Summer break is over and we are back on the ice! September will see all the teams practicing, having exhibition games and early bird tournaments.
We are all excited for the second season for the OMHA-AAA league. The Policies and Procedures have been approved and are now uniting the league as one. Please ensure all the coaches and managers are aware of this document which can easily be found on the OMHA-AAA website.
New for this year we are introducing a 5 min, 3 on 3 for the U14’s in the regular season. The U15- U18’s will continue to have this as well. It was well received last year by all teams, players and parents. These 5 minutes add some exciting finishes to games.
We are also pleased to introduce hybrid icing at the U18 level. This will allow coaches to put in some new “set plays" for their speedy players. Please give the official's time to also get accustomed to this rule change. This is a great step forward, for preparing the players for the next level in hockey.
This year we welcome the newly formed North Shore Whitecaps to the league. This AAA Association is a combination of the former Clarington and Oshawa Associations. To commemorate this the Whitecaps will be hosting the U16 showcase in November.
OMHA-AAA welcomes teams from Northern Ontario Hockey Association (NOHA) to play games vs the Western conference at the U12-U15 levels. Teams from NOHA will play each team in the Western conference once. These games will count in the conference standings.
NOHA will also send two teams to each Showcase (U15, U16, U18). These teams will allow for the West to have an 11 team contingent and will play 2 games vs the East conference. We are also modifying the Showcases this season and having individual showcases at the U15, U16 and U18 levels. All Showcases are 2 game events where teams will be matched up to play games vs the other conference (East vs West). The showcase will not be counted in the standings.
All the special events and regular season dates can be found on the OMHA-AAA website.
Good luck to all teams as they prepare for our second season as a united league.