IRTHA has named its 2008-09 coaches. The Tryout Schedule and supporting documentation has been finalized. As stated early in the year, CSDHL team (and the 99 pre-CSDHL team) tryouts will be held on May 31st and June 1st and mixed birth year BTHL team tryouts will follow the weekend of June 7-8th. Additional details can be found on the Tryouts Page.

Two of your favorite IRTHA board members Keith Slifer and Mike Berger will be working hard behind the bar. For their work, Ruth's Chris will donate $1 per drink back to IRTHA. We also have the opportunity to ask for donations during the event. The event will serve as a much deserved and earned break from the long hockey season. It will also be a great time to meet fellow hockey parents and board members. Please tell all your friends and fellow hockey supporters to join us at this fun event. The event will happen on April 30, 2008 from 5:00pm - 8:00pm. See Ruth's Chris Fundraiser Flyer for more information.

The Racers 93 CSDHL team and the Racers 95 CSDHL teams both won Mid-Am District titles in mid-March and will begin competiting for a National Championship at the USA Hockey National Championships in Hackensack, NJ. You can follow the action on the USA Hockey National Championship website.

Mike Berger and his staff at The Forum at Fishers will be conducting a Pre Travel Try-out Conditioning Camp May 27-30, 2008. Four 75 minute sessions immediately before tryouts will prepare players for tryouts which begin on May 31, 2008. See Mike at The Forum or download his Pre Travel Try-out Conditioning Camp Flyer for more information.

The Racers are hosting the 2008 Mid-Am District Tournament. Information and scoring updates can be found on the IRTHA / Mid-Am District Tournament Page.

The Indianapolis Racers Travel Hockey Association Board of Directors would like to thank Doug Ponsler for his years of hard work and dedication. Read the complete announcement HERE. Check out Kevin Mallin's Bio to understand why IRTHA feels fortunate to have him aboard.

Congratulations to several present and former Racers selected to the United States Hockey League Central Scouting draft list for the 2007-08 season: Birth year 1992 - Max Terhar (currently playing at Culver Academy), Max Moritz (HSE); Birth year 1993 - J.C. Campagna, Jordan Logan, Patrick Pollock, and Josh Slifer (all currently playing for Racers Bantam Major team). The USHL is America's only Tier I Junior hockey league. It is the highest and most competitive level of junior hockey in America. The USHL supplies NCAA Division 1 hockey with more than any other league in North America. USHL Central Scouting collectively identifies future talent for USHL Teams. Good luck, boys!

The Racers have begun releasing 2008-09 dates to help you plan. Coaching Applications are due by May 1, 2008. All Racer CSDHL teams will tryout May 31 - June 1, 2008. All Racer Buckeye League teams will tryout June 7-8, 2008. Important Note: All players must tryout for the CSDHL teams to be eligible for the Buckeye Racer teams. Additional information on times & locations will follow.

The Racers are proud to be the host of the 2008 Mid-Am District Tournament. The Mid-Am District tournament will consist of the Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia State Champions as well as host teams from the Racers organization. Additional information can be found in the District Tournament section of the Racers website.

The 2008 Summer Bullet Program information has been released. The program will be available for second year Bantams (94) thru Midget and High School. The program will start in early June and run through August 1st. Sessions will be held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Additional information and registration form available in MS Word or PDF.

The 2008 Junior Bullet Program will run the same weeks as the Bullet Camp and will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 1998 through 1995 birth year players are invited to register. Additional information and registration form available in MS Word or PDF.

Players Edge On-Net Shooting Clinic will be holding 1 day, 3 hours shooting only clinics at Carmel on December 26th (9:00 am-12:10pm) and Fishers, December 30th (9:30 am - 12:45 pm). Mark Catron, Coach of the 93 Racers, and staff will teach proper shooting technique on Wrist Shot, Backhand, Slap Shot, Snap Shot, Deeks, Deflections, One-Timers, Rebounds and in-tight shots. You can sign up and get more information online at www.PEhockey.com.

