Black Bear Sports Group

Black Bear Youth Hockey Foundation Recipients Make Their Mark

Black Bear Sports Group — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 15:20:26 +0000

Two of the recipients of the Black Bear Youth Hockey Foundation scholarships are making their mark on girls hockey across the United States.

Chyna Taylor, a member of the National Girls Hockey League’s Lovell Academy Lions, saw lots of on ice success this season. In their second year in the NGHL, Taylor helped lead the 14U AAA Lions to the NGHL Championship and Massachusetts State Championship. They finished their remarkable season falling to the eventual national champions in the USA Hockey National Semifinals this April where Taylor was named to the All Tournament team.

Nicolette Gentile, a member of the NGHL’s Vegas Jr. Golden Knights, finished their season as the USA Hockey National Champions at the 14U AAA Division this spring. Gentile and her team, coached by Mark Gordon, have made their mark in the youth hockey world showing that hockey truly does belong in the desert.

The Black Bear Youth Hockey Foundation supported 64 different players this season, providing over $40,000 in scholarships to those players. Black Bear Youth Hockey Foundation was formed in 2020 to remove financial barriers to youth hockey. Through individual grants and sponsored programming, the foundation’s goal is to increase American youth hockey participation and ease the financial stress that many families undertake to afford equipment and ice time. Youth hockey cultivates friendships, teamwork and accountability. Most importantly, players develop a lifetime passion for the sport. Join us today and donate as we lend a hand to the next generation of hockey players to create opportunities for all children to play ice hockey.

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THF Announces Officiating Program

Black Bear Sports Group — Fri, 19 Apr 2024 20:50:27 +0000

Black Bear Sports Group is pleased to announce the start of THF Officiating Program. The officiating program is set to launch in May 2024 and open to anyone in the Atlantic Amateur Hockey Association (AAHA) District. The goals and objectives are to increase the officiating pool for the 2024-25 season along with a comprehensive classes, games and evaluations. The AAHA District Officiating Program will also provide training for The USA Hockey Officiating Certification, which will allow the officials to work during the spring and summer tournaments. This program will enable you to work with experienced officials and build a solid foundation so you can officiate in the 2024 -25 season. There is more than just officiating games and being compensated for your efforts, officiating will also develop life skills that will help you outside of hockey, leadership skills, communication, managing people, and conflict resolution. For more information: contact AHF Referee in Chief Kevin Keiper kkeiper@atlantichockeyfederation.com or Eugene Binda genercblackbear@gmail.com To register: https://www.refereescrease.net/about.html https://www.refereescrease.net/contact.html

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Three THF Players Selected in OHL Priority Draft

Black Bear Sports Group — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 18:31:44 +0000

Repost from Tier 1 Hockey Federation

The Tier 1 Hockey Federation is proud to announce the selection of three of its member players in the 2024 OHL Priority Draft this past weekend.

Chase Gaughan of the Palmyra Black Knights was the first THF player off the board in round 3, pick 45 selected by the Sarnia Sting. Gaughan, a forward from Annville, PA, put up 23 goals and 30 assists for 53 points in 27 games for the Black Knights.

Team Maryland defenseman Sean Matthew Goyette would be selected in the 6th round as the 115th overall pick by the Mississauga Steelheads. Goyette, hailing from Hawkesberry, ON, posted 24 goals and 37 assists for 61 points in 66 games for Team Maryland this season.

Peter Chlebowski, goaltender for Team Illinois, would be the final THF player selected in the draft in the 10th round at pick 195 by the Mississauga Steelheads. Chlebowski, a native of Rosemont, IL, played in 20 games this season and posted a record of 7-11-2 for Team Illinois while maintaining a .904 SV%.

The THF congratulates all of its players selected in this year’s OHL Priority Draft and celebrates all advancement for its member players. the Tier 1 Hockey Federation is committed to celebrating and supporting the success of talented young athletes. If you have a player whose achievements you would like to see featured in our announcements, please fill out the form here. We are eager to share the stories of these rising stars as they advance in their hockey careers.

