The Whalers is a youth ice hockey organization for boys and girls from locations in Middlesex County and other surrounding towns in the Middletown & Cromwell, CT area. We offer instructional (Learn To Play & House League) and competitive levels of play for children from four years of age through high school.

Our "home ice" is at Champions Skating Center in Cromwell, CT.   We are members of the Connecticut Hockey Conference, CT Valley Midget Hockey League and USA HOCKEY. Our Tier II, III, and IV level Travel Teams play games with similar teams from other organizations around the state and occasionally travel to other locations throughout the region for tournament competition.

Join our Facebook group - Whalers Youth Hockey Association- to get the latest updates.

Little Whalers Rookie Program

Begins Monday 5/16    630-730PM

Has your player already mastered Learn to Play but not ready for travel hockey just yet?  

Little Whalers Rookie Program is for children ages 4-14 who are ready for the next step!

Register here:    https://app.mysportsort.com/view/index.php?an=430&myss_source=register&entitytype=0&entityid=30871

Champions Learn to Play Begins Monday, May 16 5:30-6:30pm

Register Here!

https://app.mysportsort.com/view/index.php?an=430&myss_source=register&entitytype=0&entityid=30871

Whalers PeeWee A ended the season this weekend in Woodstock, Vermont.   The team went undefeated to bring home the Pot O Gold Championship banner and trophy!   
 

Congratulations!!!

Squirt AA went 6-0 in the Tier III State Tournament.   Next stop: 3/18-3/20 Maine for Regionals
 

Congratulations to all our players and coaches on a terrific season! 

Whalers Youth Announce Long-Term Partnership with Champions Skating Center

Bobby Ferraris Named Coaching Director, Rob Belger named Skills Director

Champions Skating Center (“Champions”), Whalers Youth Hockey and Black Bear Sports Group are pleased to announce a long-term partnership between the rink and the youth hockey club with the shared goals of growing the youth club, enhancing youth hockey offerings within the club and at the rink, and offering more development opportunities for rink and club participants. This new partnership establishes the Whalers as a long-term home club at the Champions Skating Center along with the Hartford Jr. Wolfpack AAA.

Champions and the Whalers have also named Champions Skating Center / Hartford Jr. Wolfpack AAA Hockey Director, Bobby Ferraris as Coaching Director. Coach Ferraris brings an accomplished hockey pedigree to the arena and its clubs and programming. He spent 12 years coaching NCAA Division I hockey, most recently serving as the Associate Head Coach of Mercyhurst University before relocating to New York in 2015 to serve as Head Coach of the Boys Varsity Hockey team for the Trinity-Pawling School, where he will remain the Head Coach.  Coach Ferraris has established the Pride as a consistent contender in the Founders League, which is widely considered to be the premier prep school hockey league in the United States; this success included a championship in 2018. Coach Ferraris has also effectively developed his players and helped them earn college roster spots.  In 2021-2022, Trinity-Pawling featured freshmen alumni on three Division I rosters and seven Division III rosters.  In 2022-2023, another three Trinity-Pawling hockey alumni will be Division I freshmen at Army, Boston University, and Merrimack College. “I’m thrilled to have the Whalers join the Black Bear and Wolfpack family at the rink,” said Bobby Ferraris. 

Coach Rob Belger, Assistant Hockey Director at Champions Skating Center, will serve as the Skills Director. Coach Belger played juniors for the Hartford Wolfpack before moving on to play NCAA hockey for Nichols College. 

Cat Cirillo was named Director of Operations for the Whalers and will continue to oversee the administration and scheduling of the club.

Tryouts and team alignments for 2022-23 will be announced soon on the website! Go Whalers!

About Black Bear Sports Group, Inc.