Mike Berger will be conducting his D-Man Only Clinic December 22-23, 2007 at the Forum in Fishers. Recent USA Hockey rule changes have made the job of defensemen even more difficult. Berger and staff will teach the art and science of defense in a two day, four session, six hour on-ice clinic. Check out the Flyer/Registration Form for more details.

The Indianapolis Racers Bantam 93 CSDHL team won the Silver Stick Mid-American Regional Bantam AA Tournament on Monday, December 4th in Dayton, OH. The Racers beat the Toledo Cherokees 2-1 (OT) in the finals. In round-robin play they posted victories over Charlotte Jr Checkers (5-1), the Sylvania Maple Leafs (9-0) and the Pittsburgh (North Hills) Vipers 6-0. They beat the Nashville Southern Flyers 6-2 in the quarter-finals and the Grosse Pointe Bulldogs 5-1 in the semi-finals. The team will now advance to the Silver Stick International tournament in Port Huron, MI the weekend of January 10-13, 2008. Congratulations and good luck!

The Indianapolis Racers Mite Gold won the Silver Stick Mid-American Regional Tournament on Nov. 18 in Ft. Wayne, IN. The Racers beat the Cincinnati Cyclones 4-2 in the finals. In round-robin play they tied the Cylcones, while posting victories over the Strongsville (OH) Mustangs and the Canton (MI) Crush. Coach John Tiberi was extremely proud stating, "all the boys played very hard and were determined to win." The team will now advance to the Silver Stick International tournament in St Clair Shores, MI the weekend of January 25-27, 2008. Congratulations and good luck in Michigan!

The Indianapolis Racers Bantam Silver team won the Silver Stick Mid-American Regional Tournament on Nov. 11 in Ft. Wayne, IN. Over the four game tournament, the Racers saw qualifying victories against the North Pittsburgh Wildcats, Ft. Wayne Selects and a tie against the Sylvania Leafs. In the championship game, the Racers faced Sylvania again and this time won 7-2 in their best game of the season. "The game was a total team effort with scoring output from all three forward lines and excellent defense against a tough Buckeye League competitor. We look forward to representing Indianapolis at the Finals in January," commented Racer coach John Grainda. The team will now advance to the Silver Stick International tournament in Pelham, Ontario in January 2008. Congratulations and good luck to the Racer Bantam Silver team!

IRTHA Executive Director Keith Slifer was recently honored by the USA Hockey Mid-American District by being named its "Young Leader of the Year". According to Kaye Pinkowski, USA Hockey District Director, "Keith was recognized for his enthusiasm and tireless work on unifying the travel programs within the greater Indianapolis area and providing the leadership to continue IRTHA as a successful travel program." The award was created several years ago by USA Hockey so that the up and coming next generation of hockey leaders would be recognized. The award is given annually based upon a review of personnel within the District. Congratulations Keith!

Tryouts have been completed. Rosters have been posted and a link to all individual Racer travel team websites is available from the Teams page. Congratulations to all 2007-08 Racers. Let the fun begin!

All Mite age players (1999 and 2000 birth year) are invited to attend a travel hockey tryout at the Carmel Ice Skadium Rink 1.

When: Wednesday, August 29th
Time: 5:25 pm to 6:25 pm
Cost: $25/player

IRTHA is proud to announce that Mike Murphy will be the 2007-08 Squirt Silver coach. Squirt Silver tryouts begin on Tuesday August 21, 2007 at the Westfield Arctic Zone IcePlex. Check out the Tryouts Page for more details.

96 Racers head coach A.J. McIntosh is happy to announce that Grant Block has agreed to join Jon Laughner as an assistant coach. Read the Announcement Here.

Pre Tryout Skate #1
Sunday, August 5th, 5:30PM
Carmel Ice Skadium

Information & Dryland Session
*Bring helmet, gloves and stick, plus athletic shoes/clothes
Sunday, August 12th, 12:00PM
Park Tudor School

Pre Tryout Skate #2
Sunday, August 12th, 5:30PM
Carmel Ice Skadium

Any questions...please call A.J. McIntosh 809-5654.