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Black Bear Sports Group Launches Chicago Phantoms AAA Hockey Club

Black Bear Sports Group — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 22:50:54 +0000

Phantoms will be the sixth Tier 1 AAA Club in Illinois

Bethesda, MD – Black Bear Sports Group (“Black Bear”) is pleased to announce the formation of the Chicago Phantoms AAA, a new Tier 1 youth hockey club that will play out of Seven Bridges Ice Arena in suburban Chicago beginning with the 2024-25 season. The USA Hockey sanctioned Chicago Phantoms AAA will field teams at 9U thru 14U in year one, and at all levels in year two and will participate in the Tier 1 Hockey Federation whose teams include nationally ranked clubs such as the NJ Rockets, Mid Fairfield, Flyers Elite, Team Maryland, Biggby Coffee Hockey, Esmark Stars, NJ Hitmen, Mercer Chiefs, and many others. The Phantoms are the AAA youth affiliate of the Black Bear-owned Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League, the 2023 Clark Cup Champions.

“Chicago was badly in need of another AAA hockey club, and we are thrilled to be able to fill that need in the community,” said Murry N. Gunty, Founder and CEO of Black Bear Sports Group. “Seven Bridges is one of the best Tier 1 arenas in the country and we expect to use the Phantoms to feed our junior teams at all levels including the Youngstown Phantoms (USHL), the Maryland Black Bears (NAHL) and both the Mercer Chiefs and PAL Jr. Islanders of the USPHL NCDC.”

Chicago Phantoms AAA will be led by Gregg Naumenko, former college and professional player and current Regional Director of Operations for Black Bear’s four Chicagoland rinks. Prospective coaches should contact Gregg at gnaumenko@blackbearsportsgroup.com.

“Seven Bridges will be the permanent home of the Chicago Phantoms AAA. With a private locker room complex boasting 14 locker rooms and a private gym, our amenities are second to none,” said Gregg Naumenko, head of the Phantoms AAA. “With Black Bear’s support and commitment to Tier 1 hockey and junior/college player advancement, we have the resources to invest in great coaches and elite player development and therefore expect to be one of the top programs in Chicago very quickly.”

The Phantoms will be announcing its coaching lineup and tryout dates in the next two weeks. Go to phantomsaaa.com for more information.

About Chicago Phantoms AAA
Chicago Phantoms AAA Hockey Club is Illinois’ premier Tier 1 Youth Hockey organization headquartered at Seven Bridges Ice Arena in Woodridge, Illinois. The club enjoys many advantages at Seven Bridges Ice Arena including convenient location, two high-quality ice sheets (NHL & Olympic), dedicated Phantoms locker room complex, performance training center, and an on-site restaurant & bar for families and fans. Sanctioned by USA Hockey and the Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois (AHAI), Chicago Phantoms AAA teams participate within the prestigious Tier 1 Hockey Federation. Chicago Phantoms AAA Hockey serves as the official Tier 1 youth affiliate of the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms and boasts organizational affiliations with several additional Black Bear Sports Group Junior Hockey clubs across the nation, including; Maryland Black Bears (NAHL), Mercer Chiefs (NCDC), PAL Jr, Islanders (NCDC), Hamilton Chiefs (EHL) and PAL Jr. Islanders (USPHL Premier & Elite). For more information on Phantoms AAA hockey, visit PhantomsAAA.com.

About USHL Youngstown Phantoms
The Youngstown Phantoms are one of 16 member franchises of the United States Hockey League (USHL), the only Tier 1 Junior Hockey league in the United States. The Phantoms are the reigning USHL National Champions after capturing the Clark Cup in 2023. Subsequently, the club was voted USHL Organization of the Year for the 2022-23 season. The Phantoms have seen over 150 players commit to NCAA Division I schools and 31 have been drafted into the NHL, including 6 selections in the 2023 NHL draft. Notable NHL alumni include Kyle Connor Brett Murray, Scott Mayfield, Jiri Sekac, Andrej Sustr and Nathan Walker.

