Pucked Up Parents - Youth Hockey

Michael & Angela kick things off with a look back at both kids’ hockey weekends—which, in a rare hockey-parent miracle, were ALL at the same rink! They also discuss the NHL’s new uniform rules and what they mean for players. Then it’s time to tackle one of the most painful phrases in youth hockey: Stay to Play. What may have started as an innocent way to bring teams together for tournaments ha...

This week on Pucked Up Parents, Michael and Angela kick things off with This Week in Hockey, including a huge first weekend of college hockey for their son—complete with his first college goal and then a hat trick! They also talk about the unique experience of heading to a midnight hockey game and what that does to the hockey-parent sleep schedule. Then they go Beyond the Boards with special guest...

The Hockey Stink is real—and Michael and Angela are diving straight into it! This episode Pucked Up Parents , the 12-year-old’s team kicks off the season with a trip to Cleveland, college hockey gets ready to drop the puck—including a midnight game—and Michael celebrates a second-place finish in a firefighter 5K. Plus, Michael has some choice words about out-of-control rink rats and the parents wh...

This week on Pucked Up Parents , the hockey season is officially in full swing!. Michael is wondering if it’s completely ridiculous to buy a replica jersey of his own kid , while hockey practices are ramping up with new additions like off-ice training and technology that is pretty cool. Then we get down to the foundation of every hockey player: the skate. From entry-level skates to those “that cos...

Michael and Angela kick things off with a quick trip through This Week in Youth Hockey , including the college kids’ media day and their shiny new hockey jerseys. Meanwhile, the 12-year-old officially begins full-time practices for the new season—which apparently means missing one already because Mom and Dad have tickets to see Third Eye Blind. Priorities. Then we fire up the Pucked Up Parents Tim...

Michael & Angela kick things off with their usual “This Week in Youth Hockey” , where Angela shares the highlights from the 12-year-old’s Welcome Back to Hockey parent meeting. The message from the hockey "powers that be" is pretty simple: parents, don’t be aholes this season. With the 2026/2027 hockey schedules finally coming together, it’s almost time to officially unleash ourselve...

In this quick-hit episode, Michael and Angela tackle something every youth hockey parent will experience : your kid’s team either gets their ass handed to them—or they’re the ones doing the handing out. They break down what happens when a game gets ugly, from how players respond to how coaches manage a blowout and how the opposing team may react. They also talk about the parent side of things, inc...

The 2026/2027 hockey season is right around the corner—which means it’s time for hockey parents to get their lives, schedules, and sanity ready for another year of chaos! In this episode, Michael and Angela break down the preseason checklist for hockey parents : meeting the new players, parents and coaches, figuring out the practice and game schedule, planning around traffic, school, work and all...

Season 2 of Pucked Up Parents is here and to celebrate, Michael & Angela sit down with Rachel Steffen of the USA Women's National Sled Hockey Team for an inspiring and entertaining conversation about one of hockey's fastest-growing disciplines. Rachel shares her sled hockey journey—from discovering the sport and playing with the Cincinnati IceBreakers to earning a spot on Team USA. Alo...

It may be summer, but class is officially in session! In this episode of Pucked Up Parents , Michael and Angela tackle Hockey Math —and trust us, it's not the kind you learned in school. From the science behind the game, including rink dimensions, shooting angles, puck velocity, and the geometry of the perfect pass, to the advanced calculations every hockey parent somehow becomes an expert in,...

On this episode, Michael and Angela dive into the ever-evolving world of  Youth Hockey Style . They take a trip down memory lane, from the days when kids showed up to the rink in cartoon pajamas, mismatched clothes, and bed head… to the teenage years when it’s all about arriving in suits, sunglasses, headphones, and gold chains looking like they are heading to the NHL Draft. The conversation cover...

From broken wrists and separated shoulders to the classic hockey smile after a puck knocks out a tooth, Michael and Angela dive into the painful reality of youth hockey injuries. They share stories about the bumps, bruises, and bigger setbacks that come with the game, while also discussing the illnesses that can sweep through a team—forcing players into unfamiliar positions, leaving benches short,...

