World Deaf Hockey is here in Buffalo!
NORTHTOWN CENTER AT AMHERST, NY APRIL 11 - 14
SEE WORLD DEAF HOCKEY TEAMS FROM CANADA, CZECH, FINLAND, USA
Schedule of Games
Thursday April 11th
- 1:00 PM
Team Canada (W)
vs
Team USA (W) - 3:15 PM
Team USA (M)
vs
Team Czechia - 6:00 PM
Team Canada (M)
vs
Team Finland
- 1:00 PM
Friday April 12th
- 1:00 PM
Team USA (M)
vs
Team Finland - 3:15 PM
Team USA (W)
vs
Team Canada (W) - 6:00 PM
Team Czechia
vs
Team Canada (M)
- 1:00 PM
Saturday April 13th
- 1:00 PM
Team Canada (M)
vs
Team USA (M) - 3:15 PM
Team Finland
vs
Team Czechia - 6:00 PM
Team USA (W)
vs
Team Canada (W)
- 1:00 PM
Championship Sunday April 14th:
- 9:00 AM Men’s Bronze Medal Game
- 11:30 AM Men’s Gold Medal Game
About Jeff Sauer
Northtown Center at Amherst will serve as the site for the inaugural Jeff Sauer International Deaf Hockey Series to be held April 11th-14th. The four-day event named after Jeff Sauer, former head coach of the USA men’s deaf team, will showcase men’s teams from the USA, Canada, Czech Republic, and Finland and women’s teams from the USA and Canada.Jeff Sauer, a member of the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, spent more than 40 years coaching hockey, and had nothing but success in his varied endeavors. Sauer gained prominence as a college coach, but he is also remembered for his work coaching hockey players with disabilities. Sauer was president of the American Hearing-Impaired Hockey Association. He helped select the last five U.S. Deaflympic Ice Hockey Teams and led the team as head coach at three Winter Deaflympics, including a gold medal at the 2007 Deaflympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. He spent seven years as head coach of the U.S. National Sled Hockey Team. He led the U.S. to the gold medal at the 2012 International Paralympic Committee Ice Sledge Hockey World Championship. Two years later, he was at the helm of the gold-medal winning 2014 U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team in Sochi, Russia.
World Deaf Hockey Teams
THE TOP DEAF WORLD teams from the USA, Canada, Czech Republic, and Finland and women’s teams from the USA and Canada WILL BE HERE IN BUFFALO TO COMPETE IN A WORLD CLASS MAJOR EVENT. MANY OF THESE ATHLETES HAVE COMPETED IN PREVIOUS WORLD EVENTS AND HAVE REPRESENTED THEIR COUNTRIES AT THE PARALYMPIC GAMES, WORLD DEAF CHAMPIONSHIPS AND DEAFLYMPICS. PREVIOUS TEAM PLAYERS HAVE RECEIVED GOLD, SILVER AND BRONZE MEDALS FOR THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND HAVE GONE ON TO PLAY BOTH COLLEGE AND PROFESSIONAL HOCKEY.
Location
The Northtown Center at Amherst, formerly the Amherst Ice Center and the Amherst Pepsi Center, is a 1,800-seat multipurpose arena in Amherst New York, located adjacent to the University OF Buffalo. The facility includes three NHL regulation ice pads and one Olympic size ice pad. Northtown Center was the host of the 2017 Deaf Ice Hockey World Championships. Conveniently located at: 1615 Amherst Manor Drive Williamsville, New York 14221, (716) 631-7555. website ↗
About AHIHA
The American Hearing Impaired Hockey Association (AHIHA) was established in 1973 by the Chicago Blackhawks NHL Hall of Fame player Stan Mikita, and a local business man by the name of Irv Tiahnybik, after Irv discovered the difficulties his hard-of-hearing son was having with his hearing teammates. They formed a hockey school that supports deaf and hard-of-hearing ice hockey players from all over the country. The organization has hosted an annual, week-long Stan Mikita Hockey School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing for over 50 years and continues to promote inclusion and a community that fosters goals beyond hockey.In addition to sponsoring the camp, AHIHA also helps advocate for its players, provides scholarships, and helps children obtain hearing aids and services for its participants. FOR MORE INFORMATION AND OPPORTUNITIES TO FIND OUT AND SUPPORT AHIHA AND THE STAN MIKITA HOCKEY SCHOOL FOR THE DAF AND HARD OF HEARING, PLEASE VISIT ahiha.org.