About Seven Bridges Ice Arena
Seven Bridges Ice Arena is a multi-purpose sports facility located in Woodridge, Illinois. Opened in 1994, the 114,355 square-foot facility houses one NHL-sized rink and one Olympic-sized rink, as well as a turf field. The sports surfaces are complemented by party rooms that support a variety of corporate functions and private events. Additionally, the facility is home to on-site businesses including the Whiskey Hill Taproom & Pizza Bar, Bridgedale Academy, 200×85 Hockey, and Tucci’s Pro Shop. Seven Bridges provides the community with various hockey and skating programs, public skating, leagues and private rentals.

About Black Bear Sports Group
Black Bear Sports Group is a privately held company formed by Murry Gunty and Blackstreet Capital Holdings, LLC in 2015 that seeks investments in sports and entertainment facilities, teams, and youth sports events. Black Bear arenas are clean, professionally managed, and offer world-class recreational programs. Black Bear focuses on ice arenas in metropolitan areas with compelling demographics, markets with a National Hockey League club presence, and arenas with existing youth hockey clubs. Black Bear not only features the ability to acquire healthy and stable arenas but also the expertise required to turn around mismanaged or underperforming facilities. The largest owner/operator of ice arenas in the U.S., Black Bear’s footprint totals 37 facilities across the United States with 72 sheets of indoor ice, four indoor turf fields, 35 youth hockey clubs, four hockey leagues (Atlantic Hockey Federation, Atlantic Girls Hockey Federation, Tier 1 Hockey Federation, and National Girls Hockey League), two tournament businesses (Defender Hockey Tournaments and The Show Tournaments), seven Junior “A” hockey franchises with membership in the United States Hockey League, North American Hockey League, USPHL NCDC, USPHL Premier and Elite, and the Eastern Hockey League, and Foundry Adult Hockey, the largest adult hockey organization in the USA.

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Black Bears Tally Final 4 Goals in Friday’s Victory Over Tomahawks

Black Bear Sports Group — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 13:31:36 +0000

Repost from The Tribune-Democrat

ODENTON, Md. – The host Maryland Black Bears tallied the game’s final four goals to defeat the Johnstown Tomahawks 4-1 inside Piney Orchard Ice Arena Friday night.

Johnstown remained one point behind third-place Rochester in the NAHL East Division after the Jr. Americans dropped a 4-3 decision to Northeast Friday.

Reid Lune buried a power-play goal 3:10 into the first period to give the Tomahawks a 1-0 lead.

Maryland’s Dimitry Kebreau knotted the game with a marker midway through the first.

Dylan Gordon found the back of the net as Maryland led 2-1 8:06 into the second period.

In the third, Jeremi Tremblay (22nd goal of the season) and Riley Ruh each scored within 1:08 of each other to set the final.

Maryland outshot Johnstown 30-15.

Zack Ferris stopped 26 shots for Johnstown. Maryland’s Colin Ronan compiled 14 saves.

Johnstown finished 1-for-4 on the power play.

The teams meet again at 6:30 p.m. Saturday to conclude the regular season.

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Delmont, New Kensington Rinks to Host National Youth Hockey Tournaments

Black Bear Sports Group — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 18:06:51 +0000

Repost from Trib Live

Last year, the Allegheny Badgers Tier II 16U boys ice hockey team won the Mid-Am District title, advanced to nationals in Amherst, N.Y., and brought home third place in the 3A bracket.

Seventeen of the 20 players from that team remained together and moved up to the 18U level.

The Badgers again will play in a national tournament. This time, however, they will do it in their home arena.

Palmer Imaging Arena in Delmont, along with Pittsburgh Ice Arena in New Kensington, will host the three USA Hockey 18U national championship tournaments Wednesday through Sunday.

