THE
TM
Weekly Newspaper
911 Franklin Street Michigan City, IN 46360
Volume 25, Number 11 Thursday, March 26, 2009
Yes, There is High School Hockey in Northwest Indiana!
by Michael Schoonaert
Michael Schoonaert has always wanted to play ice hockey ever since rst skating on Lake Clare, where his father Mark Schoonaert lived. After donning skates for the rst time he watched his rst hockey game on TV. Soon it was a trip to see the Chicago Wolves, which led to season tickets for him and his father. Michael spent almost every day skating on the pond or roller blading and practicing his stick handling and shooting skills. However, opportunities to play were limited. The high school teams in South Bend have many players who have been playing since they were six years old on teams at the Ice Box Skating Rink. It was not a place where a high school sophomore from Michigan City High School could learn the skills needed to play the game when everyone else was so advanced. His father Mark happened to be talking to a business associate, Mike Blessing, from Merrillville Tent and Awning Co. and the subject of hockey came up. It turned out that Mike was a hockey coach and ran a men's league that played home games at Midwest Training and Ice Center in Dyer, IN. The players in that league were from 23 to 45 years in age and had
played for many years. After nding out that Michael was bigger than Mr. Blessing he invited Mark to bring Michael over to try a skate with the men's league. Mark and Michael drove to several rinks in the Chicago suburbs so he could have a couple hours of skating time since he had never skated on an ice rink before. In Michael's rst game with the men he scored a goal. Mike Blessing began talking to coaches and people from the Illiana Ice Hockey League. The Illiana Hockey League consists of schools from Portage, Munster, Lake Central, Homewood-Flossmoore and Crown Point. They also play teams from South Bend, St. Joe, Fort Wayne and Indianapolis. Valparaiso also has a team that is associated with Michiana Hockey League in South Bend. This league is part of USA Hockey and follows the rules dictated by the Indiana State High School Hockey Association (ISHHA) which covers all 38 High School Hockey teams in Indiana. Many high schools do not have ice hockey teams, but teams are formed in areas around certain high schools and are called "combined teams". Michigan City is part of the Portage combined area and must meet all of Hockey Continued on Page 2

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