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HEADLINES  | | | Raiders Board of Directors Election - Nominations Being Accepted 
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The Reston Raiders Board of Directors is currently seeking candidates who are interested in filling one of three open director positions.
Background:
The Board of Directors is comprised of 9 elected members. Each board member serves a 3 year term.
Qualifications for Elections (from RRHC Bylaws):
(1) must be a member of the club in good standing
(2) must have been a member of the club for at least one year
(3) must have served the club in a significant volunteer position for at least one year, including the current year, and
(4) must commit to making service on the board of directors a higher priority than any other position held in the club
The Nominations Committee may approve the nomination of an individual who does not meet all of the requirements specified above, if the individual has significant hockey experience that the Nominations Committee believes is essential to the club and warrants such an exception. However, in no case can qualification (1) be ignored.
Nominations Committee:
The Nominations Committee is currently accepting self-nominations from prospective candidates. The Nominations Committee will vet nominations and work with the Raiders Board to confirm the validity of those nominations. The committee will also oversee the election process. Melody Caprio (Chairperson), Dan LaBert, & Grant Moher are the members of the Nomination Committee.
Nominations:
Club members must self-nominate to be considered. The RRHC Nominations Committee will review self-nominations to certify that the candidate meets the required qualifications. Self nominations should be submitted by email to
. To self-nominate, email a brief note indicating why you believe that you meet the qualifications listed above. You will be notified of the committee's decision about your eligibility before the candidate statements are due. The candidate statement are published to the membership during the voting period.
Important Dates:
May 11th - Self nomination period opens
May 19th - Self nominations deadline
May 22nd - Candidate statements due
May 23rd – June 2nd - Online Voting
If you have further questions regarding the Board of Directors, duties or expectations, feel free to contact any of the other current Board Members contact info can be found here: Raiders BOD Contacts.
| 16U Blue PVAHA State Champs - Heading to USA Hockey Nationals The Reston Raiders 16UAA Blue team is heading to Nationals as the Potomac Valley Amateur Hockey Association’s Virginia State Champions.
The Raiders took down the Ashburn Xtreme two games to one in the State final series to earn the ticket the National Championship tournament, which will take place March 30th through April 3rd in Amherst, New York. In Game 1, the Raiders broke a scoreless tie early in the second period, burying a one-timer off a nifty behind-the-back feed, but Ashburn answered back a short time later. The Raiders pressed hard to start the third period and broke though on a tip from a point shot. The Raiders then put the clamps on the Ashburn offense, adding a late empty netter to seal the 1-0 series lead.
The Raiders knew that the next day they would be facing a fierce Ashburn team trying to fend off elimination. Sure enough, the Raiders found themselves in a 2-0 hole after the first period, but undaunted, they closed the gap to one on a picture-perfect power play goal, going point-to-point back across to the high slot for a laser-guided missile into the yawning Ashburn goal. They knotted it up at 2 with a second Raider power play goal early in the third and the Raiders had the Xtreme scrambling for answers. They received a lot of help in their search when the Raiders were whistled on penalties bookending the end of regulation. Ashburn scored on the ensuing 5-on-3 power play to send the series to a deciding Game 3.
The Raiders rallying cry this season has been “There is No Quit in Our Fight” and, with home ice advantage in their back pocket, a loose and confident bunch was ready for the biggest fight of the year to date. Buoyed by a raucous crowd of Raider supporters, the 16U Blues snatched an early lead on a beautiful goal scored from a fancily sauced corner feed. Moments later, the Raiders struck again, this time off a turnover in the neutral zone that was quickly moved up ice, then slid across on a 2-on-1 to a man who made no mistake by tucking the puck into bed on the top bunk. That set off a wild celebration of young Raider supporters behind the Ashburn goal. From that point on, the Raiders relied on strong team defensive discipline and a stellar netminding performance to shut the Xtreme out and bring the Virginia state crown home to Reston.
The members of the 2023 PVAHA Virginia State Championship team are: Sam Ettinger, Jack Hume, Aidan Jacques, Markus Kim, Everett Liu, Kaiden, Mendoza, Jackson Mika, Connor Morgan, Alex Oehm, Amadeo Pivonka, Noah Scheinerman, Vincent Scodellaro, Harrison Smith, Rocco Somma, Jack Spiess, Peter Turner, Christopher Valko, Tyler Waterman, and Aleksey Zubarev. The team is coached by Matt Scodellaro, Tim Waterman, Matt Somma, Paul Spiess, Sean Turner and Mikhail “Mish” Zubarev, managed by Kelly Morgan with valued support from video specialist Greg Mika.
The Raiders add the Virginia state championship to the CBHL’s regular season and playoff titles and now set their sights on the biggest prize of all. That quest begins on March 30th against the Montana Wolves at 12:15pm. They will follow that up with a group stage game versus the New England Wolves (NH) on March 31st at 7pm and a final preliminary game against the Fort Wayne Force on April 1st at 2:30pm. The top two teams in each group advance to quarterfinals on April 2nd with semi-finals later that same day, culminating in the National Championship on Monday, April 3rd at 10am. The full schedule is available at: 2023 Chipotle-USA Hockey Youth Tier II 16U 2A. All games are available for streaming on USA Hockey’s USAHockeyTV. GO RAIDERS!!!