“The kids are excited,” Badgers 18U coach Josh Fajt said. “I don’t think it has hit them yet that this is their last week as a team. A majority of them are seniors this year. They have their last practice (Monday), and then it gets real on Wednesday.”

The Badgers Tier II 18U team, the host team for the 2A tournament, features players from Valley, Franklin Regional, Hempfield, Albert Gallatin, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Central Catholic, Latrobe, Morgantown (W.Va.), Greensburg-Salem and Indiana high schools.

The Badgers (19-23-7) will begin play at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday at Palmer and return to Palmer for a game at 3 p.m. Thursday. Friday’s round-robin contest is at 1:15 p.m. at Pittsburgh Ice.

The quarterfinals are at 11 a.m. Saturday at Palmer and Pittsburgh Ice with the semifinals set for 6:15 and 6:30 at Palmer.

The 2A title game will be at 10 a.m. Sunday at Palmer.

“We have the experience that not a lot of these teams have, and hopefully we can use that to our advantage,” Fajt said. “We also played one of the toughest schedules in the country this year. We made a deep run last year. We lost the semifinal game in overtime, so that is a motivating factor for them.

“Playing at home in a tournament like this can go either way. Sometimes, when traveling and the team is together the whole time, it can be a strong bonding experience, and the players draw strength from that. But it is also nice to be at home in familiar and comfortable surroundings.”

The comfort level also will be on the side of the Armstrong Arrows, who play out of Belmont Ice Complex in Kittanning.

Armstrong, 44-6-10 overall and ranked eighth in the country in Tier II 18U by MyHockey Rankings, rolled through the Mid-Am tournament to claim the title and the automatic bid to nationals.

The Arrows have 3A round-robin games at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Pittsburgh Ice, at 1 p.m. Thursday at Palmer and at 9:15 a.m. Friday at Pittsburgh Ice.

The 3A quarterfinals start at 9 a.m. Saturday, and the semifinals are at 4 p.m. at Palmer.

The title game is at 11 a.m. Sunday.

The 1A division will go from the round-robin games directly to the semifinals Saturday with the championship game at 8:30 a.m. Sunday.

A total of 36 teams — eight in the 1A bracket, 12 in 2A and 16 in 3A — will come in from throughout the country.

The Mid-Am district, of which all of the Pittsburgh area teams are members, nominated the Badgers and Palmer Imaging Arena to apply to host the championship tournaments.

USA Hockey, headquartered in Colorado, made the decision that the local application was worthy to have a tournament placed in the area.

“We found out this time last year that we would be a host for the 18U tournaments,” said Mindy Ulyas, the general manager for Palmer Imaging and Pittsburgh Ice arenas and the scheduler for the Badgers organization.

“Planning started immediately. The past three months, so many people have been working behind the scenes to get the facilities in top shape and everything else in order to welcome all the teams this week.”

Ulyas said the Badgers and Arrows organizations, both arenas and others are excited to host more than 50 games from Wednesday through Sunday.

“We were in shock when we found out, and we are so very humbled and honored to have this opportunity to host such an event in the area for Western Pennsylvania hockey,” Ulyas said.

Pittsburgh will be well represented this week at USA Hockey national tournaments all over the country.

Pittsburgh Pens Elite has four boys teams at Youth Tier I tournaments, starting Tuesday, in Plymouth, Mich., Fargo, N.D., and Las Vegas.

A pair of Pens Elite girls teams will play at Tier I tournaments, beginning Tuesday, in Wesley Chapel, Fla.

The Steel City Ice Renegades boys Tier II 16U team starts its national tournament Wednesday in Dallas.

The South Pittsburgh Rebellion and Steel City Selects will have five teams combined in girls Tier II tournaments this week in Sioux Falls, S.D., Green Bay, Wisc., and East Lansing, Mich.