In this episode of Pucked Up Parents , Michael and Angela sit down with Chris Holmes—a hockey dad, goalie dad, youth hockey coach, and the founder of Buffalo's Queen City Hockey Expo . Chris shares his journey into the hockey world, how his child unexpectedly became a goalie, and what inspired him to step behind the bench as a youth coach. The conversation then shifts to a large hockey community o...

This episode of Pucked Up Parents , Michael and Angela kick things off with a recap of the latest hockey happenings, including their 12Us experience at summer hockey camp, the was it worth it story of how Angela managed to crack her phone screen because of hockey, and a listener's story that reminds us why maybe... just maybe... we should cut referees a little slack. Then it's on to the ma...

Hosts Michael and Angela venture into dangerous territory by inviting a real-life youth hockey referee, Jeremy, onto the show. That's right—the guy everyone yells at from the stands finally gets a chance to share his side of the story. Jeremy shares his hockey journey, from player to official, and explains what led him to being a referee. He breaks down the different levels of officiating and...

In this episode Michael and Angela kick things off with a recap of another chaotic week in hockey life. Michael shares the boys latest adventures from beer league and squeezing in ice time, while Angela recounts a travel nightmare trying to get home from a work trip—proving once again that hockey parents aren't the only ones who spend their lives battling schedules, delays, and unexpected dram...

On this episode of Pucked Up Parents , Michael and Angela dive headfirst into the unpredictable world of youth hockey adventures and all the chaos that comes with it. Because let's be honest—if you've spent enough weekends at the rink, you've probably learned that the game itself is often the least dramatic part of the trip. The hosts swap stories about dead car batteries in freezing p...

This episode Michael and Angela tackle one of the biggest topics in post youth hockey: the college hockey path . From the bright lights of NCAA Division I hockey to the late-night beer-league-adjacent glory of campus intramurals, they break down the many roads available to players who want to keep skating after high school. Angela takes listeners through the different college hockey options, expla...

Angela is out of town this week, so Michael takes over the microphone for a solo episode that dives into his unique journey as a youth hockey parent. Unlike many sports dads, Michael didn't grow up playing hockey, following hockey, or really excelling at sports at all. In fact, he admits that becoming a hockey dad was never part of the plan. Michael reflects on what it's like entering the...

On this episode of Michael and Angela dive into one of the true characters of youth hockey — the rink itself. From freezing cold “barns” with pothole-filled parking lots to immaculate NHL practice facilities with heated viewing areas and bars, they break down every type of hockey rink parents and players experience along the journey. The two discuss everything that makes a rink memorable: the qual...

On this episode Michael and Angela dive headfirst into one of hockey’s most unavoidable traditions: penalties. From the confusion of offsides and icing calls that leave first-year full ice hockey parents nodding like they totally understand, to the chaos of minors, majors, and misconducts, the duo breaks down the rules every hockey family eventually learns the hard way. Of course, no penalty conve...

In this special Mother’s Day episode of Pucked Up Parents , host Michael steps aside and hands the mic over to Angela and two fellow veteran hockey moms, Shawna and Leslie, for a hilarious and heartfelt conversation about life as hockey parents. As first-generation hockey moms, the trio (known as the HBI) reflects on how they were thrown headfirst into the wild world of youth hockey and somehow su...

Christie Casciano; Author of the Puck Hog Series and My Kids Play Hockey. Available now! In this episode of Pucked Up Parents , Michael and Angela sit down with book author, USA Hockey Magazine colunist, news anchor and hockey mom Christie Casciano for a candid and relatable conversation about life as a hockey parent. Christie dives into the inspiration behind her youth hockey parent guide, My Kid...

In this episode of Pucked Up Parents , Michael and Angela dive into one of the most overlooked species in youth hockey culture: the siblings—aka the legendary “rink rats.” From toddlers wrapped like burritos in oversized blankets to pre-teens living off vending machine snacks and chaos, they break down what it really takes to keep the non-playing kids alive, warm, and relatively entertained during...

In this episode of Pucked Up Parents , Michael and Angela take a brutally honest (and predictably sarcastic) look at the true cost of youth hockey—and spoiler alert: it’s not pretty. At a high level, they walk through the endless list of expenses that hit parents before the season even really starts. It begins with tryout fees—because apparently you have to pay just for the chance to pay more—foll...