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Welcome to the Northern Lights Girls Hockey Website!
Players with the Northern Lights come from Connecticut, Western Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Connecticut Northern Lights teams compete at the highest level in state, regional and national play as members of the New England Girls Hockey League and the Connecticut Hockey Conference. However, the Northern Lights also provide multiple opportunities for girls who are looking for a less serious or more recreational commitment to participate in the sport of ice hockey.
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| HEADLINES  | | | | | | | | | U10 Silvers Participate at CWHL/CT Whale Games | | | | by
posted 01/26/2012
Our U10 Silvers skated during the intermission of the CWHL game and stood on the blue line of the CT Whale game last week at the XL Center. Check out a few pictures from the event by clicking on "Pictures" to the left. Back to top 
| | | | | Mini Lights/U8 at the UConn Skating Strides Hockey Clinic | | | | by
posted 01/18/2012
On January 16, 2012 several Northern Lights players took part in the 2012 Skating Strides Hockey Clinic sponsored by The UConn Women’s Hockey Team and the University of Connecticut. The Mini Lights and U8 girls - Anna, Catherine, Madelyn, and Sophia - began the morning at the Shenkman training center for off-ice conditioning. They ran sprints on the UConn indoor field, worked on coordination and agility with ladders, and learned several new exercises for hockey warm-ups. The girls then headed onto the ice for drills lead by the UConn Women's Hockey Team Players and Coach Heather Linstad. After a short break the girls had time to meet with the UConn players, get autographs, tour the Frietas Ice Forum and women's locker room, and meet Jonathan the UConn mascot. Then it was back to the ice for another hour of skating, drills, and scrimmaging. All the girls had great fun and walked away with a new pink jersey, and an appreciation for the hard work necessary for hockey success.
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| | | | | The Keeper of the U8 Pink Hard Hat | | | | by
posted 01/16/2012 
After each game the U8 coaches will recognize one player who has exemplified TEAMWORK and EFFORT during the week at practice AND during the game, and will be awarded the NLGH Hard Hat.
The "keeper" of the pink hard hat is encouraged to wearing it to and from practice, the game, at home while shooting pucks, or share it at school. The keeper also has the chance to personalize the hat by signing their name and number, and adding some small form of artwork ( a sticker, small drawing). It should be a very colorful hat by the end of the season!Back to top
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posted 01/16/2012 The Northern Lights are committed to fostering an environment where all girls who want to play hockey can play high-quality hockey in a girls-only organization. As part of that commitment the club leadership has recently been in talks with Connecticut Central Youth Hockey and parents from the CCYA club about a potential club expansion in Newington, CT.
We are currently evaluating the following options:
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Addition of a new U10 team to play (practice and games) out of Newington Arena. This would be an incremental team to our two current U10 teams. Parents of current ISCC-based teams would have the option to play on that team.
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Operating our Tier 1 U12 and U14 teams out of two locations (ISCC and Newington Arena). The current concept is to split ice time (practices and home games) between the two locations. This will enable us to expand our geographic area to form teams that can compete at the highest levels of girls hockey. Note our Tier 2 teams will continue to operate exclusively out of the ISCC in Simsbury.
We believe that if successful this expansion will continue to grow the game of girls hockey in Connecticut and further strengthen the Northern Lights organization. As we evaluate these options, we welcome all feedback from parents. If you have questions or concerns, please contact:
Larry Hallisy, Club President,
Ken Dixon, Upper Division Director,
Eric Herbek, Lower Division Director,
Once the assessment is complete a parents meeting will be called to outline plans and to address any open questions or concerns.
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| | | | by
posted 01/05/2012
Most girls' hockey players don't shoot very well at all. It is a real compliment if someone tells you "you shoot like a guy".
Some people argue that guys are stronger and can therefore shoot harder. But I can guarantee you that there are plenty of 10 year old boys out there who can shoot better than 15 year old girls. Given that the girls are most certainly bigger and stronger - the "strength" theory
doesn't hold true.
The biggest reason why girls don't shoot well is a lack of practice I would guarantee that every young aspiring male hockey player willingly goes out in the driveway and will gladly shoot hundreds of pucks by themselves. Most girls' hockey players won't do this. But to be honest, the ones who end up playing at the next level always do. One of the major reasons players get to the next level is their willingness to do things that their teammates and opponents aren't willing to do. And going out in driveway and practicing their shots for hours is one of those things most girls won't do.