Please register your player on line with USA Hockey BEFORE the tryout and bring a copy of your confirmation page with you to the tryouts. They will be collected along with your payment at the sign-in table. Please click on this link to the USA Hockey Registration Website and follow the prompts. Print off 2 copies of the confirmation page – one for you to bring to the tryout and one for your own records. PLEASE READ THE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY AND MAKE SURE YOU SIGN YOUR CHILD UP FOR THE 2007-2008 HOCKEY SEASON!

Additionally, please print out, complete, and bring the 2007-08 IRTHA Registration Form to tryouts.

IRTHA is proud to announce its coaches for the 2007-08 season. The full slate of coaches, teams and tryout information can be found on the TRYOUTS page. Thanks to all who applied and to the Coaches Selection Committee for all their hard work.

IRTHA has moved the Bantam Major (93) CSDHL team tryouts to July 29th at the Carmel Ice Skadium. Two sessions will be held on July 29th, one beginning at 9:00am, the second beginning at 11:30am. Players must attend BOTH sessions.

IRTHA is seeking candidates to coach the Squirt Silver team for the 2007-08 season. Candidates should contact IRTHA Coaches Selection Committee Chair Mike Berger (bullet@theforum-fishers.com).

The Forum in Fishers will be offering a Pre Travel Try-Out Conditioning Camp in the weeks leading up to IRTHA tryouts in August. The camp will run from July 30th through August 7th and will feature six 75 minute skates by instructors Mike Berger, Keith Miller, Bernie John and Devan Heiber. For more information, either contact The Forum @ Fishers or CLICK HERE to download the registration form.

The 2007-2008 Coaches Selection Committee for all Racer teams will consist of all current IRTHA board members as well as Kevin Mallin, Pat Murray, and Mike Mattis. Mallin played Div. I hockey and is a former professional referee. Murray played for Michigan State as well as the Philadelphia Flyers. Mattis also played for MSU and formerly coached Park Tudor's hockey team.
Coaches who submitted applications will be contacted to schedule an interview time.

The Racers 94 CSDHL, winners of the Mid-American Regional Peewee Championship hosted in Pittsburgh PA, lost this past weekend in the Semi-Finals of the USA Hockey National Championship Tournament in Buffalo, NY. The Racers fell 6-2 to the Raleigh (NC) Team Pepsi. Congratulations on making it to the final eight.

The Indianapolis Racers Travel Hockey Association (IRTHA) is pleased to announce the teams, coaching interview dates and tryout dates for the 2007-2008 hockey season. In conjunction with the IYHA (Carmel), FYHA (Fishers), PCYHL (Coliseum), and SIYH (Perry), IRTHA travel teams for next season are based on the current number of travel players as well as the All-Star programs offered by these house/recreational associations. Information updates will be available at here on the IRTHA website in the future.

Teams:

We have evaluated the number of hockey players in greater Indianapolis and the relative competitiveness of our teams this season. IRTHA has also collaborated with the house/recreational associations to ensure that a healthy balance exists between travel and house leagues. We believe the following teams provided the best combination of opportunity and competitiveness.

Bantam

• CSDHL Bantam Major (93)
• CSDHL Bantam Minor (94)
• Buckeye Bantam Gold
• Buckeye Bantam Silver
• Buckeye Bantam Bronze

• CSDHL Peewee Major (95)
• CSDHL Peewee Minor (96)
• Buckeye Peewee Gold
• Buckeye Peewee Silver

• CSDHL Squirt Major (97)
• Buckeye Squirt Minor (98)
• Buckeye Squirt Gold
• Buckeye Squirt Silver

• Buckeye Mite Gold

1. Deadline for coaching applications will be May 31st
2. COACHING APPLICATION (added 3/1/07)
3. Coaching Interviews will be conducted on June 22nd and 23rd . Also June 29th (IF NEEDED)
4. Announcement of the coaching slate will be the week of July 16th

• Tryouts start August 13th (Update: July 29th for 1993 birth year team) for Central States teams and completes around August 24th.
• TRYOUT SCHEDULE
• Tryout Fee - ONE TIME TRYOUT FEE OF $60.00 FOR EACH PLAYER. Mites will be $25 per player.

