Make a Wish Weekend

The New Hampshire Legends of Hockey are pleased to once again help support the Make-A-Wish All-Star Hockey Classic for New Hampshire and Vermont Seniors. Both the girls and boys New Hampshire teams will proudly be wearing the Legends Jersey.  In addition, for the second year, the Legends are one of the DP Production Group sponsors.

The Make-A-Wish All-Star Hockey Classic returns for another year at Gutterson Fieldhouse this weekend.

The Vermont and New Hampshire boys will square off for the 32nd time on Saturday, June 29, while the girls game reaches is set for its 27th meeting. The showcase features the top graduated high school seniors of Vermont and Hampshire.

The girls contest is slated to start at 3:30 p.m., the boys game at approximately 6:30. Tickets are $15 for adults, $5 for students (ages 7-17). Children 6 and under are free.

Tonight (Friday) there will be a skills competition.

The boy’s team will be coached by Exeter Head Coach Paul DiMarino and Assistant Henrik Barbin.  The girl’s team will be led by Head Coach Aaron House and his Kingswood-Prospect Mount assistants Shane Flood, Tom Jumper and Dave Sykes.  To view the NH boy’s roster click here and for the girl’s click here.

Here’s the link for this weekend-

https://www.dppgnetwork.com/watch-dppg

The skills competition, girl’s game, and boy’s game can all be seen LIVE & on-demand through their link as well as through their Roku channel.

All viewing options are free to watch live and on-demand through their website & Roku channel. There will be an option to download the film through the DP Production Group website at a minimal cost. Viewing through the DP Production website is always free.

MAKE A WISH
Make-A-Wish began in 1980, when a seven-year-old boy in Phoenix, Arizona with leukemia expressed his wish to be a police officer. A group of officers from the Arizona Department of Public Safety granted his wish by giving him a custom-made uniform, helmet, badge and even a helicopter ride! The young boy’s delight in having his wish granted inspired the group to form an organization which would grant the special wishes of other children.

Any child between 2 1/2 and 18 years of age who has been determined by their physician to have a life-threatening medical condition is eligible for a wish. Make-A-Wish grants wishes to eligible children regardless of race, religion or socioeconomic status.

The average cost a wish is more than $10,000. Money for these wishes is raised by fund-raising events such as the All-Star Hockey Classic and through the generosity of corporations and people in our communities.

Make-A-Wish® New Hampshire celebrates over 30 years of granting wishes to children battling life-threatening medical conditions. The chapter has granted over 1,600 wishes to date. Alex’s wish for a synthetic ice hockey rink in his backyard makes this continued partnership all the more exciting, as we continue to strive to grant the wish of every eligible child in New Hampshire. For more information on the New Hampshire chapter, please visit www.nh.wish.org, find us on Facebook Make-A-Wish New Hampshire, follow us on Twitter @MakeAWishNH or give us a call at (603)623-9474.

Make-A-Wish® Vermont, established in 1989, grants wishes to Vermont children facing life-threatening medical conditions.  The Vermont chapter’s first wish was a trip for Bonnie, an 11-year-old girl, to meet her favorite television characters: Larry, Darryl, and Darryl of the Bob Newhart Show.  Since that time, the Vermont chapter has granted the wish of every medically-eligible child referred to us, over 830 wishes to date.  For more information on the Vermont chapter, please visit www.vermont.wish.org, like us on Facebook.com/makeawishvt, follow us on Twitter.com/MakeAWishVT, or call us at (802) 864-9393.

2024 Golf Classic 3 Weeks Away

Our 16th Golf Classic will be held Friday July 12, 2024 at the Stonebridge Country Club in Goffstown, NH.

Re-registration starts at 7:00 am and runs until 8:00 AM.  The famous air-horn start will kick off the tournament at 8:30 am from your designated hole.  One Hundred and twenty-eight golfers have signed up and paid, but we still have one foursome opening.

PLAYERS

So, if you are interested in one of the last two groups, talk it over with your buddies and contact Jim Hayes immediately either at 743hayes@gmail.com or 603-731-4168.  Player fees are $175.00 per person. If paying for more than yourself, please list names of each participant.  You can pay with a credit card on the Golf Classic event page.

To view 2024 Foursome list click here.

SPONSORSHIPS

We will still accept additional Bronze, Silver and we are looking for a sponsor of our Hole-In-One contest which the winner would receive two tickets to a 2025 Stanley Cup finals game.

  • Bronze Sponsorship $150
  • Silver Sponsorship $250
  • Hole-In-One Sponsorship $350  

Deadlines for these sponsorship opportunities is June 21st.  To view our 2024 sponsors, click here. 

