GRAHA celebrates 40 years of youth hockey
By Michael Caples –
On Sept. 8, the Grand Rapids Amateur Hockey Association threw quite the party at Patterson Ice Center. And really, who could blame them?
One of the largest associations in west Michigan, GRAHA is celebrating their 40th anniversary this season. To start it off on the right note, the association acknowledged their accomplishment with a party at Patterson, their official home rink. From 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., players, parents, coaches, managers and fans enjoyed free hot dogs and hamburgers, a 70-foot inflated obstacle course, a bounce house, an inflatable rock climbing wall with a slide, and free open skating.
Even Griff, the mascot for the Grand Rapids Griffins, and Pounce, the Davenport University mascot, stopped by to help with the celebration. The two teams are closely associated with GRAHA; their house teams are named the Panthers, and their travel teams are named the Griffins.
GRAHA currently has 12 travel teams this season, two of which are girls’ teams (12U and 16U). The other travel programs range from Squirt A through Midget A and JV. GRAHA has six Mite house teams, four Squirt house teams, two PeeWee house teams, one Bantam house team, and one Midget BB house team.