#RAIDERNATION
| Raiders 18U Blue - CHBL Playoff Champions The Reston Raider 18U Blue team took home the CBHL 18U AA Playoff Championship on February 26th. Following their Eastern Junior Elite League Championship two weeks prior, the Raiders won a nail biter by beating the Ashburn Extreme in the Semis. The game went to a sudden death shootout, where Maddox Sheehan buried the game winner for a 3-2 win. Carried by the momentum of such an emotional victory, the Raiders then bested a strong Montgomery team 5-3 to win their second consecutive CBHL Championship.
Next up is the State Championships on the weekend of March 11/12. Like their 16U brothers, they will take on a top 20 Ashburn team for the right to go to the National Championships. We hope to see many of the Raider faithful at the rink to cheer the boys on.
| 18U Blue Brings Home 18U AA EJEPL Championship Despite an injury plagued campaign, the Raider U18 Blue team reached the EJEPL playoffs for the third consecutive year and made their way to Red Bank, NJ for the Eastern Junior Elite League Playoffs. Coming in as a fourth seed, the Reston squad would first face the Red Bank Generals for the right to play in the finals. The Generals and Raiders split the season series in two highly contested and fast paced matches while the other semi final featured the Long Island Arrows and Team Genesis from North Philadelphia.
The first game of the playoffs saw a top 20 Arrows team take Genesis to overtime and ultimately come out winners. This set the stage for a must win situation for both the Generals and the Raiders in the Saturday matinee.
The raiders came out of the gate flying with Nathan Coons striking first on a Josh Tobin feed just :24 seconds into the period. Both teams were playing at the top of their game and Raider goalie Tucker Forrest consistently turned away chance after chance, frustrating the top seeded Generals. Going into the intermission with a one goal lead the Raiders were confident but understood that they would have to be better in the second. The Generals were able to get on the board early in period 2, but it was a Ryan Quaid one-timer from the top of the circle that broke the tie and had the Raiders on top. The pace picked up considerably as the Generals pushed and looked for any opportunity for the equalizer. The pressure paid dividends as they were able to tie it up and force a sudden death, 4 on 4 overtime.
Overtime brought out a high level of intensity for both teams and Tucker Forrest confidently turned away every General effort. Ultimately, it was team Captain, Conner McCarthy with the setup and alternate Maddox Sheehan’s snipe that delivered the dramatic win for Reston.
With the Semi-final out of the way, the Raiders had to focus on their next opponent. The Arrows were lethal on the PP and a traditionally physical Raider bunch had to ensure any odd man opportunities were kept to a minimum. This was the formula for success earlier in the season and the Raiders needed to be disciplined to come away with a victory.
As we saw in the Semi-final, emotions were high and the tempo dictated some quality chances for both teams. Josh Tobin was able to strike first on a Raider power play that was set up beautifully by Sheehan and McCarthy. But it was an errant pass by the Arrows that allowed a fast acting Carson Breissinger to capitalize on the turnover and take the lead to two.
The second period brought renewed energy to the Raiders as Will Cahill scored early in the frame and the goaltending from Aiden Arbuckle had the Arrows searching for answers. Unfortunately, some penalty troubles midway through the final period allowed the Arrows to see some daylight. It was back-to-back power play goals by the Arrows that turned a 3 goal lead into a one goal game with 3:39 remaining. The Raiders did not letup and JT Gary was able to convert on a breakaway with 2:24 left in the game. But the Arrows were not done. With a relentless push in the final two minutes Arbuckle was equal to the task and denied the Arrows time after time. It was only with :54 seconds left and their goalie pulled that they made the score 4-3. With the game on the line and time ticking away, it was the vaunted Coons-Berg combination that sealed the win for the Raiders with Austin Berg burying an empty netter from 130 feet.
This marks the second EJ Championship in three years for this core group of players. Next up, the CBHL playoffs, and States for a right to go to the Nationals.
Congrats to U18 Blue: Conner McCarthy, Maddox Sheehan, Matt Reinke, Trey Vita, Will Cahill, Austin Berg, Ryan Christiano, Nathan Coons, Hunter Day, Tucker Forrest, Aiden Arbuckle, Gavin Oglesby, Hunter Oglesby, Josh Tobin, JT Gary, Ryan Quaid, Tony Nevano, Carson Breissinger, Nick Ciambruschini (not pictured), Beckett (Ralphie) Sheehan
| Girls 14U Wins CBHL Regular Season & Playoff Championship 
| | The Reston Raiders Girls 14UAA team finished the year as the CBHL regular season champs, with an impressive 18-0-2 record, and brought home a 2023 CBHL Playoff Championship banner after beating Chevy Chase, 3-1, in the final title game on Sunday, March 5th, at Ion International Training Center.
