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News

TEAM COMCAST 2000 GOALIE WINS BELL CUP SHOOTOUT COMPETITION
Congratulations to Team Comcast Goalie Isaac Bleicher who won the Goalie Shootout Skills Competition at the Bell Cup Tournament in Ottawa. Isaac advanced with 2 other goalies with shutouts and continued on to a head-to-head competition where he took the 1st place trophy!

TEAM COMCAST MAKES THE DAILY NEWS

Team Comcast was featured in the following story in yesterday's (12/22/09) edition of the Daily News.

Promoting Concussion Awareness In Youth Hockey

THE ORDINARILY energetic boy in the back seat of the car had gone strangely quiet. It seemed odd to Team Comcast "AAA" Youth Hockey Club coach Keith Primeau, who was driving some players back from a game one Sunday a few years ago. The boy - Nicholas Bohatiuk - was then 11 years old, on the opposing team and in his initial year of contact hockey. Play had stopped when suddenly a rival player came up from behind and plowed into him as he stood at the blue line. CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE STORY!

TEAM COMCAST 16U TEAM WINS TIER I ELITE THANKSGIVING CHALLENGE TOURNAMENT
The Team Comcast 16U team swept through the competition over Thanksgiving Weekend to earn a tournament championship! In the round-robin competition, the team defeated the Philadelphia Jr Flyers 3-1, Boston Advantage 7-0 and the Buffalo Regals 4-0. The team then faced a rematch against the Jr Flyers for the Championship Game, and prevailed with a 6-4 victory. Congrats to the team for a very solid effort all weekend!

TEAM COMCAST "AAA" YOUTH HOCKEY CLUB RECEIVES GRANT TO IMPLEMENT CONCUSSION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
Team Comcast, a USA Hockey Tier I Youth Hockey club, through a grant from The Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is developing and conducting a concussion management program for Team Comcast youth hockey players. This concussion management program includes education for the parents, coaches and players involved with the club, as well as pre-season baseline neurocognitive testing for all players ages 11-years-old and above, all in an effort to optimally manage concussions during the season in a proactive manner. The grant provides Team Comcast the benefit of testing all of its players once for each of the next two seasons, as well as the necessary funding to have CHOP doctors deliver concussion awareness and management education to all of its families. Click here for the more information!

NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING BUREAU'S PLAYERS TO WATCH LIST RELEASED!
FORMER TEAM COMCAST PLAYERS LUUKKO, SMITH, AND HELLER NAMED

The recent NHL Central Scouting Bureau's Players to Watch List was released for the upcoming 2010 Draft and included several former Team Comcast players. The format for the Players to Watch List consists of 3 different grading criteria:

A Rating -- A 'must see' player who is predicted to be a potential First or Second Round Draft selection in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft

B Rating -- A player to note if you are in the area, a potential selection in the Third to Fifth Round Draft Selection in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft

C Rating -- A player that Central Scouting is tracking, a potential late round selection in the upcoming NHL Entry Draft

Nick Luukko '91 was the only 'B' ranked former Team Comcast player, currently playing for the Gunnery. Standing at nearly 6'4" and 185 lbs., Nick certainly has the potential to be a high NHL pick as a big, right-handed defenseman. Kyle Smith '92 and Thane Heller '92 were both listed as 'C' players while playing this season for the Boston Junior Bruins in the EJHL. Kyle and Thane made the jump from last year's National Championship runner-up 16u Team Comcast team to the Junior A level. Andrew Tegeler '92, another member of the Team Comcast 16u National Championship runner-up team, found himself listed as a 'C' player after a strong showing last year at Nationals and a good start this fall in New England. Andrew is currently at the Westminster School in Simsbury, CT. Chris McCarthy '91 was listed as a 'C' player after coming out to a great start as a freshman forward at the University of Vermont. Chris transitioned from Team Comcast 16u two seasons ago to the US National Team Development Program last season, to the Division 1 level this year and continues to impress as he climbs the ranks. Finally, Dom Racobaldo '92 was also rated a 'C' player as he currently plays for Shattuck St. Mary's Prep team.

19 TEAM COMCAST PLAYERS CURRENTLY ON USHL DRAFT LIST!

'92 Birth Year:
Gabe Antoni          Dan Divis          Jamie Hill          Michael McCarthy          Kyle Smith          Andrew Tegeler
'93 Birth Year:
David Ferriera     Zane Popilock
'94 Birth Year:
Ryan Badger        Avni Breshia          Bradley Buvinow          Nick Cyr
Chase Hatcher     Eamon McAdam     Mark Petaccio              Dylan Plitt
Patrick Quarry      Drew Smolcynski   John Stevens

TEAM COMCAST'S 16U CLUB TAKES SILVER AT NATIONALS!
On April 1-5, 2009, Team Comcast's 16U Club traveled to Chesterfield, MO., to take part in the USA Hockey National Championships. Team Comcast advanced to the USA Hockey National Championship Game where they were defeated by the score of 3-1. For complete coverage of USA Hockey Nationals, Click Here! CONGRATULATIONS GUYS!

