Catch the excitement of Northern Illinois University (NIU) Hockey!
Follow AHAI on Twitter and you could win a pair of season tickets to the NIU Huskie’s 2014-15 ACHA DII hockey season!
Founded in 1965 the Huskies field both an ACHA Division II and Division III team (formed in 2011) with 90% of their players hailing from the Chicagoland area. This promises to be a great season for the Huskies, who play out of Leafs Ice Center, with 28 returning players highlighted by seniors, Justin Rucinski, Nick Leon and Alex Hare.
The DII team is led by 2012-13 MACHA Coach of the Year, Chuck Rinaldo who has strong Illinois ties having played NCAA DIII hockey for Lake Forest College. Prior to coming to NIU Coach Rinaldo spent 6 years as the Varsity Head Coach and Director of Deerfield High School Hockey where he led Deerfield to two White Division State Championships and a Founders Cup Metro League (now Illinois West) Championship.
Nick Madonia, the Head Coach for the Huskies DII team, played for the Skokie Flyers, Northern Express and Loyola Academy. After high school, Coach Madonia played two seasons at Robert Morris University and after receiving his Associates degree, he transferred to NIU. Nick played two seasons with NIU’s DIII team, being named captain during his second season. Nick served as an assistant coach for the Skokie Flyers Midget Major prior to coaching for NIU.
Click HERE to follow AHAI on Twitter. Contest ends Sunday, September 14, 2014. Winner will be announced in the September 17th edition of SNAPSHOT. NIU Huskies home game opener is Friday, September 19 vs. Missouri State University at Fox Valley Ice Arena in Geneva.
Click HERE for DII Schedule
Click HERE for DIII Schedule
Categories: Hockey Headlines