MSWHL  MEETING MINUTES - February 19th, 2008

Attendees:	Board members  Carrie Sirola, Lisa Mello, Ann Dobija, Johnna Rhone, Adrianna Sable (Referee-in-chief), 
Cathie Coulter (Ice Pack), Carol Schwanger (The Other team), Robyn Elliot (Black Beauty), Laura Williams (Metro Blades), Kerri Kelly (Puck n Chix), Casey Currey (Puck n Chix), Patti Vargo (Polar Bears), Kathy Ostrowski (Spitfires), Diane Taylor (Goody 2 Shoes)

Meeting was called to order by Vice-President Ann Dobija at 7:02pm.

Treasurers Report:  Johnna Rhone reported that our balance is $8194.64.  We anticipate several refunds to teams not playing in Ruicci Cup, approximately 13 teams. No expenses have been paid towards Ruicci Cup yet. 

Old Business:
* Ruicci-cup discussion  Carol reported that she has almost 100% response from all teams regarding playing in Ruicci Cup or not. She hasnt heard from the Storm or Ice Picks yet. As of today we have the following number of teams per division:
Advanced- no teams playing
Intermediate I- 5 out of 8 teams
Intermediate II- 4 out of 5 teams
Recreation I- 2 out of 4 teams
Recreation I- 8 out of 9 teams
There was discussion on the possibility of combining the Recreation I division with Intermediate II divisions. Carol will check with the 2 teams from Recreation I.   
The league standings as of Mar. 1st, 2008 will be used to determine the placement of teams in the RC tournament brackets. Division Statisticians- please get both Carrie and Ann the updated stats within a couple of days after March 1st so the website can be updated and tournament games scheduled. 
Discussion about prizes for Ruicci Cup occurred. Several options were discussed. Carol will get the Board estimated pricing of the items discussed. 
* There have been no new incidents regarding the Stix (Advanced division) and additional issues with penalty minutes. 

New Business:
* League tax info-990 filing- this topic was tabled until discussion can occur with Joanne Lukasik. 
* There was an issue with a recent game between the Good 2 Shoes team and The Other Team. There were some profanity exchanges between a scorekeeper for the The Other Team and a coach of the Goody 2 Shoes team as well as a heated exchange between the coach and the referees. It was agreed by all parties that cooler heads should have prevailed and everyone involved could have handled things better. However, the referees assessed the Goody 2 Shoes coach a 5 game misconduct for his behavior. The Referee-in Chief for that area (JP Parmentier, USA Hockey District 3) corrected the ruling and the coach will receive a 2 game misconduct. He also clarified issues with how the referees handled the game and will address it from his end. The MSWHL has a rule that can be found on pg. 26 of the Rules Handbook that says: 
MSWHL will Double All Suspension Penalties - All penalties incurred in an MSWHL League game which carry any suspension for future games will be Doubled by the MSWHL.  (i.e.  If a player receives a one game suspension during a league game, the MSWHL will assess an additional league game suspension to that player, for a total suspension of two league games).
Therefore the Goody 2 Shoes coach will serve a 4 game misconduct. 
* An additional issue with this game was discussed and that was an exchange between the scorekeeper(s) and the Goody 2 Shoes coach. It was agreed that both sides antagonized each other and the behavior will be dealt with by each team. 
* The Other Team has requested that the Board look at player #10 Nicole Lightfoot from Goody 2 Shoes. She is a highly skilled player that has had significant hockey experience. Her level appears to be too good for this division. The Board will evaluate and determine if she needs to be moved out of that division. 
* All of the stats for divisions are up to date. The only division that needs to be posted is the Recreation II. Standings need to be updated as of March 1, 2008 for Ruicci Cup seedings. 




MAHA/USA Hockey Update- The winter MAHA meeting happened in February. Several rule changes and proposals were proposed. For details check out their website:  http://www.maha.org

Next meeting is scheduled for March 5th at 7PM, Eddie Edgar Arena.

Meeting adjourned at 8:20pm. Motioned by Diane Taylor and Adrianna Sable. 


Lisa Mello
MSWHL Secretary