AUCTION

Part of our Golf Classic is an auction which begins prior to the tournament date.  This will be sent out with a BUY-NOW option online.  Here are just a few items which include greens fees for four with two carts at each of these private clubs.

Lake Winnipesaukee Golf Club – since 2009
Nashua Country Club – Since 2012
Wentworth By the Sea Country Club – Since 2019
Concord Country Club – Since 2022
Cochecho Country Club – Since 2023
Eastman Golf Links – Since 2023
Lake Sunapee Country Club – Inaugural Year
Boston Bruins Alumni Sky Box – October-December 2024 (two tickets)

HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2024 ANNOUNCED

The New Hampshire Legends of Hockey is pleased to announce the four inductees who will make up its 22nd Hall of Fame class.

Mathew Myers and Fred Quistgard will be inducted as Coaches while Ron Gosselin and Dan Dagesse will be inducted as Builders.

The four will be formally enshrined during a ceremony on October 20, 2024. The Induction Ceremony & Luncheon will be held at the Grappone Conference Center in Concord.  In addition, the NH Selects (women’s youth team) will be honored.

The Hall of Fame Induction luncheon tickets will be available to the general public on September 1st. Please contact Executive Director Jim Hayes at 743hayes@gmail.com or (603) 731-4168.

Here is a look at the inductees.

MATHEW MYERS: Manchester native Mathew Myers (pictured above) has risen to the position of video coordinator on the coaching staff of the Boston Bruins. From his days as a student manager at UNH, Myers combined his passion for hockey with expertise in video software to build a successful career. He made it to the NHL as a video scout for the Nashville Predators in 2015-16 where he spent two seasons.  He then spent a year with the Buffalo Sabres and he’s been on the Bruins’ staff since 2019.

FRED QUISTGARD: Fred Quistgard has been developing the region’s goalies for more than nearly five decades. Currently the goaltending coach for the Maine Mariners (ECHL affiliate of the Boston Bruins), Quistgard has been active coaching on the New Hampshire youth, high school, junior and college levels since 1980. Nearly 50 years’ worth of New Hampshire goalies have learned from him through local clinics, private lessons at Puckstoppers Goaltending in Exeter, summer goalie schools, advice columns and USA Hockey development camps.

RON GOSSELIN: For nearly 50 years, Ronald “Ron” Gosselin has been a hockey entrepreneur as a team owner, equipment distributor and hockey school owner. He has owned or part-owned the Manchester “Junior A” Generals in the New England Junior A League, the Sherbrooke Beavers of the Major Junior Quebec Hockey League, the semipro Manchester Blackhawks in the revived New England Hockey League as well as the Manchester Junior A Canadians.

DAN DAGESSE: A native of Colebrook, Dagesse has become embedded in the hockey fabric of both the city of Berlin and the North Country. He has donated more than $550,000 for upgrades to nucar Notre Dame Arena and another $30,000 to Berlin Youth Hockey and the arena on an annual basis. The benefits of his financial support are felt today, with Berlin Youth Hockey having the largest enrollment in its history covering Gorham, Milan, Shelburne, Jefferson, Littleton, Lancaster, Stark as well as Berlin.

2024 Golf Classic 5 Weeks Away

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High School Senior All-Star Classic

Exeter, NH – On Sunday March 17th, at The Rinks at Exeter, the New Hampshire Legends of Hockey (“Legends”) hosted the Senior All-Star Classic Hockey game.

2024 Senior All-Star Players

The very best senior players from Division I, II and III played in front of several hundred family and friends.  Participating players were selected by the New Hampshire High School Hockey Coaches Association from their respective divisions.

This Legends event was once again sponsored by New Hampshire Distributors (NHD) of Concord.  NHD also provided post-game product samples for each player from PRIME HYDRATION.

Many thanks to the Legends official uniform cleaner –

To view and or purchase any photographs from Matt Parker Photography for the games CLICK HERE.

Players of the Year, L to R; Conor Dunn – Merrimack D II; Kolin Melanson – Berlin-Gorham DIII and Cam Keaveney – Exeter DI

Click here to open the program.

The players were divided into four teams of 16 players each.  Each team then played 25 minute running periods against each of the other three teams.

Legends Board of Directors. Front Row L to R: Dan Zapton; Jack Mudge; Tom Moulton; Jim Hayes; John Normand; Peter Maher and Mike Gould. Back Row: Ray Bernard; Tom Ferguson; Peter Noonan; Mike Young and Matt Roy. In attendance but missing from photo, Roland Martin and Pierre Belanger.

After the game, the coaches convened to select players to represent New Hampshire in the Make a Wish game against Vermont this summer.

The 32nd Annual Boy’s & 27th Annual Women’s VT/NH All-Star Hockey Classic benefiting Make-A-Wish Vermont and Make-A-Wish New Hampshire will take place at the Gutterson Field House at the University of Vermont on June 29th.  Players will once again be adorned in the New Hampshire Legends of Hockey uniforms.

The Skills competition will be held Friday night Jun2 28th.  At this time, the game time for the girl’s game and boy’s game has not been determined.

To view the rosters for the two game, CLICK HERE for the girl’s roster and CLICK HERE for the Boy’s.

Go to http://www.allstarhockeyclassicvtnh.org/ for details of the Vermont event for our Boys and Girls teams

Coaches Mike Poulin Berlin-Gorham; Joel Brown Portsmouth; Mike Young Dover and Tom Beaulieu Alvirne

Coach of the Year DI, Shawn Dunn Windham

High School Hockey News

CHAMPIONS CROWNED

Congratulations to the recently crowned 2024 Champions. Championships were held last Saturday at the SNHU Arena.  In the Girls Division, Hanover squeaked by Oyster River-Portsmouth 2-1.  It marked the thirteenth Championship for the Bears in the seventeen contested matches.

In Division I, Londonderry upended top ranked Windham by a score of 5-2 to claim their first Championship.

Oyster River blanked Spaulding by the score of 3-0 in the Division II Championship.  The championship was the first for Oyster River.

In the Division III Championship, Berlin-Gorham shutout Pembroke-Campbell by a 2-0 score.  The Championship was the fifth in Division III for Berlin (Berlin-Gorham) in addition to their nine Division I Championships they’ve earned.

ALL-STATE SELECTIONS

The 2023-24 NHIAA All-State Hockey Teams as selected by the NH High School Coaches Association.  Certificates are provided by the NH Legends of Hockey and will be mailed to their Athletic Directors next week.

Girls Division

Coach of the Year: Aaron House (Kingswood)
Player of the Year: Ava Bartoli Berlin-Gorham-Kennett

To view First Team, Second Team and Honorable Mention as well as previous years Click Here.

Division I

Coach of the Year: Shawn Dunn (Windham)
Player of the Year: Cam Keaveney (Exeter)

To view First Team, Second Team and Honorable Mention as well as previous years Click Here.

Division II

Coach of the Year: Jamie Ferullo (Spaulding)
Player of the Year: Conor Dunn (Merrimack)

To view First Team, Second Team and Honorable Mention as well as previous years Click Here.

Division III

Coach of the Year:  Justin Garzia (Kearsarge-Plymouth)
Player of the Year: Kolin Melanson (Berlin-Gorham)

To view First Team, Second Team and Honorable Mention as well as previous years Click Here.

SENIOR ALL-STAR GAME

This Sunday The New Hampshire Legends of Hockey will host a Senior game at 12:00 pm at The Rinks at Exeter.  Players from Divisions I, II and III were selected by the coaches from their division.  The game is sponsored by New Hampshire Distributors and players will receive complimentary Ghost Energy drinks after the game.  Players have been divided into four teams and will play a round-robin again the other three teams.  Each period will be 25 minute running time, with ice resurfacing half-way through the second game.  Players should arrive between 11:00-11:15.  Teams will be donning the NH Legends jerseys for these games.  There is no admission charge, but donations are welcomed.   To view the program with team rosters Click Here.

Some of the players from this game will be selected by the coaches to compete against Vermont this June.  The 32nd Annual Men’s & 27th Annual Women’s VT/NH All-Star Hockey Classic benefiting Make-A-Wish Vermont and Make-A-Wish New Hampshire will take place at the Gutterson Field House at the University of Vermont on June 29th.  Start times have not yet been determined.   The Skills competition will be held Friday night. date.  The New Hampshire Senior All-Star Team will be selected by the Coaches Association after today’s action.

Those players selected to represent New Hampshire for the Boy’s team will be contacted by the coaches in the near future.  Go to http://www.allstarhockeyclassicvtnh.org/ for details of the Vermont event for our Boys and Girls teams.

AROUND THE BOARDS – MARCH 2024

In this month’s issue we will touch on the following: Our 2024 Supporter Campaign; NHIAA State Championship Games and the Senior All-Star Classic and Golf Classic.

2023 All Star Double Header

SUPPORTER CAMPAIGN:

Through March 7, 2024 we have 94 supporters so far, to view our current list CLICK HERE.  Many thanks to all of you for your support and we hope many others of you will join or rejoin in the coming weeks. CLICK HERE to read the complete article on the Supporters Campaign from January 2. Thanks go out in advance, to all of you joining this spring. You can mail a check or pay online.

NHIAA HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES:

Championship games will take place this Saturday at the SNHU Arena in Manchester.    Good luck to each of the 8 teams who will compete for the 2024 crown this year.

10:00  AM – GIRLS DIVISION – #2 Hanover vs #4 Oyster River-Portsmouth
12:15   PM –  DIVISION II – #2 Oyster River vs #8 Spaulding
2:45    PM – DIVISION III – #1 Berlin-Gorham vs #2 Pembroke Campbell
5:00   PM – DIVISION I – #1 Windham vs #2 Londonderry

Please confirm with NHIAA.org website or your local school for any schedule changes.

NHIAA SENIOR ALL-STAR CLASSIC:

The New Hampshire Legends of Hockey will once again host the Boy’s Senior All-Star Classic which will be held on Sunday March 17th at The Rinks at Exeter beginning at 12:00 noon.  Coaches from each of the three divisions are currently selecting and dividing the All-Stars into four teams (9 forwards, 5 defensemen and 2 goalies).  Each of the four teams will play the others in one 25 minute running game.  Once again, New Hampshire Distributors is the sponsor and will be providing Ghost Energy beverages after the games to the players.  Admission is free – but donations are welcomed.

Players from this round-robin will be selected by the coaches in attendance to represent New Hampshire against Vermont at UVM.

GOLF CLASSIC:

Save the date reminders went out in January to all the golfers from our successful 2023 Golf Classic.  Those golfers should receive this year’s golf brochure by April 1, and all payments for players are due May 30th.

We do anticipate a sellout once again. We hope to see you July 12th at the Stonebridge Country Club. This year we will open re-registration at 7:00 am and will continue through 8:00 AM with our start slated for 8:30 AM.  CLICK HERE to open and print entry form. The first 132 are guaranteed to play.

 

2024 Supporter Campaign Underway

There are four types of annual Support Levels: White $25; Blue $50; Red $100; Platinum $150 or more. This year, supporters at the Red level will receive a a pair of lined deerskin gloves or mittens from Fargo Apparel with our Legends logo laser engraved. Platinum level supporter will receive and a grey, long-sleeve ¼ zip jersey from OGIO golf. See complete details below and on our brochure.

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2024 Nominations Open

NH Legends Certificate

The Legends Hockey Hall of Fame was established to recognize and honor those men and women who have made significant contributions to sport of ice hockey in New Hampshire by their participation as Players, Coaches, Builders, Officials or as members of the Media. Through our first Twenty-one years, one hundred and fifty-four deserving individuals have been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

If you know of anyone you feel may be a qualified Hall of Fame candidate, the Legends committee encourages you research and submit a nomination form for consideration of this high honor in any one of the above categories.

NH Legends of Hockey Policies and Procedures for Nomination states, “It is important that any nominee be of high moral character and the Induction Committee and Board of Directors shall consider such matters when considering candidates for induction.”

ELIGIBILITY FOR INDUCTION To be eligible for induction in the Player category, the individual must: a) have been born or raised in New Hampshire and played ice hockey at an exemplary level; or b) while an active player, have made a significant contribution to the sport of ice hockey in New Hampshire.

To be eligible for induction in non-player categories, the individual must: a) have made significant contributions to the sport of ice hockey in New Hampshire: or b) have made significant contributions to the sport of ice hockey while residing in New Hampshire.

In addition, each individual’s contribution may be different. Also to be considered will be the nominee’s ability, sportsmanship or character, or a combination of these qualities.

Nominations must be received prior to March 1, 2024. We have included a copy of the Sample Nomination Form for Sandy Sistare which was submitted by Jane Kalinski. This should help you with your nomination process.

If you have questions or need assistance with the nomination process, please contact any one of the New Hampshire Legend’s board of directors who are listed on the web site. You may also contact our Executive Director, Jim Hayes, at 743hayes@gmail.com or 603-731-4168.

Lastly, please visit our NH Legends of Hockey Facebook Page and “Like Us” to receive our upcoming Facebook posts.

Selected individuals will be recognized at our next Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, scheduled for October 20, 2024. At that time, we will also be honoring the NH Women’s Select (Youth) team.

Legends Enshrine Five

Master of Ceremony Ken Cail and the New Hampshire Legends of Hockey Board of Directors inducted five new members into the New Hampshire Hockey Hall of Fame class of 2023, in front of a crowd of more than 300 family members, friends, dignitaries and other guests.

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