Follow all of the nationals action locally and throughout the country at nationals.usahockey.com/.

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Rheaume Thrilled to See More Opportunities for Girls Across Youth Hockey

Black Bear Sports Group — Mon, 01 Apr 2024 15:14:50 +0000

Repost from NHL By Shawn P. Roarke @sroarke_nhl NHL.com Senior Director of Editorial Only woman to play NHL game honored at Quebec International Pee-Wee Tournament

© Manon Rheaume Editor’s note: The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament has been the premier youth hockey event in Canada since 1960, a steppingstone for many future NHL players, including Wayne Gretzky and Connor Bedard. NHL.com senior director of editorial Shawn P. Roarke went to Quebec earlier this month to check out the tournament and all that goes with it. In the third of a four-part series, Roarke highlights Manon Rheaume’s visit to the tournament and the growth of girls hockey. (Part 1 | Part 2) QUEBEC CITY — Nobody is more qualified than Manon Rheaume to explain the importance of having a girls division at the prestigious Quebec International Pee-Wee Tournament. Rheaume, the only woman to play an NHL game and one of Canada’s most decorated women’s hockey players, was the first girl to play in this tournament, the goalie for her Quebec-based boys team in 1981. She was the first woman to coach an all-girls team in the boys division here, and she was the first to coach in a Quebec final between two all-girls team in the boys division. She returned to the tournament as a VIP during its first weekend this time around and dropped the puck for the featured girls game on Feb. 11. There, she saw the impact of her groundbreaking appearance from 40 years earlier. “To go back this year, to drop the puck for that girls division, it’s absolutely amazing,” Rheaume said. Instead of being a lone goalie lost in a sea of boys, Rheaume had 30-plus girls facing her from opposing blue lines, each an elite hockey player in her own right, looking back and smiling as Rheaume basked in a resounding ovation from an appreciative crowd at Videotron Centre, the primary rink for the tournament and the state-of-the art home of the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The Quebec tournament introduced a girls division last season, but for many of them on hand, such opportunities have become commonplace. For current players, the struggles of previous generations are but a distant memory. They often do all the same things the boys do and that applies to the biggest pee-wee tournament in the world. The 12 teams in the Feminin Division are treated the same way as their peers from the boys BB, AA, Elite-AA and AAA divisions in the 120-team tournament. It’s different for those who lived through the limited opportunities afforded girls and those who had to open — if not bust down — closed doors, like the 52-year-old Rheaume and Brooke Ammerman Reimer, the 33-year-old coach of the tournament champion team, the Atlantic Girls Select. “It’s tremendous how many girls are playing and how many options there are now,” Ammerman Reimer said. “We’re seeing a huge boom. I know if I was a 9-, 10-, 11-year-old girl like them, I would love this opportunity.” Ammerman Reimer had more limited opportunities growing up in New Jersey, where the Atlantic Select team is based. She and her younger sister, Brittany, played on boys teams as kids in the Garden State before each landed at the University of Wisconsin and with the United States national team program. At Wisconsin, Ammerman Reimer had 215 points and won two national championships. She was member of the USA U-18 team and the U-22 team. She was invited to try out for the Olympic team in 2010 and 2014. She also scored the first goal in the history of the New York Riveters in the defunct National Women’s Hockey League. “We had a lot of, I don’t want to call them dark days, but days where you’re training by ourselves and people don’t really know that girls can play ice hockey and you know, it’s kind of an in-between phase,” she said. “For these young girls, you kind of hope they grow up and they never have to think about that.” Ammerman Reimer said she thought about all those trials and tribulations throughout the championship game earlier this month. The lower bowl of Videotron Centre was packed, the crowd was knowledgeable and involved, providing a pulsating backdrop as the Atlantic Selects chased their championship dream against the Laval-Montreal Amazons. The game was tied 0-0 after the first period, but Lauren Letts scored four straight goals around the game-opening and closing goals by Madeline Staffieri in a 6-0 win. Letts, who had 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) in five games, was the first girl to lead