I believe that one reason for this is that working on your shot is far from being social. It is a very solitary pursuit. Many girls' hockey players are particularly drawn to the sport because of the social aspects of the game. This is not a knock against girls at all - it's just a very different focus that the boys have. The focus on the social side of the game is very useful in terms of developing a cohesive team - but it is quite often something that costs girls in terms of individual skill development. Since working on the other individual skills, especially skating, passing and checking can only really be done effectively on the ice, coaches have a tendency to spend time on developing these skills as opposed to focusing on teaching the basics of stickhandling and shooting - which can be practiced quite effectively away from the ice. For players looking to get an advantage over the competition, spending time away from the rink working on shooting (and stickhandling) makes a huge difference.
This doesn't mean heading outside and working solely on your slapshot. Although, to be perfectly honest, having a great slapshot in girls' hockey is such a rarity that it isn't a waste of your time by any means. Players must develop all of their shots in order to be most effective in games. This includes: wrist shots, slapshots, backhands and snap shots.
The second layer of shooting development includes learning how to execute these shots at full speed. This means learning how to shoot in stride, how to adjust your body position in space so as to get off an effective shot and understanding which shot to use in different situations. One other part of shooting that is often neglected is tipping the puck. While this isn't a direct shooting skill per se, it is a critical aspect of scoring goals that most players don't do very effectively. Players must be taught how to screen a goalie effectively and how to position their body and stick so as to tip the puck effectively. Players often stand too close to the goalie, or even worse, just off to the side, making it easy for the goalie to see the puck or tipping it so close to the net that the puck doesn't have time to change direction significantly and making it virtually impossible for the player to score off the rebound if there is one. This may seem like a minor skill - but in the world of girls' hockey, where not nearly enough goals are scored, the ability to tip the puck effectively and finish rebounds can be the difference between winning a close game or coming up short.
I always tell my players that it never says on the score sheet how the goal went in the net - it just says "goal". So not every shot has to be into the top corner and not every breakaway has to end in a beautiful deke.
A goal is a goal and into to score effectively, players must develop their entire arsenal of shooting abilities. Being able to score goals consistently is a hot commodity in girls' hockey and will make players very valuable and very much sought after at the next level.
Keep Working Hard and Dreaming BIG.
Your friend and coach,
Kim
Kim McCullough, MSc, YCS
Director, Total Female Hockey
Girls' Hockey Director, PEAC School For Elite Athletes
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| | | | | U10M Silver Medalists at Cranberry Classic | | | | by
posted 12/12/2011 
Our U10M team earned the Silver Medal at the Cape Code Cranberry Classic over Thanksgiving. Congratulations! Back to top
| | | | | Fundraising Explanation Letter | | | | by
posted 10/17/2011
Welcome back to all of our players and families! We look forward to another successful year of hockey. I wanted to take a moment and address a key necessity in our organization. FUNDRAISING. We, at Northern Lights, are committed to making hockey a great experience for your daughters. We are committed to helping the girls build good skills, good friendships and good sportsmanship as they grow into strong women. We, unfortunately, find every year as we prepare for the upcoming season that costs for every aspect of hockey continue to rise. This is the problem found throughout our economy. In our continuing effort to keep tuition as low as possible we find that fundraising becomes more important. We need to raise funds not only for the Northern Lights organization, but also for the families to help you be able to pay your families’ hockey bills. We have created many opportunities. We also welcome and encourage new and creative ideas for fundraising. Please feel free to share and help organize your ideas. We have outlined below the various fundraising ideas available through Northern Lights and how your family can contribute their efforts and how these options can help the Northern Lights organization as a whole and your families.
MONTHLY RAFFLES
Monthly raffles are new this year. The hope is to help a Northern Lights family or a member of our extended community win a really GREAT prize. The Northern Lights organization will benefit from this raffle. This will benefit our girls. We invite our families to buy and sell as many of these tickets as they would like. We would hope that the raffle offers such a great opportunity for you to win a wonderful prize that you would be willing to purchase at least 2 tickets per family. Please, however as we stated above, feel free to buy and sell as many as you like.
*Purchase Raffle Tickets for Your Family on a Monthly Basis
*Sell Raffle Tickets to Family, Friends, Neighbors, Co-Workers, Etc
* We Thank You for Helping Northern Lights Raise Funds to Continue to Bring Great Opportunities to Your Daughter
GIFT CARDS
The Script Gift Card program has been a huge success at Northern Lights in helping families raise funds in the simplest way to benefit their hockey financial obligations. Scrip Gift Cards is a process that allows you to obtain gift cards for your everyday needs, occasional shopping, travel, gift giving, etc. and reap financial benefits while purchasing them. All Scrip Gift Cards are purchased at a discounted amount. Every gift card follows the guidelines in Connecticut of no expiration date. They are safe and act the same as a gift card purchased at a retail store. Your family will receive the majority of the benefit of the proceeds for the gift cards purchased by your family and extended family. The proceeds from gift card purchases are split at 70% applied to your family hockey financial obligations and 30% applied to the Northern Lights organization. The proceeds are equal to the percentage the individual gift cards are discounted. i.e. Stop and Shop has a 4% discount and Bath and Body Works has a 13% discount. This is a fundraiser that you may do all year long. For additional information please visit the fundraising tab on the left sidebar of the NLGH website.
*Purchase Gift Cards for Your Family and Extended Family
*Sell Gift Cards to Family, Friends, Neighbors, Co-Workers, etc (please see guidelines on additional info concerning payment)
*Earn Proceeds from Your Gift Card Purchases to be Applied:
1. 70% To Your Family Hockey Financial Obligation
2. 30% To Northern Lights
*We Hope This Helps Your Family Budget and We Thank You For Your Contribution to the Northern Light Organization
LUCKY LOTTO
Lucky Lotto is a fundraising opportunity to allow your family and/or extended community win some great cash prizes. Total cash prizes of $2150. Lucky Lotto tickets may be printed from the website by entering the fundraising tab on the left sidebar. Feel free to sell them starting at the beginning of the hockey season through January 31, 2012. The tickets are $10.00. The drawing takes place every day during the month of February. The prize awarded is specific to the day as outlined on the ticket, $25, $50, $75 or $100. On the final day of the month the prize amount is $500. Tickets remain in the drawing for the entire 28 days even if the ticket is drawn for a prize. Ticket sales are applied directly to the family hockey financial obligation. We encourage your family to sell the tickets to as many people as you would like. Please start turning tickets in as you sell them.
*Purchase/Sell Lucky Lotto Tickets to Your Own Immediate Family, Your Extended Family, Friends, Neighbors, Co-Workers, etc.
*Earn Proceeds Dollar for Dollar
1. 100% of your Purchases/Sales in your Own Name up the Value of your Family Fundraising Commitment
2. 100% of Your Sales to Outside the Organization.
3. After Your Family Fundraising Commitment has been met with Lucky Lotto Sales, Your Sales will be applied at a 70% percent value.
*We Hope This Helps Your Family Budget
SPONSORSHIPS
Sponsorships are a fundraising opportunity to allow your family to raise funds to help support your family’s hockey bill and also help support the Northern Lights Organization. We ask that you reach out within your community to local businesses that you frequent and ask them to become a Northern Lights sponsor. There are many benefits for their sponsorship which are all posted on the website under the fundraising tab. You can also locate the sponsorship form at that location. Sponsorships are allocated at 70 % value toward the family’s hockey financial obligation and 30% value toward the Northern Lights organization. We thank you for reaching out within your community circle to help support our hockey program.
UNITED WAY
United Way is an opportunity for families to allocate funds from their place of employment towards Northern Lights. This is done by filling out the United Way form located on the website under the fundraising tab. All United Way funds are allocated at 100% value towards the family’s hockey financial obligation.
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| | | | | Girls Foundation/Learn to skate Program Registration! FREE | | | | by
posted 09/11/2011
Connecticut Northern Lights
Foundation Program Girls Hockey
PLEASE NOTE FOUNDATION IS AT 12:50 on Saturday!!!!
Learn-to-Skate – Ice Hockey Program Just for Girls
for girls born between 2002 and 2007
The Connecticut Northern Lights Girls Hockey program is a girls-only hockey program serving Northern Connecticut.
In the Foundation Program, our goal is to teach girls the fundamentals of ice hockey – skating, stick-handling, passing, and shooting – while emphasizing skill development, cooperation, fair play, fitness, safety and, most importantly, fun.
Age: For girls age 4 thru 9 (born during 2002 – 2007)
No experience required!
Days/Times:
Saturdays 12:50 p.m.
Session I:
October 15th to October 29th
Skills development sessions with groupings based on skill level
and experience.
Additional Sessions:
Players who missed the initial registration for Session 1 can join the program on a 'rolling admission' basis. Please contact us for additional details.
Where:
International Skating Center of CT (ISCC) - Simsbury, CT.
Cost:
FREE! Includes a Northern Lights hockey jersey and USA Hockey membership.
Equipment:
JAM Pro Shop (located at ISCC) is offering a starter equipment package that includes skates, helmet and hockey gloves (youth sizes only) for $125. Players can be sized the day they register.
How do I Register?
Click on 'Register Online' on the left toolbar.
For more information, please contact:
Tom Lynch, NLGH Recruiting Director
860-305-5443
tlynch17@gmail.com
www.nlgh.com
Where Strong Girls
Become Strong Women
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