The Racers 93 CSDHL team won the Indiana State Bantam Tournament on 2/25/07. They upset the Racers 92 team in an overtime game on 2/22/07 and then posted solid wins over the Racers Bantam Gold and Fort Wayne Komets over the weekend. The Racers 94 CSDHL team were also announced as Indiana state champions when competitors failed register for the state tournament. Both teams will be competing for USA Hockey district championships and the right to play at Nationals over the weekend of March 16-18th in Pittsburgh, PA.

The Racers Peewee Gold team has won both the BTHL Peewee AA regular season and post-season tournament. Congrats to all who made this title possible.

The Racer Bantam Major (92) and Bantam Minor (93) teams won CSDHL Titles over the weekend in Chicago. Congrats to players, coaches and families.

Indianapolis Racers logowear is now available online at http://indyracers.nextcomm.biz. Orders taken by November 27th will be filled by mid-December in time for the holidays. Check out the website for more information.

The Indiana Ice Junior A hockey club will take on the USA Hockey National Team Development Program U18 club, featuring many of the country's best 17 year olds, on Saturday September 23, 2006. All youth players will receive free admission. This is a great event to kick off the season watching many of the NHL's next stars. Click Here for more information .

IRTHA and MYHockey are proud to announce the 1st Annual MYHockeyRankings.com Invitational Tournament. Catering to the top Tier II teams in the country, the MYHockeyRankings.com Invitational will take place at the end of this year's holiday season, Jan 5-7, 2007. Indianapolis Racers squirt major through bantam major teams will be participating. More information on the tournament can be found at http://midwestyouthhockey.com/invitational/.

The Indiana Jr Ice Midget AAA teams are hosting a USHL-MAHL Indianapolis Bigfoote Hockey Classic October 6-8th. Information for the U16 Division can be found here. Additional information can be found on the Indiana Jr Ice website.

Additional Racer team logowear is now available. Racer hockey bags have been spec'd out and must be ordered at the Carmel of Fisher's Proshop by 8/10/06. Racer helmet stickers are available by special order from Rick Rhodes. Racer car window stickers are available and in stock at the proshops. Custom stickers (with names and/or numbers) are available by special order from Rick. More items will be available shortly. Thanks Rick.

The new Peewee Bronze2 team will hold tryouts on Wednesday May 31, 7:45 - 8:45pm at Fishers and on Saturday June 17, 12:45 - 1:45pm at Fishers (Updated). Players must attend both tryouts or get permission ahead of time to miss a tryout. Bill Curtis will coach the team. There will be a parent meeting before the May 31 tryout from 7:00pm to 7:40pm.

There will be a meeting at the Bridgewater Country Club on Wednesday, May 31 at 7:00pm to discuss the possible formation of a Mite Silver team. A room has been reserved at the club under the name "Mite Racers". Please attend if interested.

Tryouts for 2006-2007 teams begins on Saturday April 22nd and concludes in early May. Additional information on times, dates, locations, coaches and websites can be found on the Tryouts Page. IRTHA asks that you bring a completed Tryout Registration Form to tryouts in order to speed the registration process the first day of tryouts. Rosters will be posted when they made available to IRTHA.

IRTHA is pleased to announce that Mario Doyon and GR Hutton are named Co-Coaches of the PeeWee Minor CSDHL team replacing Matt Catron. Mario Doyon and GR Hutton will be holding a parents meeting on Monday April 24th at Fishers at 7 pm prior to tryouts on April 26th and April 27th.

The IRTHA has formed a new marketing, advertising and fund-raising (MAF) committee. The MAF committee will consist of the following people: Jim Oliver (Chair), Dawn Parmelee, Mike Korth and Stephanie Luke. The group is still looking for additional volunteers. Contact the IRTHA at maf@irtha.org if you are interested or would like additional information.

