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NEWS & NOTES LIKE Minnesota Hockey on Facebook Facebook.com/MinnHockey Follow Minnesota Hockey on Twitter @MinnHockey Minnesota Hockey Partners with Select Heartland Chevy Dealers Apply Now for Gear Up Minnesota! Gear Up Minnesota! grant applications are now being accepted for the 20132014 season. In just three years, Gear Up Minnesota! has provided 91 unique youth hockey associations in Minnesota with over 1,400 sets of starter hockey equipment, totaling more than $270,000. Associations can use starter sets of equipment, which include a bag, helmet, breezers, gloves, elbow and shin pads, to attract new players and make hockey more accessible by eliminating the initial cost of equipment. To apply for a grant, visit minnesotahockey.org. A special thank you to the Minnesota Wild Foundation, Total Hockey, Shock Doctor, West Bend Insurance, Subway and other supporters for making Gear Up Minnesota! a reality. Minnesota Hockey has announced a premier partnership with Select Heartland Chevy Dealers of Minnesota, one of the largest supporters of youth athletics in the state. With "The Drive for State powered by Chevy," Select Heartland Chevy Dealers will be the presenting partners of the signature events in Minnesota youth hockey: the Region and State Tournaments. "We are very excited to further our role in the hockey culture in Minnesota," said Daniel J. Raduenz, President of the Select Heartland Chevy Dealers of Minnesota. "Chevy has always strived to support youth athletics to keep our kids active and healthy while learning great life lessons. Hockey is the native sport here in Minnesota and we're thrilled to be a part of it, especially the most special time in hockey—State Tournament time." Additionally, several youth hockey clinics will be held over the course of the year to provide more hockey players the opportunity to work on skills at no cost to their families, and Select Heartland Chevy Dealers will be a supporting partner of the Minnesota Hockey Hard Ice Divider program, which assists associations in enhancing cross-ice hockey games. Coaching Excellence Honored in St. Paul The 2014 Coaching Excellence Award winners received a special visit from Wild head coach Mike Yeo. 18 This past December, Minnesota Hockey, in partnership with Park Dental and the Minnesota Wild, hosted a group of coaches for the Coaching Excellence Award Program in Saint Paul. The coaches were rewarded for their efforts with a Minnesota Wild practice, a chance to meet head coach Mike Yeo and lunch at Tom Reid's Hockey City Pub. "The Coaching Excellence Award is all about recognizing coaches that have their priorities right," said Steve Morse, HEP Coordinator for Minnesota Hockey. "Caring about the kids is No. 1. When a MINNESOTAHOCKEYJOURNAL.COM // FEBRUARY.2014 At Shock Doctor, Protection Drives Performance The vision of Shock Doctor is to be the No. 1 choice for athletes around the world who demand performance and protection. We are always in the game and we play it better than anyone else. As the undisputed leader in mouthguard technology and the No. 1 mouthguard in the world, Shock Doctor has become a leader in sports protection around the globe. Athletes continue to get stronger, faster and be more finely tuned machines, demanding lower profile, yet higher levels of protection and every product Shock Doctor offers has been designed to meet this need. While cementing our leadership positions in mouthguards and core protective equipment, Shock Doctor's product selection has grown significantly in the past five years, adding offerings in Performance Sports Therapy, our innovative line of sports medicine, Performance Sport Insoles, the first line of insoles designed specifically for athletes, as well as a wide range of protective apparel and accessories for a variety of sports and athletes of all ages and levels of competition. young player takes the time to recognize a coach, we know the coach cares about the players!" Players, parents, officials and other coaches can now nominate coaches for the 2014 Coaching Excellence Award. For more details or to nominate your coach, go to minnesotahockey.org.