After recording an undefeated regular season, the Raiders Girls 14U secured the top seed in the playoff bracket. The team reached the final game by defeating the 4th-seed Montgomery Ice Devils with an inspired 8-0 shutout in Saturday’s decisive semifinal matinee held at the Skatequest Olympic arena.
It had been eight years since a Girls banner had been hoisted @ the Skatequest Barn, so the 14U Girls were hungry to bring one home for the Reston Raiders Hockey Club. They took to the ice early Sunday morning to face off against a fully stacked, locked & loaded Chevy Chase team armed with many talented players. The game was an intense 'battle of the wills’ logging over 13 penalties across three periods. Reston made the most of their power play time, maintaining possession and significant offense zone time. With 4:33 left in the opening period, the Raider girls’ efforts finally paid off as they capitalized on a power play to take a 1-0 lead. Molly Murphy quarterbacked the successful power play, which resulted in a Lucy Jorjani goal off a beautiful passing play by Zaara Yusufi and Zoe Stehle.
The second period saw a sustained push by Chevy Chase and an onslaught of shots, but the Raider goalie, Sienna McIntyre, was up to the challenge and blanked Chevy Chase for a second period. Reston recorded their second goal late in the second period when Madison Trump netted what would become the game-winning goal after a dominant forecheck by Rosie McNeice and Tessa Stoll. After the second goal, the large contingent of Raider fans went wild and finally could take a deep breath, but only for a moment ….
As the third and final stanza came into play, the Raider defense, led by Keegan Davenport, Mio Moran, and Jonnie Seymour, really had to up their game as they faced four consecutive penalties, including a 5 on 3. Chevy Chase’s relentless efforts proved fruitful when they finally scored with 7:33 minutes left on the clock. Closing the gap to just one goal, the newly invigorated Chevy Chase team kept the pressure on as the Reston defense dug deep and held firm as minutes ticked away. With 2:45 seconds left on the clock, Chevy Chase pulled their goalie, and the puck battle reached epic levels. Reston’s defensive effort led to an empty net goal with 1:52 left in the game to provide some relief. As time slowly ticked down, the Raiders got some stout defense from Madyn Barnett, Mia Brockman, and Keya Dhar and strong wing play from Felicia Katzman, Lorelei Friel, and Hazel Boland to close out the game. When the clock read zero, the Reston Raiders Girls 14U team became CBHL champions.
Coach Seymour is incredibly proud of all of this year’s players and how they embraced the work-hard, team-first, have-fun mentality. Go Raiders!
| Raiders 16U Blue Wins CBHL Regular Season & Playoff Championship The Reston Raiders 16UAA Blue team added the 2023 CBHL Playoff Championship banner to go along with the Bob Otte Trophy as the CBHL’s Regular Season Champion after beating the Tri-City Eagles, 3-2 in the title game on February 26th at the Ashburn Ice House.
The Raiders reached the final by holding off the upset-minded 8-seed Piedmont Predators, 6-5 in overtime in the Saturday matinee, and then beating the 4-seed Caps Academy Red, 5-0 in the late Saturday semifinal.
Inspired by watching their 18U Blue AA brethren win the playoff title right before they took to the ice on Sunday afternoon, the 16U Blue team came out in the first period determined to prove that their top seed in the 2023 playoffs was warranted. The Raiders took a 1-0 lead with 1:41 in the opening stanza on a goal by Jackson Mika, set up by Sam Ettinger. The second period, however, saw the ice tilt the other way with Tri-City scoring a goal against the run of play at the 8 minute mark. They quickly followed that with another goal 19 seconds later and the Raiders suddenly found themselves on their heels. The Raiders, however, were able to get to the locker room between the second and third periods down only one, despite being badly outshot in the middle period. Shaken for a bit, but undaunted, the Raiders emerged from their locker room stirring to produce a comeback.
And what a comeback it was! Vincent Scodellaro potted a badly needed power play goal early in the third to knot the game up at 2 apiece. That was followed by a wild exchange of chances, but the game remained tied until Noah Scheinerman took a neutral zone pass from Chris Valko and rocketed a shot to the short side top shelf corner with 4:28 on the clock to give the Raiders a 3-2 lead and set off an explosion of celebration that reverberated all the way down the Dulles Toll Road back to Skatequest.
The celebration was temporarily muted however, when the Raiders were called for two separate penalties on a defensive zone face-off with 3:53 left on the clock. It was time for the Raider penalty killers to do a job they’ve done so well all season. Led by a standout performance from goalie Harrison Smith and an all-out effort from the PK, the Raiders killed off the Tri-City two-man advantage, only to be whistled again for a holding penalty, this time with 76 ticks left on the clock. Called upon again to seal the win, the penalty killing unit did not disappoint and as the clock read zeros, the celebration was on, marking back-to-back 16UAA CBHL season and playoff titles for the Reston Raiders.
The Raiders improved their record to 40-11-4 on the year and will next be in action on the weekend of March 11th-12th when they play in the best-of-three Virginia State Championship against an opponent still to be determined.
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