The IRTHA Board of Directors has approved three new policies for the 2006-07 season. The IRTHA 2006-2007 Tryout Policy, 2006-2007 Play-up Policy, and 2006-2007 Mid-Am Selection Policy are effective immediately. The Racers have also consolidated the different equipment requirements that have previously impacted the expense of hockey for some travel players in the past. The equipment requirements can be found in the 2006-2007 Mid-Am Selection Policy document.

A meeting will be held Thursday, April 20th @ 7:00PM at The Forum at Fishers for 95 birthyear parents interested the 95 CSDHL team for this upcoming season.

The IRTHA Coaches Selection Committee is pleased to announce the coaches for the 2006-07 season. Tryouts begin April 20th and wrap up in early May. Team, tryout and coaches information can be found on the Tryouts Page of the website. Please note that some teams have created individual team websites and/or have scheduled some pre-tryout skates that might be listed on their team website. Team websites are linked from the tryouts page and are being updated almost daily so check back often.

The IRTHA 93 (Peewee) Racers are the 2005-06 USA Hockey Peewee Tier II Runner-ups. After a great tournament, they lost 4-0 to the Santa Clara Blackhawks Sunday April 2nd in Fort Wayne, IN. They opened tournament play Wednesday with a 6-0 victory over the Barre (VT) Blades. On Thursday they beat the Alaska All-Stars 4-1. The Racers fell to the Naperville (IL) Sabres 3-2 in the last round-robin game on Friday. By virtue of their 2-1 round-robin record the Racers were the second seed from the American Conference and earned the right to play the third seed from the National Conference in the quarterfinals. Saturday morning they defeated the Florida Flyers 5-2 in quarterfinal action. In the Saturday evening semi-final contest the Racers beat the Michigan State Champion USA Eagles (Bloomfield, MI) 6-1 to earn the right to play Sunday morning in the Championship game. Congrats on a great season! Complete tournament coverage can be found on the Peewee Tier II National Tournament Website.

The IRTHA 91 (Bantam) Racers, undefeated in round-robin play, fell 7-6 in OT to the Long Island Edge in quarterfinal play at the USA Hockey Bantam Tier II National Championship Tournament. The 91 Racers, started off the tournament with a 3-2 OT victory over the Darien (CT) Wave. On Thursday they dispatched the Alaska All-Stars 6-1. On Friday they beat the Omaha Gladiators 8-3 and advanced to Satuday's quarterfinals as the number one seed from the American Conference. Great job Racers! Complete tournament coverage can be found on the They can be found on the Bantam Tier II National Tournament Website.

The IRTHA 91 Racers and 93 Racers teams have earned the right to play for a National Championship! Over the weekend March 17-19, both teams won their respective Mid-Am District championship tournaments and have earned an invititation to the National Championship Tournaments to be held March 29 - April 2.

The 91 Racers beat Southpointe (PA) Rink Rats 8-1, Columbus (OH) Capitals 12-0, Sylvania (OH) Maple Leafs 5-1 and Louisville (KY) Storm 15-1 enroute to their District Championship. They advance to Nationals in East Lansing, Michigan and are scheduled to play New England District Champ on 3/29, the Alaska Champ on 3/30 and the Central District Champs Omaha Gladiators on 3/31. The top eight teams then begin a single elimination playdown beginning on 4/1. USA Hockey does a great job of posting scores, near real-time. They can be found on the Bantam Tier II National Tournament Website.

The 93 Racers beat Allegheny (PA) Badgers 9-1, Toledo (OH) Icediggers 3-2 and Louisville (KY) Storm 11-0 enroute to their District Championship. They advance to Nationals in Fort Wayne, Indiana and are scheduled to play New England District Champ Barre (VT) Blades on 3/29, the Alaska Champ on 3/30 and the Central District Champs Naperville Sabres on 3/31. The top eight teams then begin a single elimination playdown beginning on 4/1. Again, USA Hockey does a great job of posting scores, near real-time. They can be found on the Peewee Tier II National Tournament Website.

The IRTHA is pleased to announce that a committee has been formed to create and administrator the new Racers Hockey Foundation. Joe Scodro, Associate University Counsel IUPUI, Hans Steck, partner Bingham Mchale, and Jack Zachary III, Zachary Confections will serve on this committee. Joe Scordo will act as chair. The IRTHA Board will oversee the committee. Although guidelines have not been established, it is envisioned that both need based and other types of scholarship will be distributed annually by the Foundation.

The 2006-07 U-16 Indiana Jr Ice MAHL AAA team has finalized their spring pre-skate and tryout schedule. Pre-skates are $25 each or $60 for all three. Tryouts are $100. All skates will be held at the Carmel Ice Skadium. The schedule is as follows:

April 8, 1:30pm-3:30pm Pre-skate
April 9, 9:00am-10:30am Pre-skate
April 17, 7:00pm-8:30pm Pre-skate
April 21, 7:00pm-8:30pm Tryout
April 22, 10:30am-12:00pm Tryout
April 22, 4:00pm-5:30pm Tryout
April 23, 12:30pm-2:00pm Invite Only Game

The '91 AA Racers traveled 1100 miles to Colorado Springs to show that Indiana can play hockey. The team won the 29th annual Pikes Peak Presidents' Day Hockey Tournament in the Bantam AA Division. The Presidents Day Tournament boosts 97 teams from 4 Canadian provinces and 23 States. The Racers played the home team Colorado Springs Jr. Tigers (W 7-0), Seattle Jr. Thunderbirds (T 3-3) Sante Fe New Mexico Moose (W 6-2) in the round robin portion of the tournament. In the Semi Finals they met up with a tough team from Vacaville California and eventually won 2-1 after playing 2 overtime periods and ended the game in an exciting shootout. The Racers came back the next day and beat the Yorba Linda Blackhawks 3-1in the final game played at the Air Force Acedemy. It was a wonderful 5 day trip for the boys and their families.

The '91 AA Racers are one step closer to taking care of that "unfinished business" they set their minds to finish at the beginning of the season. The Racers outscored their (4) opponents by a combined score of 41-2 to win their State Tournament title. They now travel to Columbus, Ohio on the 17th of March to play in the District playdowns working hard to advance to play in the Bantam AA Tier II Nationals in East Lancing Michigan beginning 3/29/2006.

The Racers have released the 2006-07 tryout schedule. All Racer team tryouts will be held in late April or early May. Check out the Tryouts page for more details.

Tournament Committee: A tournament committee has been formed by the IRTHA to host at least three local tournaments next season. The committee will consist of Mike Aulby, Mike Berger and Neil Lodin. Individual Racer teams would work the tournaments and then collect a portion of the profit as a fund-raiser. At the most competitive levels (CSDHL), the proposed format is an invitational tournament based on MYHockey, a website that helps identify the best Tier I and Tier II teams in the country.

Marketing/Advertising/Fundrasing Committee: IRTHA is looking for volunteers to start a new Marketing/Advertising/Fundraising committee. Please email Keith Slifer at keith.slifer@abnamro.com if you are interested.

Tom Rogers steps down from IRTHA Board: The IRTHA board would like to publicly thank Tom Rogers for all the time, effort and hard work that he has spent over the last several years building youth hockey in Indianapolis. Most recently, Tom was a key driver in getting all the Indianapolis hockey associations in one room and finding common ground for a merger. Thank You Tom, you’ll be missed!

General Info
- Tryouts will start 4/15/2006 and end before 5/15/2006. Teams will tryout in the order shown below.
- 2005-06 Coaches Evaluations will be passed out immediately to team managers and should be sent to Eileen Mills.
- The IRTHA Coaching Application is now available in MS Word and PDF formats. Coaching applications are due no later than 3/12/2006.
- Coaching Interviews start 3/13/2006 and conclude by 3/31/2006.
- Coaches will be named by 4/1/2006. Some Coaches will be announced prior to that date.
- Coaches Selection Committee consists of the following: Mike Berger, Keith Slifer, Doug Ponsler, Scott Law, Mike Aulby and Mike Welsh. Mike Berger will chair the committee.
- Keith Slifer will continue on the Board and is named Executive Director of the IRTHA effective immediately.

