The Junior Hurricanes are pleased and excited to announce the Coaching assignments for the 2015-16 season. Please join us in congratulating an exceptional coaching staff:

 Squirt Major - Andrew Barron 
 Squirt Minor - David Jones 
 Squirt AA Mixed - Steve Rice 
 Squirt A - Dave Rappaport 
 Squirt A - Mark Pugh 
 Squirt A - Kevin DeAngelo 
 PW Major - Dean Melanson 
 PW Minor - Jimmy Powers 
 PW AA - David Wright III 
 PW A - David Wright II 
 PW A - Terry Hoey 
 Bantam Major - Colin Muldoon 
 Bantam Minor - Dwight Collinson 
 Bantam AA - Rob Simora 
 Bantam A - Thomas Weathers 
 U16 AAA1 - Clay Cotie 
 U16 AAA2 - Jesse Boulerice 
 U16 AA - Bill Fredenburg 
 U16 A - Mike Balint 
 U18 AA - Tom Coyle 

Tryouts for this season will be as follows:

Tier I AAA - April 17-21

Tier II AA/A - May 1-3

Two former Junior Hurricanes players, Holden Rogers and Matthew Filer, are making a name for themselves as referees. As part of its Hockey Weekend Across America campaign, USA Hockey staged a “Meet the NHL Officials Program,” and Filer and Rogers were selected from the region’s ranks of rising junior-level referees. The concept was to give youngsters the experience of being an on-ice official on NHL game day. Matthew and Holden are featured in an USA Hockey article covering their experience. 

Click here to read the full article.

Congratulations to the players, coaches, and parents of our Junior Hurricanes Squirt AA Mixed Birth year and Bantam AA teams on winning their respective divisions of the Carolinas Hockey League (CHL).

Way to go Jr Canes!!

Congratulations to the Pee Wee Major AAA team on a very successful January!

The month of January was a busy month for the Pee Wee Major’s that included 2 trips and a total of 18 games.  The boys worked hard, played very well as a team, and represented the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes extremely well in the Northeast and Midwest!   Some of the highlights from the month:

1)      In Foxboro, MA – after going undefeated in the round robin, quarter finals and semi-finals at the JWK tournament, the boys battled hard in very exciting (and entertaining) championship game but ended up losing in overtime 3-2.  A tough loss but the players handled it with class.

2)      The following weekend in Cleveland OH – the team quickly bounced back and played 5 games over 2 days against the Cleveland Barons and Rochester Monarchs finishing with a 3-1-1 record.

3)      In the final weekend of the month, the teams hosted Atlanta Fire and the Pittsburgh Stealth in Wake Forest.  It was a great to see so many parents, friends and families at the rink to watch the team in action as they earned wins in all 3 games.

Overall, through hard work and playing as a team, the boys ended the month with 15 wins, 2 losses and 1 tie in those 18 games.  Congratulations to all the players and Good Luck at the Southeast District Tournament at the end of February!    

The Squirt Minor team embarked on their final games and tournament of the season in Washington, D.C. over the Valentines / President’s Day weekend competing in the Congressional Cup Tournament. 

Prince William (VA) was the first team they would face. In two prior meetings, this team had proven to be tough opponent playing to a 3-3 and a rare 0-0 tie in those previous matchups. Again this was a tight affair, tied 1-1 until late into the third. The Jr Canes broke through with the go ahead goal in the last three minutes and added an empty netter 0to start the tourney with a 3-1 win. Palmyra (PA) got the better end of the team the next morning. Although outshooting the opposition 25-8, a stout goaltending performance resulted in a 2-0 loss.

There was an unusual 11 hour scheduling gap before their next game against Ashburn (VA), a team 3-0 in the tournament so far. Coaches Andrew Barron, Donnie Lichty, Anthony Veilleux, and Ed Rosen used the extra time for a chalk talk to emphasize playing as a team and trusting their teammates. In a must win game to stay in contention to play for the championship, the boys took those words to heart playing arguably their most dominating game of the season. They blitzed Ashburn for 2 goals in the first two minutes and never looked back winning the game 5-1, outshooting their opponents 25-4, and frustrating the opposing coach into an unsportsmanlike penalty late in the game. It truly was a dominating performance.

President’s Day morning arrived and an impending winter storm was on its way. Win and you are in was the scenario, and the Jr. Canes had plans for a storm of their own. Reston (VA) played them tight to a 3-3 tie into the third. A Palmyra loss on the other rink halfway through the period changed the scenario to a tie and we’re in. They battled and fought hard to maintain the tie and succeeded to earn a rematch with Ashburn in the championship game that afternoon.

The afternoon arrived with snow cascading outside, and with certain tough travels home that evening, the Jr Canes wanted to make sure it was worth it. Ashburn played better to start this game, but again became frustrated in not being able to crack the Canes resolve, nor their defense. Taking two penalties late in the first creating a 5 on 3, the Canes capitalized with two successive goals on both penalties to take a 2-0 lead. Adding a goal in each the second and third periods, the Canes stifled the opposition to a 4-0 championship win.