the Quebec tournament in scoring. “I wanted them to be proud, to really celebrate the victory because I mean, at least I know as an adult, how hard it is to win something like that,” Ammerman Reimer said. Such opportunities are so important for this generation of girls, says Rheaume, who was the talk of the hockey world when she went to training camp with the Tampa Bay Lightning and played a preseason game in 1992. Rheaume was the first woman to appear in a professional regular-season game when she played with the Atlanta Knights of the International Hockey League in 1992. But opportunities were severely limited then, and Rheaume and some of her cohorts on each side of the border were blazing new trails and pushing the envelope when it came to the women’s game, first raising the ceiling and then busting right through it. Now, there is a unified professional league for women, the Professional Women’s Hockey League, which is in its inaugural season with six teams across North America. The league has been playing to capacity crowds and rave reviews. The national teams in Canada and the United States are fully funded and allow elite players to train full-time. Other countries are catching up when the game is played internationally like at the World Championship and Olympics, tournaments in which Rheaume once represented Canada when participation was a part-time endeavor. What’s happening now on the women’s side, starting with youth hockey, a seismic shift, she says. Rheaume remembers taking a select girls team to the Quebec tournament as a coach. The roster was loaded. Kendall Coyne Schofield played on that team, as did Megan Bozek and Blake Bolden and Jordan Slavin, sister of Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin. Each went on to play for her country’s national team. Bolden is a scout for the Los Angeles Kings. Coyne Schofield works for in the Chicago Blackhawks’ front office. “Those girls didn’t have that dream to play professional hockey, you know?” Rheaume said of the elite players she coached. “I have two boys that their entire life, that’s what they wanted to do in hockey — play professionally. But now finally those young girls can have that dream. “To play in this tournament for these new girls is great because it’s an experience of a lifetime. Blake Bolden and I talk about it all the time. She said, ‘Listen, I don’t remember one game we played. I remember all the other stuff we did. The billet family, going sledding, playing pond hockey when we didn’t have games, exchanging pins, all that stuff.’ Those are the moments that she remembered the most from the tournament, and me too.” It’s progress that is not only important to the women who came first, but to the girl dads who have made their careers in hockey. Eric Brewer played 1,009 regular-season games as a defenseman in the NHL from 1988-2015. But there he was as an assistant coach for the North Shore Winter Club, a British Columbia-based team for which his daughter Hadley played. He was thrilled to have the opportunity to share this experience with Hadley and her friends. “It’s incredibly important to have an even playing field,” he said, standing outside the dressing room after his team dropped a 3-2 shootout loss to a team from Switzerland. “It enhances their sporting life and their ability to translate into adults, just the same as the boys They’re super keen and super competitive. And it’s up to us, in this day and age, to provide those opportunities.” Vincent Lecavalier, who played here as a 12-year-old in 1994, was back at the tournament as a coach this season, coaching the Elite-AA Florida Alliance on which his son Gabriel played. Lecavalier played 1,212 regular-season games in the NHL and won a Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2004. He knows this tournament was pivotal in his development as a hockey player and he knows it will be important in the development of his son, especially after the Alliance made it to the championship game before losing. Now, young girls will have the same opportunity to begin chasing their hockey dreams here on the biggest pee-wee stage in the world and kickstart their development, he said. “Girls hockey has grown, and you can see in the northeast [U.S.] and even in Canada, the level of play is pretty incredible,” Lecavalier said. “They had to do [add a girls bracket]. I’m happy for

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A Win at Last for Youngstown Phantoms

Black Bear Sports Group — Sat, 30 Mar 2024 13:36:29 +0000

Repost from The Rink Live

The Youngstown Phantoms have ended their unfortunate run of four straight defeats.

The much longed-for break came at home against the Madison Capitols. The game finished 2-1.

Youngstown’s Ryan Botterill scored the game-winning goal.

The Phantoms took the lead early in the first period, with a goal from Nathan Lewis . Charlie Cerrato assisted.

The Capitols’ Austin Burnevik tied the game in the first period, assisted by Gavin Uhlenkamp and James Hong .

Ryan Botterill took the lead halfway through the third period, assisted by Nathan Lewis and Charlie Cerrato.

Next up: The Phantoms host the Green Bay Gamblers on Thursday at 5:05 p.m. CST at Covelli Centre. The Capitols will face Team USA at home on Friday at 7:05 p.m. CST at Bob Suter’s Capitol Ice Arena.

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Michigan State University Health Care Sports Medicine Announces Ice Rink Naming Rights Sponsorship with Black Bear Sports Group’s Biggby Coffee Ice Cube – East Lansing

Black Bear Sports Group — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 20:22:11 +0000

MSU Health Care Sports Medicine orthopedic surgeon and MSU Athletics team physician Micah Lissy, MD, MS PT, ATC, CSCS is ready to treat skaters at the Biggby Coffee Ice Cube – East Lansing.

East Lansing, Mich. – East Lansing skaters will now have an updated space to learn and practice ice-related athletics thanks to Michigan State University Health Care Sports Medicine’s sponsorship of the Black Bear Sports Group’s Biggby Coffee Ice Cube – East Lansing ice arena. The sponsorship includes the naming rights and rebranding of Ice Rink 1 to the MSU Health Care Sports Medicine Ice Rink. Additionally, MSU Health Sports Medicine has been named the Official Healthcare – Sports Medicine Partner of Biggby Coffee Ice Cube – East Lansing.

“Hockey, in particular, is very near and dear to my heart”. said Micah Lissy, MD, MS PT, ATC, CSCS, interim chairperson of the MSU COM/CHM Department of Orthopedics and orthopedic surgeon at MSU Health Care Sports Medicine. “The rink feels like a very natural place for us to be. We are devoted to keeping our athletes on the ice or getting them back on the ice as quickly as is safely possible.”

The MSU Health Care Sports Medicine Ice Rink will continue to serve as a hub for ice-related activities, offering a range of events and programs for athletes of all ages and skill levels from recreational to Olympians. The NHL-sized rink will provide a supportive environment for individuals to pursue their athletic passions on the ice.

“MSU Health Care Sports Medicine is a world class organization,” said Murry Gunty, Founder and CEO of Black Bear. “We are looking forward to incorporating the MSU brand along with the many value-added support services and education for the athletes and families that call Biggby Coffee Ice Cube-East Lansing home.”

For more information about MSU Health Care Sports Medicine and its services, visit sportsmed.msu.edu.

About MSU Health Care

MSU Health Care is the fully integrated academic health center of Michigan State University, representing more than 600 faculty and affiliate providers. Our commitment to safe, high-quality patient care is realized through our comprehensive services for people of any age, education of the next generation of health care providers and medical research. MSU Health Care providers treat ongoing primary care as well as some of the rarest forms of cancer and neurological conditions along with advanced surgical, pharmaceutical, rehabilitation, therapy, and imaging services. With more than 100 affiliates located next door and as far as Ludington, Saginaw, Detroit, and Marquette, MSU Health Care is building hope and healing for Michigan. Our clinical efforts support future advancements through academic and research initiatives at Michigan State University. https://healthcare.msu.edu/

MSU Health Care Sports Medicine is one of the only medical centers in the United States to offer a non-opioid alternative treatment to postoperative pain. For over 30 years, we have provided high-quality primary and orthopedic sports medicine care to MSU athletes and the mid-Michigan area. https://sportsmed.msu.edu/

Contact: Andrea Mackey, MSU Health Care: (517) 353-1327, mackeyan@msu.edu

About Black Bear Sports Group, Inc.