Racer Teams for the 2006-07 Season:
Indiana Jr. Ice MAHL AAA U-16

Racers CSDHL Major Bantam
Racers CSDHL Minor Bantam
Racers Gold Bantam
Racers Silver Bantam
Racers Bronze Bantam

Racers CSDHL Major Peewee
Racers CSDHL Minor Peewee
Racers Gold Peewee
Racers Silver Peewee
Racers Bronze Peewee

Racers CSDHL Major Squirt
Racers Gold Squirt
Racers Silver Squirt
Racers Bronze Squirt

Racers Gold Mite
Racers Silver Mite

Four IRTHA teams competed in International Silver Stick Final Tournaments the weekend January 12-15. Congratulations to the Arctic Blast Bantam AA1 team for capturing Bantam C Championship in Forest, Ontario. They defeated the Grand Valley (ON) Twisters 4-3 to capture the title. Also, congratulations to Arctic Blast Mite AA team for capturing the Mite A/E Championship in Pelham, Ontario over the weekend. The Mites erased a third period 4-1 deficit to win the title game 6-5 over the Warminster (PA) Glaciers. In other Silver Stick Finals action the Bantam Major Racers CSDHL team made it through round robin play in the Port Huron Bantam AA Finals tournament, but lost a heartbreaker to the USA (MI) Eagles 5-4 OT in the quarter-finals. The Peewee Minor Racers CSDHL team, playing in the Peewee Minor AA bracket in Newmarket, Ontario also make it through round-robin play, but faced the enventual champion Humber Valley (ON) Sharks in the semi-finals where they lost a third period lead and succumb 3-1 after an empty-netter. Congrats to all four teams for excellent showings and good luck to the Peewee Major Racers CSDHL team as they compete for the Peewee AA championship in Port Huron the weekend of January 27-29.

The IRTHA is pleased to annouce Mike Kellermeyer as the 2006-2007 AAA Midget U-16 Head Coach. Mike can be reached at mkellermeyer@hotmail.com.

IAHA, organizer of the Midwest Invitational Hockey Tournament (formerly the Indiana State Tournament), now has the tournament registration form available. Tournament brackets cover mites through midgets and All-Star (or B level travel) to CSDHL (or out-of-state Elite teams). See the IAHA Tournament Page for more details.

The IRTHA board of directors is pleased to announce that we will field a U-16 AAA Midget Minor team for the 2006-2007 season. The MAHL will be petitioned for admission into the league. If the petition is unsuccessful for any reason, the team will play as an independent. It is planned that a coach will be announced by the third week of January. A spring team will be formed in April and final tryouts will be held prior to the end of May. Please check this site for further updates.

The Peewee Major (93) Racers won a third Mid American Regional Silver Stick Tournament for the Indianapolis Racers. Playing in Dayton, OH, the 93's ended up in the same bracket as the Toledo IceDiggers, one of the best Tier 2 Peewee teams in the country. The Racers downed the IceDiggers in the opening game of round-robin play by the score of 4-3. They also beat North Pittsburgh 5-1 and the Cleveland Select team 1-0 before advancing into the semi-finals. They beat the Brownstown (MI) Predators 3-1 and proceeded to finish off the Sylvania Maple Leafs 7-3 to secure a spot in the International Peewee Silver Stick Finals in Port Huron, MI the last weekend in January. That makes three Racer teams (91, 93, 94) in Silver Stick Finals. Congrats to all and best of luck.

The Bantam Major (91) Racers won the Mid American Silver Stick Regional advancing tournament in Dayton on 12/5/05. The Racers, playing some outstanding hockey, recorded victories of 13-1, 4-0 and 5-0 in round-robin play and then beat CSDHL league foe Affton (MO) Americans 5-0 in the semi-finals and the North Pittsburgh Wildcats in the finals by a 7-3 score. The victory qualifies the 91 Racers to compete in the International Silver Stick Bantam AA Finals in Port Huron, MI in January. Congratulations and good luck in the Finals.

