July 5, 2023

The Utah Lady Grizzlies board is seeking to get to 7 board members.   We want to encourage you to apply for the Board of Directors if you are interested in improving girl’s hockey in Utah. 

If you would like to be considered for nomination to the Board of Directors (or nominate someone else), send the above form OR an email explaining interest to the Board by July 19, 2023.  The names of the nominees (after being certified by a Board officer that they are qualified for election) shall be delivered to the organization members for vote after July 19, 2023.  Those nominees receiving the most votes of the membership will be elected.

If you have any questions regarding nominations or elections, please contact the board of directors.

Sincerely,

Utah Lady Grizzlies Board

Return form to: lynn.utahladygrizzlies@gmail.com and angela.utahladygrizzlies@gmail.com

We are excited to announce our coaches for the 2023-2024 season!

19U Coaches:

Bill Kerig grew up in Boston, played hockey for Kimball Union Academy and was a two-year captain at St. Michael’s College (NCAA Division 2). Since 2011, he has coached in Salt Lake City at the recreational, travel, tier, and high school levels. Coaching teams from mite to U19 and every level in between, he has helmed Lightning, Lady Lightning, Grizzlies, Lady Grizzlies, Eagles, and East High teams. He is a Level 4 USA Hockey Coach. 

Grace Kerig grew up playing Lady Lightning and Utah Lady Grizzlies. She has played for the University of Utah Women's team for the last two years. 

16U Coaches:

Bryce Mannek grew up in Utah and has been playing since he was 5 years old and coaching competitive hockey for the past 18 years. He has coached for the Utah Jr Grizzlies at every age level, from the Squirts to U-18s. He has been to Nationals four different times with the Jr Grizz, placing as high as 3rd at the U-16 Level in 1a division. Bryce has also been an assistant coach for the West Coast Renegades Tier 1 at the U-14 level for 3 years and recently in the 21/22 season, he was the head coach for the Eagles U-16 AA where they placed 5th in the 2a division (the highest any U-16 team in 2a has placed in Utah). 

Brandon Mannek started playing at a young age for many competitive teams throughout Utah. He has coached for many years, most with the Jr Grizz. His resume is tough to beat. All of the teams he has coached have been very successful on and off the ice. 

Alyssa Fain has been a hockey goalie since 2009. She has participated three times in the youth hockey national championships. Since graduating high school, she has continued her hockey career and has been coaching 2018 in the youth organization (Alyssa is level 2 USA certified). She loves coaching and loves helping kids improve on and off of the ice. 

14U Coaches:

Emily Petersen played in various organizations in North Carolina before going to NC State University where she co-founded the women's ACHA D2 program. She then started coaching, first as a Canes girls-only summer camp counselor and eventually as a Jr Hurricanes Girls full time assistant for the U16/19 travel team and a part time assistant for player development sessions for U14AA/AAA, U16AA, and U19AAA girls teams. She has a minor in Sports Science from NC State and has been a strength and conditioning coach.  She helped coach the 12u Utah Lady Grizzlies team in 2022-23. 

Elissa Dunlop grew up in Los Angeles where she was a late bloomer, starting hockey at the age of 12 with dreams of being the best hockey player ever to play! She played with AAA clubs like CA Wave and Detroit Little Caesar’s. In college, she played NCAA D1 hockey at Long Island University. She went on to be the youngest ever to play professionally in the PWHPA on team Bauer, and then played professionally in the EWHL for Lakers Kärnten.

On the coaching side, she has had experience working with youth teams to NHL teams and tutors player's decision making and skills privately in between. She specializes in incorporating the use of hockey analytics, psychology, and decision making in her sessions, wanting to get her players performing in games as fast as possible.

Skills Coaches:

Brooke Burns started playing hockey when she was about 3 or 4 and grew up playing locally with boys teams, usually the only girl. She played on Lightning A, then moved to Lady Lightning for 2 years on the u14 team. She then played varsity high school hockey for Brighton. After high school, she helped start the University of Utah Women's team where she was captain. She played for the Utes until 2022 when she graduated. Brooke is excited to help out with all teams this season! 

Message from the Director

The Utah Lady Grizzlies is pleased to announce that Chad Linville will be taking on the role of Head Coach for the 12U Travel Team for the 2023-2024 season. He has been a tremendous contributor to the Utah Lady Grizzlies and was the Assistant Coach of the 12U Team for the 2022-2023 season. He brings with him excitement, organization and a growth mindset for the upcoming season. Courtney Miller will be the Assistant Coach of the 12U team and we are thrilled to have her continued expertise on the bench! Her long standing dedication to growing girls hockey in Utah is an asset to our program and the future for girls hockey. 

This 12U team is the future of girls hockey in Utah and we will be dedicating a tremendous amount of energy on this team, focusing on their long term development. The culture of the Utah Lady Grizzlies is a priority and our coaching staff will be integral in setting standards, expectations, fairness, inclusion, teamwork and fun as we are integrating organizational values across all teams.  We look forward to an incredible season!

Sincerely,

Shannon Bennett

Director of Hockey Utah Lady Grizzlies

Please join us in welcoming Utah Lady Grizzlies Director of Hockey: Shannon Bennett!

A native of Minnetonka, Minnesota, Shannon serves as the Director of Hockey for the Utah Lady Grizzlies. Shannon grew up as a competitive figure skater in Minnesota and moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado for training during high school. Shannon received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration/Marketing from the University of Utah and upon graduating worked in advertising and marketing for the Nike Tour, Mrs Fields Famous Brands and VIP Incentives where she was the Director of Marketing. During this period she was coaching part time and ultimately elected to retire from the corporate world and coach full time. Her passion for helping athletes reach their goals was a guiding force for her to make the jump. She spent her early coaching days developing competitive figure skaters then realized her love of coaching truly was developing hockey players and teams. 

Over the past 20 years she has been an integral part of the Utah hockey community working with individual players and teams. She has been the power skating coach for multiple youth organizations in Utah along with college teams. She owns Elevated Power Skating and has coached with the Utah Lady Grizzlies for the past three years. Shannon's expertise lies in long term athlete development and being able to work with athletes to achieve their goals in a positive growth environment. She believes in working together with trusted coaches and leaders to build a safe and competitive environment for athletes to thrive. Shannon is thrilled to be part of growing hockey in Utah and help build the Utah Lady Grizzlies Organization. 

Park City is where she calls home with her husband, two children and all of their animals. Spending time with family is what she cherishes most. In her free time she can be found at the lake, visiting family at the farm in North Dakota, visiting the cabin in Minnesota, skiing and playing in the mountains.