Hello AOTHA!

Here are the details for the end of season party:

• WHEN: February 29, 2020 – 8:00pm – 12:30am
• WHERE: Sauk Valley :: 10750 Prospect Hill Hwy., Brooklyn , MI 49230

All AOTHA players plus a date are invited. Music by the Mark Arshak Band will begin at 8:30. Beer, Wine and finger foods will be provided – donations will be accepted.

Neon, Orange, and Gold each won their second game and locked up a spot in the semi-finals.  With one remaining spot, five teams enter the final weekend of games with a chance at securing that last spot.  Reminder, whether your team gets into the semi-finals or is eliminated, stay tuned for a schedule that includes all teams for one more week!  After two weeks of playoffs, here are the standings:

Place	Team	Points	Seed
1	Neon	4	2
2	Orange	4	4
3	Gold	4	6
4	Silver	2	7
5	Teal	2	8
6	Green	2	9
7	Purple	2	10
8	Red	0	1
9	Black	0	3
10	Yellow	0	5

Neon, Orange, and Gold locked up a spot, but their matchups are yet to be determined.  Each and every game coming up has a potential implication, but I will talk about them out of order, in the order of controlling their destiny towards securing that final spot.

In the third game, on 2/9 at 7:30 PM, Silver will face Orange.  Orange can finish anywhere from 1^st to 3^rd, but a Silver win locks them in the 4^th spot.  A tie will mean that a Teal, Green, or Purple victory bumps them out, and losses or ties by those teams leave them in.  Orange leads the season series with a win and a tie.

In the first game, on 2/2 at 8:30 PM, Black will face Teal.  If Teal takes a point more than Silver, they will claim the 4^th spot.  Black swept the regular season series with two wins, but will not be able to reach the semi-finals with the clean sweep.

In the fourth game, on 2/9 at 8:30 PM, Green will face Neon.  Neon can finish anywhere form 1^st to 3^rd, but Green will need a point more than Silver and Teal to claim the 4^th spot.  Neon and Green split the regular season series, each claiming one victory.

In the second game, on 2/2 at 9:30 PM, Red will face Purple.  If Silver, Teal, and Green lose, Red can still get in with a win, owning the tie breaker with everyone.  Purple can get in as well, by getting more points than Silver, Gold, Teal, and Green as well.  Red swept the regular season series with two wins.

The final game of the round is on 2/9, at 9:30 PM, between Yellow and Gold.  Gold can finish anywhere from 1^st to 3^rd, and Yellow will not be able to make these semi-finals.  Gold leads the season series with a win and a tie.

There will be two open Captain positions for the 2020-2021 season. Please email aothallc@gmail.com by 8:00am on February 3rd if you are interested in being a candidate for this opportunity.

Also, an end-of-season banquet is being planned for February 29th at Sauk Valley. Time and additional details will be distributed as soon as they are set.

All AOTHA players and families are welcome to enjoy a day of Adrian College Hockey with free general admission tickets this Saturday, January 25, 2020 for the NCAA matchup at 3pm versus Lawrence and also for the ACHA tilt at 7pm versus Robert Morris-Illinois.

Go Bulldogs!

The first week of the playoffs are in the books, with a lot of games yet to be played to determine the semi-final participants.  Reminder that this group is determined by points in this round of three, with seed as the only tie breaker.  Here are the standings after these games:

Place	Team	Points	Seed
1	Neon	2	2
2	Orange	2	4
3	Gold	2	6
4	Teal	2	8
5	Green	2	9
6	Red	0	1
7	Black	0	3
8	Yellow	0	5
9	Silver	0	7
10	Purple	0	10

With four of the five teams sitting with 2 points after week one facing each other, expect turnover in the standings after another round of games, spread over the next two Sundays.

