Well, Hoosier Hockey Faithful, we are at the halfway point of the 2017-18 hockey season and I can't believe it's gone by so quickly.  Hopefully, everyone has had a chance to take a deep breath and relax before we head into the January grind.  For me, the holiday break is a great chance to sit down and reflect on the first half of the season.  As the temperature dropped to a chilly five degrees the other night, I settled into my chair by the fireplace and wrote down my thoughts.  So, here they are, in no particular order...    

1. I think both Carmel high school teams look really good this year.  Unless something changes, they are going to be hard to beat in whatever tournament bracket they land in.
2. The Irish Youth Hockey League (IYHL) has one of the best ran youth websites in the state from a scoring/record stand point. They're up to date with every team and every last bit of information.  That's awesome for a guy like me who has to creep the various hockey websites for updates.  
3. Speaking of scoring and updates, I thought the recent high school cross-over tournament in South Bend was very well ran.  They did a nice job of live-scoring on the Michiana League website through the use of Sports Engine's tournament microsite capabilities.  They also had sports medicine coverage, which you know is a hot point of mine.
4. To the guys I saw keeping stats during a mite (8U) jamboree a few weeks ago - come on, seriously?  There's a reason they don't keep score.  Your kids are going to hate you AND the sport by the time they are 12.  I should mention one guy referred to his eight year old as "the talent."  No joke.  
5. On that note, I'm not sure how I feel about the rise of 8U "select" teams.  From an organizational standpoint, I get it - you have to generate interest in travel in order to keep your 10U program afloat.  You also have to give people what they demand from a business aspect, I suppose.  Unfortunately these days, lots of people tend to act like the two clowns I mentioned above when it comes to youth sports.  That means that sometimes we need to save ourselves from....ourselves.  Hockey is such a late developing game anyway and those young parents don't always realize that.  I digress.
6. The Perry Park situation really stinks but I'm not sure what else could have been done.  I've heard a lot of angry parents asking why the city just doesn't pony up the money and keep pumping glycol into the system in order to keep it open for the remainder of the season.  Now, I'm no expert, but something tells me that much glycol leaking all over the ground is probably not good.  I also heard someone say that it costs $12,000 dollars every time they have to call someone out and put more glycol in the system.  I have no idea if that is accurate or not, but if it's true, with about 10 weeks left in the season and on average the system was going down every two weeks, that's $60,000 to keep the doors open.  Considering you lose two days every time it happens and the possible environmental hazard of massive quantities of glycol, I believe the city made the right call. 
7. The Central Indiana Knights are currently leading the high school points race with 83 points and a whopping 122 goal differential.  But recent losses to St. Joe and Zionsville as well as a tie against LSJ and a 3-2 scare against HSE A prove that Central Indiana isn't quite as unstoppable as previously thought.  I still wouldn't want to draw them in the tournament though - they're scary good offensively.
8. Did you see the news on the ICHC expansion for next year?  College hockey is growing in the state of Indiana, my friends.  That means that your kids are going to have a great opportunity to play D2 or D3 hockey at local universities.
9. Indiana University's D3 team is rolling with an 11-1-1 record and a goal differential of 56 right now.  Led by Coach Jack Manard (also coaches Team Indiana) they look like they're headed for another run at regionals and maybe more.  If you love hockey, I highly recommend you catch a game.
10. How about current Mr. Hockey candidate, Andrew Fralich?  He plans on pursuing a career as an astrophysicist AND he has 47 points on the year so far.  What were you doing when you were his age?  Let the shame wash over you...we'll do it together. 
11. I'm not sure how Miss Hockey candidates Kate Duckworth and Taylor Brandeburg find time to play hockey.  Just reading the extracurricular stuff made me have to take a nap.
12. Hockey Canada just added floorball into their training protocols.  If you didn't buy your player a floorball stick and ball for Christmas, I would highly recommend using that Amazon gift card and buying one.  This is your chance to get in front of all those hockey trends that the USA seems to be the last to adopt. 
13. The Indiana Backcheck Foundation recently announced it's goal to give $50,000 over five years to organizations and hockey players/families in need of assistance.  Amazing!  
14. I've been following the Indy Racers AAA teams this year after they were able to get Tier 1 status heading into this season.  Some of their teams are doing okay, some are not, but all are at the low end of the Tier 1 strength of schedule.  That's to be expected as a first year Tier 1 program and while I think it's great to have a Tier 1 option for talented players in Indiana, I'm not sure we have enough Hoosier kids playing hockey in order to support consistently playing Tier 1 at every age group.  Time will tell of course, but the fractious nature of hockey in the state doesn't lend well to the situation.
15. On the topic of fractious nature, the one thing that sets most of the big hockey states apart from the up and comers like Indiana is a state wide governing body.  For example, everything from learn to play and 8U to high school in Minnesota falls under Minnesota Hockey.  Hint, hint, Hoosiers.
16. For the love of God, can we get these rinks built?  We need more ice, people.           

That's 16 of my inner most hockey thoughts.  Now it's your turn.  I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions so post below and let's get the conversation started!