Black Bear Sports Group, Inc. is a privately held company formed by Murry Gunty and Blackstreet Capital Holdings, LLC in 2015 that seeks investments in sports and entertainment facilities, teams, and youth sports events.  Black Bear arenas are clean, professionally managed, and offer world-class recreational programs.  Black Bear focuses on ice arenas in metropolitan areas with compelling demographics, markets with a National Hockey League club presence and arenas with existing youth hockey clubs.  Black Bear not only features the ability to acquire healthy and stable arenas, but also the expertise required to turn around mismanaged or under-performing facilities.  The largest owner/operator of ice rinks in the U.S., Black Bear’s footprint totals 30 facilities across the United States with 55 sheets of indoor ice, four indoor turf fields, 23 youth hockey clubs, three youth hockey leagues (Atlantic Hockey Federation, Atlantic Girls Hockey Federation and National Girls Hockey League), the nation’s largest adult hockey organization (Foundry Adult Hockey) and three Junior “A” hockey franchises with membership in the United States Hockey League, North American Hockey League and Eastern Hockey League.  

Whalers Families:

As many of you have heard, a high school player from St Luke's tragically lost his life last night during a game against Brunswick School. 

We ask you to join us in honoring the life of Teddy Balkind, by placing your sticks outside tonight in silent remembrance. "#sticksoutforteddy"

You may also see teams remembering this young man with a stick tap before games this weekend; we ask our Whalers teams to honor Teddy in this way as well. 
 

Finally, the Board of Directors and the entire Whalers community extend its deepest condolences, thoughts and prayers to the family of Teddy, the players and coaching staffs of St Luke's and Brunswick Schools, the New Canaan Winter Club and all those affected.  
 

Whalers Board of Directors 

Squirt B finished the CT Christmas Classic, hosted by GNH Warriors, as runners up.  Great effort for a mighty short bench! 

Congratulations to PWA on an undefeated championship in the Simsbury Holiday Tournament! 

Congratulations to Squirt AA who went undefeated to bring home the Green Avalanche Tournament Championship from Jay Peak, Vermont! 

Congratulations to Squirt B Players and Coaches on an undefeated tournament run, bringing home the trophy with a 6-1 victory! 

Congratulations to PeeWee B players and coaches who went into the Championship game with a 2-0-1 record; and won the Championship by a score of 3-1!

TO ALL WHALERS MEMBERS (PARENTS, PLAYERS AND COACHES)

Please take the time to read, review and familiarize yourself with USA HOCKEY’S NEW CHANGES TO PLAY for Mites through Bantams. These rules include changes in penalty minutes, checking at the Bantam level, and more. 

Please note: Referees are being trained on these new changes and will be enforcing them once the season begins. Again, these are changes coming down from USA HOCKEY, not the Whalers Organization. 

USA HOCKEY NEW CHANGES TO PLAY – EFFEECTIVE SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

1. No more tag up offsides—the new rule eliminates tag-up offsides at ALL youth levels. Immediate offside is now applied except HS and Adult. This rule has been in place for 12 and under but it is now all age groups.

2. NO MORE LEGAL ICING WHEN SHORTHANDED – Prohibits ALL Youth Levels of play to legally ice the puck during shorthanded situations. The only exceptions are HS and Adult classifications. 

3. After a penalty is called, the ensuing faceoff will take place in the zone of the offending team.

4. New rule allows for attack zone face-off any time an attacking team attempts a shot on goal and puck goes out of play off of the posts, boards or glass.

5. Less tolerance for penalties --  players to be assessed a game misconduct after 4 penalties (used to be 5) in the same game and a coach receiving a game suspension when the team accumulates 12 (used to be 15) penalties during the same game. 

6. New rule establishes SHORTER MINOR PENALTY recommendations for periods less than 20 minutes in length (excluding Adults). 

1. For periods 12 minutes or less= 1 minute penalties.
2. For periods 12- 17 minutes = 1.30 minute penalties.
3. For periods 17+ = 2 minute penalties.

7. MAJOR PENALTIES

1. 12 minutes or less = 3 minutes for major or match
2. 12-17 minutes = 4 minutes for major or match
3. 17  minutes = 5 minutes for major or match

8. An Unsportsmanlike penalty will be called for banging on the boards after a LEGAL OR ILLEGAL hit. 

9. Body Checking is now called Competitive Contact. Contact must be made on the puck. Any physical contact that is made with an opposing player without an attempt for control of the puck will be penalized. (Bantams)

10. Delayed body checks will be penalized. Once a player passes the puck, contact CONNOT be initiated. (Bantams)

The complete list of changes can be found at: https://s3.amazonaws.com/files.leagueathletics.com/Text/Documents/1978/75701.pdf

Whalers Board of Directors