This tournament capped off a great season, and a great tournament run for this team. The team entered into four tournaments on the season, and emerged as the champion in each. They finished the season as Southeast Earlybird Tourney Champs in Sept., Pittsburgh Thanksgiving Classic Champs in Nov., Bauer Music City Champs over New Years, and finally Congressional Cup Champs. Congratulations to the players, coaches, and families on wonderful season full of great accomplishments and growth.

Congratulations to the Junior Hurricanes Bantam Major and Midget Minor AAA teams on their victories at the CAHA Tier I Championship Tournament in February. The Junior Hurricanes will represent CAHA in the Southeast District tournament March 6-8 in Coral Springs FL. The tournament serves as the USA Hockey National Tournament qualifier. Good luck Jr Canes!!!

RYHA would like to congratulate goaltender Billy Christopoulos on his acceptance to play his NCAA Division I hockey at Air Force!

Christopoulos currently is playing junior hockey for Alberni Valley in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL).  He is currently 7^th in the league for GAA and SV% and is carrying the load for a young squad.  This is Christopoulos’ third year of junior hockey, playing for Des Moines in the USHL for the past 2 seasons before joining Alberni Valley this year.  Christopoulos exemplifies the teachings of the Junior Hurricanes program – “Work Ethic and Discipline” – as our focus is developing the kids both on and off the ice.  Click Here to see the the headline on Alberni Valley’s website complimenting his character.

The Air Force Falcons play in the Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) with the likes of Robert Morris, Holy Cross and Mercyhurst.  More can be found on the AHA here:  http://www.atlantichockeyonline.com/landing/index

Christopoulos will join former teammate Sean Romeo at the D1 level (Romeo is a freshman at Maine University).  The two goalies played together for Bantam and Midget for 3 seasons.  Christopoulos continues the tradition of strong goaltending from RYHA’s program with former RYHA goalie Logan Halladay (set to join Minnesota after his junior career) successfully moving on to play collegiate hockey.

Christopoulos is known to the younger goalies as he frequently assists with on-ice sessions when he is home and loves to teach the next generation of goal tenders.  The Goalie Department and everyone at the RYHA would like to wish him success at the next level!

Congratulations to the Junior Hurricanes Squirt A Black, Squirt A White, and Bantam A teams for qualifying for the CHL League Championship tournaments this coming weekend.

The Squirt A tournament will be held here in Raleigh at Raleigh Center Ice, while the Bantam A tournament will be held in Charleston SC.

Good luck Junior Hurricanes!

2015 -16 Girls Program

RYHA and the Junior Hurricanes are pleased to announce that we will once again be offering a girls program for the 2015-16 Season.

Please find information below regarding the program details. We will be offering teams at the U10, U12, and U14 age groups.

As well, we will be announcing an informational meeting in the next few weeks to provide parents an opportunity to ask questions and meety the coaches who will be also be named shortly.

 U10 & U12

1 shared ice practice, 1 PD shared - both weekly (consistent days and times each week)

2 tournaments

12 League Games in Polar House League (teams will be placed according to appropriate skill)

12 Exhibition Games (6 home games, 6 away games)

Jerseys and Socks

U10 Fee - $2030

U12 Fee - $2080

Girls U14

2 shared ice, 1 PD shared - all weekly (consistent days and times)

3 tournaments

12 League Games in Polar House League (teams will be placed according to appropriate skill)

12 Exhibition Games (6 home games, 6 away games)

Jerseys and Socks

U14 Fee - $2570

Girls U16

RYHA is open to providing an opportunity to for a U16 team. Should players express interest in forming a Hurricanes Girls U16 team, RYHA has a plan in place to provide that opportunity provided there are enough players that show interest in playing.

We are currently taking applications for coaches. If you are interested, please complete your application by highlighting the “Registration” button on the main page of the website (www.ryha.org) and select “RYHA Coaching Application 2105-16”.

2015 Program Presentation

Below is our 2015 Program Presentation from our Membership Meeting that was held on January 20th.  Please click the link to review the presentation of the meeting.

Program Presentation

We have opened our 2015 Spring Defense Camp instructed by Mike Young.  The registration is now open for Squirt through Bantam players. The Defense Camp will run from March 24th through April 23rd.  The camp will include 8 sessions and be held on Tuesday and Thursday nights at the Cary Ice House.  This camp is limited to 30 players so do not delay with registering your player.

Also, we have opened our 2015 Spring Squirt Skills Clinic.  The registration is now open for Squirt players  2005 through 2006 birth years. The Spring Squirt Skills Clinic will run from March 23rd through April 22nd.  The clinic will include 8 sessions and be held on Monday and Wednesday nights at the Garner Ice House.  This clinic is limited to 25 players so do not delay with registering your player.