The Peewee Minor Racers won the Mid American Silver Stick Regional advancing tournament in Cincinnati on 12/4/05. The Racers swept through round-robin play with victories of 2-0, 6-1 and 7-2 and then claimed a 3-1 victory over the Orchard Lake (MI) Pirates in the semi-finals and a 5-3 thriller over Crank's Catering (Troy, MI) in the Finals. The victory qualifies the 94 Racers to compete in the International Silver Stick Peewee Minor AA Finals in Newmarket, Ontario in January. This is the thrid Silver Stick Regional Championship for Coach Keith Miller's teams who won the Mid American Regional at Mite AA in 2002 and the Mid American Regional at Squirt A in 2003. Congratulations and good luck in Newmarket.

Mark you calendars! Saturday, December 17th from 9:00am – Noon, there will be an autograph session with players from The Indianapolis Ice and Biggie Foot at The Carmel Ice Skadium! Come and meet your favorite player and shake hands with Biggie himself! Receive 2 free tickets to the 12/28/05 Ice game with the purchase of Ice merchandise during this event! Great way to pick up some last minute Christmas gifts!

The Indianapolis Racers Travel Hockey Association (IRTHA) is pleased to present the new association logo. This season only the Central States teams will wear the new logo and jerseys. In 2006/07 all the travel teams will adopt the the logo and jersey. Full jersey drawing will be forthcoming. Please note that the new logo has a trademark pending. Use of the logo is prohibited. The IRTHA will be coming out with a full line of apparel, stickers, etc. Besides team websites and team banners, this logo can not be reproduced for any reason without the written consent of the IRTHA.

S2P has created a website for family and friends to order Checkers spiritware. Player Jerseys and socks will be ordered by team managers, but all spiritware is available online to families. Reminder: Only BTHL teams will be called Checkers. All CSDHL teams will be Racers and new logoware will be available later this fall. Click here to enter the Checkers logoware catalog.

As previously announced, The Indianapolis area youth travel hockey associations (IYHA, IAHA and CIYHA) have merged their travel programs. The new association will field teams called the Indianapolis Racers. A new logo and web site are under development. For the 2005-06 season, this change will only impact the Central States (CSDHL) teams. Non-CSDHL teams will still be called the Checkers or Arctic Blast for the upcoming season. Stay tuned for more details.

The Indiana Ice has begun a unique fundraising opportunity for Indianapolis area youth hockey players. The “Support My Dream” program. The “Support My Dream” program is comprised of Flex Packs, which are booklets of ten (10) ticket vouchers that can be redeemed for any regular season Indiana Ice home game. The Indiana Ice will donate up to $50 for each flex pack sold. See the Flyer for more details.

Team Two members of the 2004-2005 Checkers Peewee Major AA Team have been invited to participate in the USA Hockey Select-13 Festival at Kent State University in early August. Jared Fielden and Max Moritz, were selected from among the top 80 Tier I and Tier II Mid-Am District players that recently participated in the USA Hockey Player Development Camp held at Penn State University. Max and Jared will be teammates on one of two Mid-Am District Teams that will participate in tournament play against teams comprised of top players from various other USA Hockey Districts accross the country. This is a testament to the hard work, dedication and skill of these two fine young men - as well as their teammates who helped in supporting their development. The 92 Checkers family as well as the entire Checker organization congratulates Max & Jared and wishes them the best of luck at the festival.

IYHA (now IRTHA) is pleased to announce that the Indianapolis Checkers (now renamed the Indianapolis Racers) have been selected as new members of the Central States Developmental Hockey League (CSDHL) for the 2005-2006 season. The Checkers will field five CSDHL teams for the 2005-2006 season as follows: Bantam Major, Bantam Minor, PeeWee Major, Peewee Minor and Squirt Major. The CSDHL is a premier Tier II hockey league based out of the Chicago area with additional teams in St. Louis, Peoria, Madison and Green Bay.