed on the NEHML website.

On a motion duly made, seconded, and approved the proposed amendment to Article IV (13) as follows:

“The board, by resolution adopted by a majority of the entire board, may designate from among its members an executive committee and other committees, each consisting of three or more board members. Each such committee shall serve at the pleasure of the board. The Executive Committee shall consist of all elected league officers and up to five directors at large. Executive Committee members cannot have an active player on a League team, unless waived by a simple majority of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee will meet at least annually following the season in preparation for the upcoming season.”

Donations and Tournaments (Joel Jolles):

Joel presented several fundraising options he has been exploring with different businesses, including Dick’s Sporting Goods and Harrow Sports. Joel presented a sports bag from Dick’s for all the Head Coaches in the League. Harrow has agreed to provide sticks for NEMHL players with their name and team name on the stick for around $100 with 5% of the cost being donated to the League.

Joel is also working on a Thanksgiving Tournament in Newington that will be centered on the League with all League teams given priority at a cost of $1075. He also has secured numerous items for a player’s gift bag. He is planning to have 22-24 teams in the Tournament.

Scholarship Committee (John Mishoe):

Every year, the League presents $500 scholarships to four players who will be continuing their education after high school. Academics are not the main consideration by the committee when evaluating candidates for this scholarship. They also give special consideration for a player’s performance in the League (e.g., how many penalties they may have), community activities (volunteer activities, a part time job), the player’s essay about what the League has meant to him/her, and the coach’s letter of recommendation.

Playoff Committee (Scott Springli):

End of the season playoffs will be held March 7, 8, and 9 in Saratoga Springs. Format will be a 3 game round robin with semi-final and final games in each of three divisions (anticipated with 20 teams in the League). All teams will participate in the playoffs. Scott has already secured ice in Saratoga for Sunday’s games, but needs to find additional ice locally.

Banquet/Raffle Committee (Linda Smith):

On Saturday night, March 8^th, the League will hold a banquet. Players and coaches are invited to the banquet free of charge. Other family members may join them by paying the cost of the meal. With 20 teams, Linda anticipates there will be around 800 people attending the banquet. She is still looking for a suitable location.

League Schedule (John Leimonas):

John will send out a schedule through the end of September as soon as he gets everyone’s open ice slots. He will then submit a schedule through the end of December. He will attempt to have each team play all the other teams in the league in this time frame. On December 31, all teams will be divided into three divisions based on their abilities and then John will submit the remainder of the schedule with teams playing mainly other teams within their Division.

Election of Officers and Directors (John Maxam):

On motions duly made, seconded, and unanimously approved, the following were elected Officers/Directors to serve for the 2007-08 season:

President/Commissioner David R. Luke

Vice President & Director of Hockey Operations Ron Vajnar

Executive Secretary; Vice President & Director of Sales & Marketing Joan Maxam

Vice-President, Chief Financial Officer & Director Linda Smith

Vice President & Director of Scheduling John Leimonas

Vice President & Director of Playoffs Scott Springli

Vice President & Director of Legal Affairs Maria Morris

Vice President, Chair of the Rules Committee & Director of

Coaching Development Lee Barsom

Vice President & Director of Business Development Ray Schmitz

Directors at Large: Dick Bernardo

Karen Ring

John Mishoe

Brian Testani

John Maxam

New Business:

Maria Morris suggested that the League look into the possibility of selling baseball caps and T shirts with the logo on them. Dick Bernardo and Dave Luke will explore this idea.

There being no further business to come before the meeting, on a motion duly made, seconded, and carried, it was adjourned at 3:01 pm.

David R. Luke, President Joan A. Maxam, Secretary

Northeastern Midget Hockey League

Executive Board Meeting Meeting

April 28, 2007

Best Western Hotel

West Springfield, MA

Top (L-R): Dick Bernardo, Ron Vajnar, Lee Barsom, John Leimonas, Scott Springli, John Mishoe. Lower (L-R): Maria Morris, Linda Smith, Joan Maxam, John Maxam, Dave Luke

The meeting was called to order at 10 am by President David Luke. The following were also in attendance: Lee Barsom, John Leimonas, Linda Smith, Scott Springli, Ron Vajnar, Maria Morris, John Maxam, Joan Maxam, John Mishoe, and Dick Bernardo. Karen Ring, Brian Testani and Ray Schmitz were absent.

Financial Report – Linda Smith

Our balance at the end of the season, after setting aside $2500 to pay this year’s scholarships, will be $8,633.21. That is $4,090.36 more than last year. We also received $2850 in Donations this year. Expenses for the playoffs were $23,428.25 (ice time, referee fees, banquet cost and trophies). Playoff income (team playoff fee and other family members buying banquet tickets) was $23,494.

All Board members were encouraged to find website sponsors (only $250 per year) with over 150,000 “hits” last season.

New Teams for the 2007-08 Season – Dave Luke

The Executive Board approved applications from Troy/Albany Rivermen (returning after a one year absence), Greater New Haven Warriors, CT Riptide, and Greater Bridgeport Youth Hockey.

Action Item: Dave Luke will contact the Northern Cyclones in Hudson, NH to determine

League Business

Table of Contents

Northeastern Midget Hockey League