The games on the 19^th open with a Black versus Orange, 3 versus 4 seed, rematch at 6:30 PM.  Black was 2-0-0 against Orange in the regular season and will need to complete the sweep to keep their playoff dreams alive.  Orange has only netted 1 goal against Black in those two games but finding a way to grind out a win here, their second of the round, will likely put them through to the semi-finals.

This game will be followed at 7:30 PM with a Neon versus Teal, 2 versus 8 seed, rematch.  They split the season series, 1-1-0, and are both coming off big playoff opening victories.  Neon’s seed means a win here likely puts them in the semi-finals, where Teal will need the win to control its own destiny in the final week.

The evening will end with an 8:30 PM rematch of Red and Silver, 1 versus 7 seed.  Red owned the season series at 2-0-0, but that was before their two-game slide that ended their undefeated run and bridged the regular season and playoffs.  The team that loses here will be spectators for the semi-final round, where the winner will play the final game of the round with a chance to advance.

The games resume on the 26^th at 7:30 PM, with a Gold versus Green, 6 versus 9 seed, rematch.  Gold edged out Green during the regular season, 1-0-1, with a last-minute goal separating these teams from two ties.  Having both won their opening games, either will be well positioned with a second victory, but may need more in the final game due to their seeds.

Finally at 8:30 PM, the Yellow versus Purple, 5 versus 10 seed, rematch will complete the second games.  Yellow edged out Purple 1-0-1 during the regular season, but both teams enter this game needing a win to be playing for a chance to advance in their next game.

Now that the regular season is complete, the playoff round of three matchups have been set.  As a reminder, seeding is determined by points, then wins, head to head, and finally point differential.

Red backed into the playoffs first seed with their first loss of the season, finishing with 32 points.  Led by 5 goal scorers in double digits while allowing a meager 2.78 goals against per game, Red should prove a tough matchup for Gold, Silver, and Purple in this round, who they have a perfect 6-0-0 record against.

Neon pulled off the first defeat of Red in that final game of the regular season to secure the second seed, with 22 points.  They road 4 double digit goal scorers to the second most goals scored this season to earn matchups with Yellow, Teal, and Green in this round.  In these matchups during the regular season, Neon finished 3-2-1.

Black moved up a seed on the final day of the regular season, with a defeat of Green, earning the third seed, with 20 points.  While Black’s last two games of the year were a 4 goal loss and a 4 goal win, those were the outliers in a season where they kept all their games tight with timely scoring and stellar goaltending.  Their third seed earns them matchups against Green, Orange, and Teal in this round, against whom they are a perfect 6-0-0.

Orange fell to the fourth seed with a loss to Yellow, at 19 points.  With the loss they tied Yellow in points for the season, where they hold the tiebreaker of more wins.  Orange took league lows in goals for and goals against while securing matchups against Purple, Black, and Silver in this round.  Orange finished the regular season with a 3-2-1 record against these teams.

Yellow finished with a W and 19 points, with wins being the tiebreaker pushing them down to the fifth seed.  Yellow took the more traditional senior hockey route, high scoring, with the third most goals scored, and second most allowed, to earn their matchups with Neon, Purple, and Gold in this round.  In these matchups during the regular season, Yellow finished 1-2-3

Gold dropped their last two games of the season, falling below 500 and finishing with 16 points, for a sixth seed.  Gold managed to tie 8 of their 18 regular season games, earning them matchups against Red, Green, and Yellow in this round, against whom they have a 2-2-2 record.

Silver got the W against Gold to end their regular season, earning them 15 points, and a seventh seed.  Silver’s five wins came against five of the nine teams, earning them matchups against three of the four they have yet to defeat; Teal, Red, and Orange in this round, who they have an 0-4-2 record against.

Teal got the W as well to climb into the eighth seed, with 14 points.  Needing to stave off Purple to avoid the tenth seed, they rallied in the game to the W and the climb in the standings.  They have earned matchups with Silver, Neon, and Black in this round, where they bring a 2-3-1 record.