TEAM COMCAST ACCEPTED INTO NEWLY FORMED EASTERN DIVISION
OF THE TIER ONE ELITE LEAGUE

Team Comcast has been accepted into the Tier One Elite League, and our 18U Team will compete in the Eastern Division with the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers, Boston Advantage, Buffalo Regals, and Pittsburgh Hornets. The full-season league, known prior to last season as the Midwest Elite Hockey League, has added seven teams, dropped two others, and now totals 25. The expansion teams are the Columbus AAA Blue Jackets, LA Selects, Colorado Thunderbirds, Boston Advantage, Team Comcast, Philadelphia Jr. Flyers, and the Buffalo Regals. The Mahoning Valley Phantoms and S2 Clubs have been dropped. In addition, there's been some reshuffling in an effort to line things up more geographically. Here's how the new divisions look:

Chicago Division

Detroit Division

Mid-Am Division

West Division

East Division

Chicago Young Americans
Chicago Mission
Team Illinois
Chicago Fury
Madison Capitals

Honeybaked
Victory Honda
Little Caesar's
Belle Tire
Compuware
Cleveland Barons
St. Louis Amateur Blues
Columbus AAA Blue Jackets
Dallas Stars
Russell Stover LA Jr. Kings
PF Chang's
Colorado Rampage
LA Selects
Colorado Thunderbirds Boston Advantage
Pittsburgh Hornets
Team Comcast
Philadelphia Jr. Flyers
Buffalo Regals

All away games against the other four divisions will be played in showcase style tournaments requiring only 3-4 flights total. The East Division's 5 teams would travel to each of the other 4 divisions showcase hosts site. They would then play each team of that division for 5 showcase games. The East division would also host four showcase events that the other teams would travel to for the 5 game showcase. With a balanced schedule, each team plays each other twice for a total of a 48-game season.

TIER I TEAM COMCAST '09-'10 SEASON BROCHURE HAS ARRIVED!
To view the '09-'10 brochure, click here!

TEAM COMCAST ANNOUNCES HEAD COACHES FOR NEXT SEASON!

'00's - Mario Tropea
'99's - Derian Hatcher
'98's - Keith Primeau / Kevin Weller
'97's - Keith Primeau / Kevin Weller
'96's - Bob Anderson
'95's - Mitch Larnerd
16U National's - Rob Badger
18U - Jared Beach

THREE TEAM COMCAST TEAMS PACK THEIR BAGS FOR USA HOCKEY NATIONALS!
Congratulations to the Team Comcast 16U, '94, & '96 teams for advancing to Nationals!
The '96 team defeated the NJ Avalanche (8-4) Friday, and again on Saturday (5-2). The '94 team defeated the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers (7-1) on Friday, and again on Saturday (8-0). The 16U team defeated the Philadelphia Little Flyers on March 5 (8-2) and again on March 7 (14-5).
Click Here to see the Press Release

Above: Team Comcast's '96's celebrate their 2009 Atlantic District Championship!

Above: Team Comcast's '94's celebrate their 2009 Atlantic District Championship!

TWO TEAMS WIN AYHL CHAMPIONSHIPS!
Congrats to the '94 & '96 teams for winning the AYHL Championship. The '94's went 3-0 defeating the Philadelphia Junior Flyers (7-3), the North Jersey Avalanche (5-3), and the New Jersey Colonials (8-1). The '96's went 5-0 over the weekend defeating the Mid Fairfield (4-1),Washington Little Caps (4-3), New Jersey Rockets (9-2), Connecticut Wolves (8-4), and the Long Island Gulls (7-5). Good Luck as you move on to the best-of-three tournament! The best-of-three tournament will be held from March 13-15 at Ice Line.

The '96 team poses for a picture after winning the '08-'09 AYHL Championship

THREE TEAMS CLINCH 1ST PLACE IN THE DISTRICT!
Click Here to see the press release
Congrats to the PeeWee (12U), Bantam (14U), and the Midget (16U) National teams for clinching 1st place in the District at their respective levels. Good luck as you move on to play in the best-of-three playoff for the opportunity to go to the USA Hockey National Championships! See each team's impressive league & district records below:
PeeWee Major ('96 Team)
22-4-2 League Record (1st place in League)
14-1-1 District Record (1st in District Standings)

Bantam Major ('94 Team)
26-2-0 League Record (1st place in League)
15-1-0 District Record (1st in District Standings)

Midget 16U National Team
19-3-0 League Record (2nd place in League)
22-2-0 District Record (1st in District Standings)

'99 Team Wins Prestigious Bell Capital Cup!
Coach Keith Primeau and the 99 Squirt Minor team won the Atom Minor AA division at the Bell Capital Cup in Ottawa, Ontario over the New Year break. After victories over the Clarington Toros and Newmarket Redmen, the boys advanced to the playoff round through a hard-fought tie with the Markham Islanders. They then went on to shut out the Scarborough Young Bruins before finally winning the championship with a double-overtime, 4-3 win over the Gloucester Blackhawks. The 99s also had three of the top 10 scorers (Matt Cassidy, Thomas Pusey, and Drew Murtha) through the first round of the playoffs. Congratulations, boys!

'96 Team Wins Silver The PeeWee Silver Stick Championship!
In January Frank Carto and the PeeWee Major team will travel to Port Huron, MI to participate in International Championships. Way to go guys!

Team Comcast 16U National Team Ranked #1 in U.S. by MYHockey Rankings!
The Team Comcast 16U National Team has started the season with five strong wins against just two losses, and the team's efforts have resulted in a #1 ranking in the first weekly ranking of the 2008-09 season. Click here to view the rankings!

'98 Team Finishes Runner-Up Twice This Summer
James Laux coached the summer squirt major team to runner-up finishes in this summer's Portand Lobsterfest Tournament and the Durham Hockey Institute invitational. And just think... Laux hasn't even been with Team Comcast for a full season yet. Laux will be coaching both the 16U American and the '95 Bantam Minor teams this season.

'95 Team Finishes Second At Top Gun Tourney!!!

'94 Team Wins Face Off Championship