Black Bear Sports Group, Inc. is a privately held company formed by Murry Gunty and Blackstreet Capital Holdings, LLC in 2015 that seeks investments in sports and entertainment facilities, teams, and youth sports events. Black Bear arenas are clean, professionally managed, and offer world-class recreational programs. Black Bear focuses on ice arenas in metropolitan areas with compelling demographics, markets with a National Hockey League club presence, and arenas with existing youth hockey clubs. Black Bear not only features the ability to acquire healthy and stable arenas but also the expertise required to turn around mismanaged or underperforming facilities. The largest owner/operator of ice arenas in the U.S., Black Bear’s footprint totals 37 facilities across the United States with 72 sheets of indoor ice, four indoor turf fields, 34 youth hockey clubs, four hockey leagues (Atlantic Hockey Federation, Atlantic Girls Hockey Federation, Tier 1 Hockey Federation, and National Girls Hockey League), two tournament businesses (Defender Hockey Tournaments and The Show Tournaments), seven Junior “A” hockey franchises with membership in the United States Hockey League, North American Hockey League, USPHL NCDC, USPHL Premier and Elite, and the Eastern Hockey League, and Foundry Adult Hockey, the largest adult hockey organization in the USA.

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Black Knights Edge Out Colonials for 12U AAA Championship

Black Bear Sports Group — Mon, 11 Mar 2024 15:53:38 +0000

Repost from Atlantic District HACKENSACK, N.J. — The first Atlantic Affiliate championship of the 2023-2024 season was awarded Sunday morning to the Palmyra Black Knights 12U AAA who edged out the New Jersey Colonials in a 2-0 game that kept everyone on the edge of their seat until the final buzzer. Back and forth, goal line to goal line, the competitive game was locked out 1-0 for the majority of the game. The Colonials headed into the game with a lot of confidence. They earned their bid to the championship matchup following a win over the Black Knights during the round robin stage Saturday. “I feel good. I think we’ve got a good shot to win,” said Colonials forward Chris Migliaro, who scored against the Knights in that 4-3 victory. “A couple of weekends ago, they beat us twice. We were able to win today, so this is our opportunity to beat them twice too.” Meanwhile, the Black Knights’ sideline was undeterred, despite falling to the Colonials just minutes before. “I think we can win if we play our game,” said Black Knights defenseman Luke Spittler. On Sunday, the time for talk was over, as both teams took the ice for the title matchup. A defensive struggle in the first period set the tone for the game, as neither team could put anything on the scoreboard. The Colonials maintained a slight advantage in shots, managing 10 to the Black Knights’ seven. In the second period, a Colonials hooking penalty gave Palmyra the edge they needed to finally break through, as Callan Pearson sent one streaking past the Colonials goalie to give the Black Knights a 1-0 lead. From there, it was on Palmyra goalie Mason Ecenrode to deliver his team the win, as the Colonials became increasingly persistent to equalize the game. When the Black Knights picked up an ill-advised cross-checking penalty with just over two minutes remaining in the third period, the Colonials realized that the ensuing power play was their best chance to tie things up. They peppered Ecenrode with a barrage of shots, racking up 14 shots in the third period alone, but Eceonrode turned them all away. “I was just trying to stay in my head — just trying to focus on the game and tune everything else out,” Ecenrode said of those frantic final minutes. “It was a full team effort.” He made a series of terrific rejections, including one particularly impressive save where he snagged the puck out of the air while falling backwards. Thanks in large part to Ecenrode’s heroics, the Black Knights were able to kill the power play, and the Colonials were forced to pull their goalie for a final push. From there, the Black Knights stole the puck and Braden Boblick buried a long-range bomb to put the game out of reach at 2-0. Forty-five seconds later, the Palmyra Black Knights were the Tier-I 12U AAA champions.

The post Black Knights Edge Out Colonials for 12U AAA Championship first appeared on Black Bear Sports Group.

The post Black Knights Edge Out Colonials for 12U AAA Championship appeared first on Black Bear Sports Group.