SCYH STARS
HELPING TO BUILD LEADERS FOR LIFE

The objective of The Southern Connecticut Youth Hockey Organization 
is to provide a well-organized and supervised youth ice hockey program,
offering opportunities to children of all levels of skill and proficiency.
 

Hello Southern Families, 

We hope everyone in our SCYH family is healthy and well.

At the very end of last week, the Milford Health Department determined that our Mite Maroon team players needed to self-quarantine for 14 days, after a possible exposure to a positive C-19 coach in Northford on October 18th, 2020.  This was a precautionary measure.  No Maroon player has developed any COVID symptoms; no maroon player has tested positive.  The Mite Maroon team will be able to return to the ice on November 2.  The Health Department determined that no other members of the SCYH community were at risk of exposure due to this incident.

We are happy to report that no SCYH player has tested positive for COVID-19 during this hockey season.  The work that everyone is doing, from coaches, to players and to parents, by following the protocols at our home facility, Milford Ice Arena, is helping to keep people safe.  The Player Safety Rep is working hard with the Connecticut Hockey Conference, the Milford Health Department and the Milford Ice Arena to follow procedures that promote the safety of our community. 

As new information becomes available, it is being posted on the SCYH website under the Documents section. There you will find several folders/ documents for reference that will help coaches and parents understand how SCYH is responding to given situations. Thank you for your continued flexibility and adherence to the guidelines. This will help keep our SCYH community safe and help keep the Milford Ice Arena open for operation.

SCYH BOD

Hello All:

Connecticut has seen a rise in the COVID-19 test positive rate in recent weeks, with some towns, especially in the state's southeastern part, seeing outbreaks.  Other New England states have also experienced some fairly significant increases, with New Hampshire up 112% and Massachusetts up 25%.  The CDC and state health officials warned us that we should expect a second wave of infections as we entered the fall and winter seasons, so the increases should not come as a surprise.  As expected, the recent spikes are having a significant impact on hockey.  Youth hockey in New Hampshire has been shut down for two weeks, Maine teams are not allowed to play out of state opponents, Rhode Island teams are not allowed to play out of state opponents, and pressure is mounting on Massachusetts to stop playing games.  

At this point, there are no changes to the state of Connecticut COVID guidelines related to ice rinks and youth sports, but that could change at any minute.  All of us must do everything we can to keep our players, coaches, volunteers, and families safe, and hopefully, the result is that our kids can continue to play.  We cannot become complacent or let our guard down as the number of cases increases.  We must become even more diligent in our adherence to the rules defined by the state and the rinks.  Masks, masks, masks!  One area that needs improvement is for our players to fully adhere to the requirement that masks be worn in the rink.  The only time the mask can be removed is when the player is on the ice.  The full Milford Ice Arena policy is on our website, and the team managers are required to distribute the policy for any away game rinks.  Hockey with restrictions is way better than no hockey!

The trends are not good, but we need to do our part to limit the virus's spread.  If you or your player is not feeling well, then stay home.  If you have been notified by the school or other that a family member has come in contact with someone who has tested positive, then you must stay home and notify SCYH immediately.  People with these symptoms may have COVID-19:

Fever or chills
Cough
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
Fatigue
Muscle or body aches
Headache
New loss of taste or smell
Sore throat
Congestion or runny nose
Nausea or vomiting
Diarrhea

I see the smiling faces at the rink, and I know that none of us wants to see hockey in Connecticut shutdown. Let's do our part to keep our community safe.

There are two new additional documents in the Player Safety Rep folder located under the Documents link of the SCYH website. The Documents link is located on the left hand side of the SCYH website (Drop down menu) The two new documents for reference are:

Addendum 5 (State of CT COVID Guidance)

SCYH Scenario Gudiance for SCYH Coaches and Families to help when making COVID related decisons.

SCYH will continue to use the State of CT Guidelines and recommendations unless and until there becomes more specific guidelines from the local Health Dept and or CHC.

Thank you and your continued cooperation and flexibility is appreciated.

Please let me know if you have any questions or feedback

Karl Krauss

SCYH Player Safety Rep

Former STAR Nick Capone

On October 7, 2020 Nick Capone, from East Haven, CT, was selected by Tampa Bay Lightning for the 157th pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.

          Nick began skating with East Haven Youth Hockey in their Learn to Skate/House Program.  He then joined Southern CT Youth Hockey as a Mite in 2008, where he was coached by his father, Pete.  He continued to play for the Southern Stars for six seasons. He then played with the Connecticut Wolfpack Tier 1 Bantam Program for 2 seasons.  Nick then joined the Yale Jr. Bulldogs Midget Tier 1 Program, playing for 3 seasons, coached by Steve Novodor and was on the U15 Tier 1 National Championship Team, winning in Scottsdale, AZ in April 2017.

          His freshman year was played with East Haven High School, coached by Lou Pane. He had 40 goals and 48 assists to lead Connecticut in scoring. He was an All-SCC/SWC Division II First Team selection, made the Connecticut High School Coaches Association All-State Team, as well as the New Haven Register’s All-State and All-Area squads.  He also earned the Division II Rookie of the Year and Skater of the Year awards.

          On May 2, 2017 he was selected 38th overall in the United States Hockey League (USHL) Draft by Bloomington Thunder (Central Illinois Flying Aces), in Bloomington, IL.  He played in four regular season games with them. 

          Nick played his sophomore and junior years, at the Salisbury School, in Salisbury, CT coached by Andrew Will.  He had 29 points (13 goals, 16 assists) in 27 games as a sophomore and 47 points (20, 27) in 30 games as a junior.

          On June 4, 2018 he was also selected by Acadie-Bathurst Titan in Round 2 as the 35^th pick of the American draft in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).

          On August 6, 2018 he was traded to (USHL) Tri City Storm in Kearney, NE.  Nick played in five regular season games and two playoff games as an affiliate list call-up.  He scored his 1st Career USHL Goal on March 23, 2018 in his debut with the Storm.  Nick continued to play with Tri City Storm for the 2019-20 USHL Season.  He had 19 points (7 goals, 12 assists).

          In September 2019, he de-committed from the University of Maine, switching to the University of Connecticut to play under Coach Mike Cavanaugh, in the Hockey East Conference.

          Nick was selected to participate in the 2020 Bio-Steel All-American Game, which consisted of the top 40 American prospects eligible for the 2020 NHL Draft. The game took place at the USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, MI on January 20, 2020.

             Nick’s older brother Peter also played many years at Southern, Pee Wee through Midgets and his younger brother, Christian, is currently the Southern Stars Pee Wee A goalie.  His father, Pete, is the current Pee Wee A Assistant Coach.

          Nick is currently attending UCONN and preparing for the 2020-21 hockey season to begin.

Dear SCYH Families:

The Milford Health Inspector visited the rink on Friday 9/11/20. While they think we are doing a good job, the Health Department has directed the following changes to begin immediately:

1. No locker room usage Monday through Friday.  All players should dress outside and can put their skates on in the stands if they choose. 
2. No parents are to be allowed in the rink Monday through Friday.
3. The snack bar is closed indefinitely (we were considering opening it for the basics, i.e. coffee, soda, chip bagels). 
4. Additional mask, helmet and distancing signage to be put up around the rink.
5. Notification to the MHD of any out of state team(s) playing in the rink in tournament play or for regular season games.

The significant items that affect the Stars the most, are numbers 1 & 2.  The MIA appreciates your anticipated cooperation as we begin enforcing these revised regulations.  Please inform your teams to make this transition easier for all.

Thank you.

Paul Shimko MIA

Keeping it real

With the start of 2020-2021 hockey season to begin soon, the SCYH BOD would like to welcome everyone back and wish you a safe and fun experience. The season can seem like a long stretch at times and over the course of the next several months, there will be occasions when emotions can run high.

If there comes a time during the season where you need to voice a concern, please remember that all inquiries must begin with the team coach. If the coach (or the coaching staff) can not resolve the issue, the coach will then initiate communication with the appropriate person on the BOD.

Please remember, if the BOD is not aware of a problem, it can not be addressed.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation and remember:

This is the time in the kids lives to have fun and enjoy the experience.

Please do not be the parent this sign was made for!

If you have not already done so, please visit the Milford Ice Arena (MIA) Website and fill out the MIA waiver. Also please be sure to become familiar with the new MIA COVID protocols.

Enjoy the rest of the summer and we look forward to seeing you around the rink.

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