NOVEMBER 12, 2019
NEW JERSEY DARE DEVILSReaching goals through hockey
OUR TEAMThe New Jersey Dare Devils (NJDD) was started in 2002 as a physical outlet for children with autism and other developmental disabilities. We are a 501(c)(3) organization in the state of New Jersey and practice at Richard J. Codey Arena in West Orange.
PRACTICESAll practices will be held on Rink 2 at South Mountain Codey Arena (560 Northfield Ave, West Orange, NJ).
Unless otherwise specified, all practices are split practices with the following schedule:
Juniors: 3:30-4:15 PMSeniors: 4:15-5:15 PM
Arrive with ample time to park and suit up for practice.
GAME SCHEDULEOur game schedule for this season is as follows:
2019
November 24 at Central Park – 1:40 pm
November 30 at Raptors – TBD
December 8 at Brick Stars – 8:55 am
December 15 at Mercer – 9:40 am
2020
January 17-20 – Broome Special Hockey Festival, TBD
January 25-26 – Winter Classic, Long Island
March 7 at Woodbridge – 10:00 am
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Sea Creature update – With the Ritters away for the weekend at the Buffalo tournament, Mauro, Moby and David Ritter had a grand ole time with the mice away, as they say! David had the creatures taking bathroom selfies, shirtless. That Moby has some set of fins, if you know what I mean! With the feast of 7 fishes only 6 weeks away, the lovely Judy must come up with a plan to filet these guys.
BUFFALO TOURNAMENT RECAPOn Saturday night, they roll up the streets in Buffalo so our parents were forced to think outside of the box on how to get into trouble when their players were not on the ice. Basically, we went out to dinner, found a casino, viewed the Falls or just hung out in the M Club and sampled a few adult beverages and snacked on the great supply of picks that the Marriott provided. Saturday afternoon turned in to a college football marathon. We watched the Alabama game. Unfortunately for my son, Andrew, Bama lost in a very close game. That being very dramatic for the boy, he had to watch the game with Andy Asch wearing an LSU t-shirt and hat!
We played 3 games over the weekend, winning 2. The team the Dare Devils sent to Buffalo this weekend made me laugh
and cheer, and we all felt very proud of the efforts our players made. We put younger players in situations that they never experienced before. We asked them to step up and play against opponents older and stronger than them. Joey, our newer goalie, did a fantastic job in the net! At one point, we thought we may have lost Joey when Chris Glaab entered the goal full-force, landing on top of Joey. When we were able to peal Chris off of Joey, Joey’s response was, “I’m ok, I think Chris is hurt!”
Game 1 was a close contest with the Dare Devils winning 8-7 over the Buffalo Sabre Thunder on a game-winning, buzzer-beating goal by one of our newest players, Reese Citro.
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Reese received thunderous cheers by his teammates and fans. Goals were scored Ryan Griffin (hat trick), Patrick Hung, Andrew DePiero, Chris Glaab, and scoring his first goal as a Dare Devil, James Cooney.
Game 2 saw the Dare Devils defeated by the Rochester Ice Cats 9-6. Goals were scored by Ryan Griffin (2), Andrew Piccirillo (2), Andrew DePiero and Chris Glaab.
Game 3, the Dare Devils’ final game of the weekend, was a wild one with the Dare Devils beating their old nemesis, the Albany Cougars, 7-3. The game saw many memorable moments, but two in particular will go down in Dare Devil history as classic moments. While shooting a penalty shot on the blue line, Nick Ritter opted to start dancing - and I use that term loosely. It actually looked like the guy was doing some religious ritual. Anyway, without missing a beat and at a very timely moment, Patrick Hung came out of nowhere, stealing the puck and slapping it into the net for the Dare Devils first score of the game! Nick’s dance was recorded by Coach Brian and went viral within minutes. Also of note was the celebration by Will “The Thrill” Milazzo. If you know Will, you
know that he has goal celebrations like “Harry Potter” and the “shot gun”. Will certainly did not disappoint me and the rest of the team as he did some sort of ballet (twinkle toes) thing that brought down the house!
In addition to the penalty shot, goals were scored by Andrew Piccirillo (2), Will Milazzo (2, one shot from the blue line), Andrew DePiero and Ryan Griffin.
As we say goodbye to Buffalo this year, we want to emphasize to all the players and their parents the benefits of traveling with the team. Aside from the great hockey and the game-situation learning that goes on, players and their families get to know each other on a personal level and this is where friendships are made that I have seen extend beyond the ice. So if you have not traveled yet, check out our tournament schedule and give it a try! I’m sure you will love it!
HOLIDAY GIFTThe team has made arrangements with Middlebury Sports & Apparel in Randolph to purchase new CCM Tacks 310 Helmets W/Cages for each player for the holiday gift this year. Families are responsible for getting their players fitted for their new helmets. Each helmet
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will have custom decals with team logo and the player’s number. If you have not given us a size, we will accept your measurement until November 16th.
PRACTICE JERSEYSThe team will be purchasing new practice jerseys for our players. Please provide your player’s size if different than the size listed on your registration page. We will be recording sizes at practice on Saturday. If you are not able to attend practice, please email either me or Angie with your size. Additional jerseys for family members can be purchased for $25.00.
HOLIDAY PARTYKathy Kientz will once again be chairing the Holiday party. The date of the party is December 14th during our regular practice hours. If you want to assist Kathy please contact her at [email protected].
LEVEL UP TRAININGLevel Up training is scheduled for November 16 and December 7 at 12:30 pm.
TEAM APPARELTeam Store orders are in and will be at practice this Saturday. We will reopen the store in January 2020.
GROUP NIGHT AT THE ROCKGroup night at the Rock is scheduled for December 3rd, 2019, NJ Devils vs. the Vegas Golden Knights at 7:00pm. Ticket order has been placed. Additional tickets will have to be purchased through the Devils directly.
IMPORTANT DATES
Level Up Training
Group Night at the Rock
Level Up Training
NJDD Holiday Party
11/16
12/3
12/7
12/14
The New Jersey Dare Devils Hockey Club is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization.
NEW JERSEY DARE DEVILS HOCKEY CLUB
EXECUTIVE BOARD
Team Manager, TreasurerAndy Piccirillo
Assistant Team ManagerAngie Donnelly
Head CoachStephen Ritter
Former Head Coach, Board MemberJon Schwartz
Registrar, Website AdministratorIan Thomas
Board MemberTom Hoens
TEAM ADDRESS
New Jersey Dare Devils Hockey Club
51 Divan WayWayne, NJ 07470