Green fell to ninth seed with their loss to Black, finishing with 13 points.  Struggling to find consistent scoring finishing nine games with less than 3 goals scored.  Their ninth seed earns them matchups with Black, Gold, and Neon in this round, against whom the are a combined 1-4-1.

Purple’s loss locked them into the tenth seed, with 10 points.  The league high goals allowed earned them matchups against Orange, Yellow, and Red in this round, where they finished the regular season 0-5-1.

All teams are guaranteed these three games, after which the top four point earners in these three games will advance (2 points for a win, 1 for a tie, and 0 for a loss), with the higher seed winning the tiebreakers to advance to the semi-finals.  Last year’s semi-final matchups included the 2, 3, 6, and 7 seeds, where the year prior included the 1, 2, 4, and 6 seeds.  Good luck to everyone! 

With one last round of regular season games to be played, most of the teams have yet to settle on their final seed. Only Red at #1 know where they will finish the regular season and when they will play in the playoff round of three. Neon and Orange can finish anywhere from #2 to #4, Black from #2 to #5, Yellow from #4 to #6, and Gold will finish #5 or #6. Purple is virtually guaranteed the #10 seed, I will detail the remote chance at #9 below, where Silver, Green and Teal will need the final week to determine who is in the #7, #8, and #9 seed, where Teal would be the team that could drop to #10.

Reminder, all teams will skate in a three game playoff round, matchups determined by seed, where four teams will advance to a semi-final, while the other six play one last time outside of the playoffs. This means all teams should plan for four more games, with the possibility for a fifth.

Regular season seeding is determined by:
1) Points
2) Wins
3) Head to head
4) Point differential

Yellow and Orange open the final night of the regular season with a late 6:30 start. Orange secures a #2 seed with a win and less than a win for Neon, or can attain #2 seed with a tie, with a Neon loss and less than a win for Black. Orange falls to #4 with a loss and a Black win. All other scenarios have Orange in the #3 seed. Yellow can finish as high as #4 with a win and less than a win for Black. A Yellow loss and a Gold win have Yellow finishing in the #6 seed. All other scenarios have Yellow in the #5 seed.

Action continues at 7:30 with a Gold versus Silver rematch. If Yellow lost in the early game, a Gold win has them finishing in the #5 seed. All other scenarios have Gold finishing in the #6 seed. Silver secures the #7 seed with a win and less than a win from Green, or a tie in their game with a loss by Green and less than a win by Teal. Silver falls all the way to #9 with a loss and better than a loss by Teal. All other scenarios have Silver finishing at #8.

After these first two games, we will know whether Yellow or Gold finish in the #6 seed, which will face the #1 (Red), #5, and #9 seeds.

The two teams sitting atop the standing heading into the last week, Red and Neon, will face off at 8:30. Neon can fall all the way to #4 with a loss and a Black win, as well as Orange better than a loss. Neon can finish at #3 with a loss and only one of those Black / Orange scenarios, or a Neon tie and an Orange win. All other scenarios have Neon in the #2 seed. All scenarios have Red in the #1 seed, with only their goose egg in the loss column at stake on this final night.

As the #1 seed, Red will face the #6, #7, and #10 seeds.

The two teams sitting at the bottom of the standings heading into the last week, Purple and Teal, will face off at 9:30. A Purple victory would have them tied with Teal for points, wins, and head to head, needing point differential to pass them via tie breaker. Given Purple is 16 goals worse than Teal on goal differential heading into the final game, it would take better than that to lock in the #9 seed. All other scenarios have Purple finishing in the #10 seed. Teal also owns tie breakers with Silver and Green, and can move into the #7 seed by getting 1 more point than both this final week, or the #8 seed by getting 1 more than either of them. Already detailed the scenario where they fall to #10, and all other scenarios have them finishing in #9.

Whether it is Teal or Purple that finish in the #10 seed, they will face #1 (Red), #4 and #5 seeds in the coming weeks.

The regular season will come to a close with a 10:30 rematch between Black and Green. Black can climb as high as #2 with a win, a Neon loss, and less than a win by Orange. They can get to the #3 seed with a win and only one of those Neon/Orange scenarios. They will fall to #5 with a tie and a Yellow win, or a loss and better than a loss by Yellow. All other scenarios and they will finish in the #4 seed. Green will finish with the #7 seed with a win, or a tie with less than a win by both Silver and Teal, or a loss with a Silver and Teal loss. They will finish in #8 if Silver or Teal get one more point, or #9 if they both do.

Whether it is Neon, Orange or Black in the #2 seed, they will face the #5, #8 and #9 seeds. Those same teams could end up in the #3 seed, where they will face the #4, #8, and #9 seeds. One of those teams will fall further, and compete with Yellow for the #4 seed, which will face the #3, #7, and #10 seeds. Finally, whether it is Black, Yellow, or Gold in the #5 seed, they will face the #2, #6, and #10 seeds.

Green, Silver, and Teal are competing for the #7 seed, to face #1 (Red), #4, and #8 seeds. They are also competing for the #8 seed, to face #2, #3, and #7 seeds. Finally, any of those three teams, along with Purple, could end up in the #9 seed, where they will face the #2, #3, and #6 seeds.

Look for updates next week about the Playoffs and matchups. While the lower seeds certainly have a tougher schedule to make it to the semi-finals, all teams will begin the Playoffs needing only three wins to ensure their semi-final berth. Good luck!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:              Gregg DeVitto – President

                              Adrian Youth Hockey Association/Lenawee United Hockey

                              (248) 504-7472

Date:                    November 20, 2019

Lenawee United Hockey Set to Open Inaugural Season

(Adrian, MI) – Lenawee United Hockey, the first ever county-based high school ice hockey Varsity Co-Op team, opens the 2019-20 regular season this Friday, November 22 at Arrington Ice Arena on the campus of Adrian College.

Lenawee United plays host to the Whitmer (Ohio) HS Panthers in a non-League match-up beginning at 6:00 PM.  Game day tickets are just $5 for adults and $3 for students.

Included in the opening day activities will be a ceremonial opening face-off with recently retired Adrian High School Athletic Director John Roberts and current Tecumseh High School Athletic Director Jon Zajac.  The Adrian Youth Hockey Association’s 6U and 8U teams will also welcome the new high school team onto the ice through a “player tunnel.”

“It’s a bit surreal that we’ve finally made it to this point,” says Lenawee United Hockey President Gregg DeVitto.  “A little over 12 years ago, ice hockey in Lenawee County didn’t even exist.  The success of the Adrian College NCAA teams, the gradual building of the Adrian Youth Hockey Association, and the partnership with the participating schools have all contributed to the development of the program.”

Lenawee United Hockey’s Varsity team includes student-athletes from Adrian, Tecumseh, Clinton, Onsted, Addison, and Lenawee Christian School.

Following Friday’s game, Lenawee United is right back in action at Arrington Ice Arena on Saturday, November 23 in a 12:00 PM match-up with the Anthony Wayne (Ohio) Generals.

To follow Lenawee United Hockey and for additional information, please go to www.AdrianHockey.com and click on the Lenawee United High School team tab.  The team is also found on Facebook and Twitter. 

On Saturday, November 9th, at 12:00pm, Arrington Ice Arena will be hosting the first high school hockey team in Lenawee County, Lenawee United in a matchup vs. Lake, OH.

Lenawee United is comprised of students from Adrian, Tecumseh, Blissfield, Onsted, Addison, and Madison.

Additional November home games at Arrington Ice Arena are:

Friday, November 22 at 6:00pm vs. Whitmer, OH

Saturday, November 23 at 12:00pm vs. Anthony Wayne, OH

Lenawee United will also be playing home games in Jackson and Chelsea and looks forward to AOTHA’s support as they embark on their inaugural season.