Massachusetts Hockey’s Annual Meeting took place this past weekend, June 17th and 18th. This meeting was a chance to celebrate and honor our volunteers as well as review and alter Massachusetts Hockey’s regulations and policies. As we are coming out of the pandemic this was a great space to discuss the challenges we have faced throughout the pandemic as well as the opportunities that lie ahead. 

The meeting kicked off with opening remarks from Massachusetts Hockey President, Bob Joyce (Newton, Mass.), in which Bob announced this year’s service awards. This year’s awards also included the newly renamed Steve and Terry Palmacci President’s Award to honor the efforts of Steve and Terry Palmacci which was presented to Christopher Gong (Hingham, Mass.) who serves as 5th Vice President to Massachusetts Hockey, a Director in the Girls/Women’s District, Co-Chair of the Rules Committee, Co-Chair of our DE&I Committee and Co-Chair of the Audit Committee. Massachusetts Hockey also honored John Murray (Tewksbury, Mass.) as he received the Richard “Duke” Kumpel Special Achievement Award for his work as Referee Coordinator and as Massachusetts’ USA Hockey High School Section Representative.  For more information on this year’s service award winners, view the materials below.

USA Hockey Assistant Executive Director of Hockey Development, Bob Mancini, USA Hockey ADM Manager Roger Grillo, and Massachusetts Hockey Coach-In-Chief, Paul Moore (Falmouth, Mass.) made presentations on the American Development Model, officiating, and coaching.  Also discussed were the efforts of the new USA Hockey Officiating Task Force which is aiming to formulate a plan to attract, educate and retain officials both within the state of Massachusetts as well as across the country. This discussion offered what the task force has achieved, what they are setting out to do, and how to help.

Chris Holden (Norfolk, Mass.), Treasurer of Massachusetts Hockey, provided a financial update and budget review. Following that, Peter Giuliano (Malden, Mass.), State Tournament Chair for Massachusetts Hockey presented a tournament review as well as a preview for the upcoming year. Additionally, Mark Boldrighini (Littleton, Mass.), District 8 Registrar, conducted a CPR Training Course to provide safety resources for our volunteers.

The Annual Meeting wrapped up by hosting a Board of Directors meeting in which this year’s elections and legislative proposals were voted on. This meeting also included both a President’s Report by Bob Joyce as well as the Executive Director’s Report from Kevin Kavanagh (Duxbury, Mass.). In the President’s report, Joyce noted the challenges Massachusetts Hockey has faced, including the lack of officials and the abuse that they face and efforts to improve upon this problem. In his Executive Director’s report, Kavanagh discussed the opportunity to refocus priorities from a staffing perspective, including upcoming improvements to the communications platform, continued management of signature events and additional support to the program leaders throughout the state. Jeff Brown (Agawam, Mass.) presented all legislative proposals which were, in turn, voted on and followed by elections. For more information on this year’s election results, view the materials below. 

Massachusetts Hockey’s annual meeting concluded on Saturday afternoon.

Complete List of Service Award Recipients:

5 Years of Service: David Hymovitz

10 Years of Service: Tom Sweeney

10 Years of Service: Pat McCarthy

10 Years of Service Gary Gates

15 Years of Service: Billy Marcotte

15 Years of Service: David Costa

30 Years of Service: Felix Costanza

Complete List of Annual Award Recipients:

Dr. Alan Ashare Safety Award: Ryan Coleman

Ron & Jo DiFilippo Registrar Award: Janet Harrington

Milt Kauffman Officiating Award: Mark Rhodes

Richard “Duke” Kumpel Special Achievement Award: John Murray

Steve & Terry Palmacci President’s Award: Christopher Gong

Complete List of Elected Positions:

1st Vice President: Jeff Brown

2nd Vice President: Christine Mayer

4th Vice President: Tom McGrath

Secretary: Tim McMahon

Director at Large Executive Board: Gary Gates & Mark Kumpel

USA High School Section Representative: John Murray

USA Girls/Women’s Section Representative: Mark Lissner

USA Disabled Section Representative: Ray Leblanc

USA Hockey Director: Bob Joyce

Massachusetts Hockey has announced that 60 girls have been chosen to attend the 2022 USA Hockey Girls Under 18 Select National Player Development Camp, Girls 16/17 National Player Development Camp or the Girls 15 National Player Development Camp. The selected players will be representing the state of Massachusetts after being a part of the girls Final 40 at the CCM Massachusetts Hockey High Performance Program in June.  

The girls Final 40 took place on June 4th and 5th at New England Sports Center in which 40 girls from each age group, 2005, 2006, and 2007 played for a chance to lock in a spot and were evaluated. The Final 40 event was a culmination of a three-tiered selection process that began with an open tryout back in March.

The girls selected will be a part of three USA Hockey development camps which will both occur in June and July at St. Cloud University in St. Cloud, Minnesota. At these camps a weeklong experience will take place exposing participants to best practices and strategies for the players to take home and continue to develop their skills for future seasons.

Click here to see current list of participants at each birth year: