With no games scheduled for this week, there will be drop-in from 8:00-10:00pm on Sunday, February 28th.

Welcome back AOTHA!

The schedule is completed and is currently being added to the website. While it is our desire to have the schedule set in stone, please understand that in the age of COVID, this schedule is subject to change quickly. In January, there will most likely be some changes as the college hockey seasons get under way.

Captains will do their best to make you aware of changes as they occur.

The total schedule will be on the website by the end of this weekend, so check back soon for dates and times.

AOTHA Members,

First and most importantly, we hope that everyone has been able to make the best of the last six months of 2020 and that everyone and their families have been well.

We are hopeful for and making plans for an October 4th, 2020 start to the 2020/21 AOTHA season. We do this with the realization that because of various restrictions attributed to the ‘covid pandemic’, there are circumstances out of our control as well as Adrian College’s control, that play major factors in their ability to fully open the rink and our ability to access it.

As we look at all of our options, we see that there are multiple ways that this could all play out. In a perfect scenario, we start our season on the hopeful 10/4/20 start date and play a full season which we are optimistically preparing for. We are also prepared to make adjustments to facilitate any changes that may occur along the way that could affect our season such as; starting earlier, starting later, having a shortened season, playing later into next year, bench and locker room cleaning/sanitizing requirements, etc. etc.

The fact remains that we as well as A/C’s A.I.A. are at the ‘mercy’ of our governor and other governing bodies directly related to a college facility.

As we do look at a hopeful start date of 10/4/20, we have extended the season fee’s due date to September 7th, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. We anticipate conducting the draft soon after that date. In the event that our season game total, as compared to previous years, is shortened all members will be given a pro-rated refund of season dues.

Thank you all for the patience and understanding during this so far and please, let me assure you that we are doing everything with the best interest of the league and its members in mind. We all want to be back on the ice as quickly and safely as possible. As more, definitive information is known it will be passed along through last year’s team captains.

We genuinely look forward to seeing everyone at the rink, hopefully sooner than later!

Brett White, AOTHA BOARD PRESIDENT

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!