#this may or may not be reddie week prep

[grapesodatozier]

"hey boss sorry I’m late I was zoned out in the shower thinking about what dnd 5e class each of the losers would be" -me this morning

lol anyway here’s what I came up with!! would love to hear others’ thoughts on this!! my personal character interpretations are very book heavy with cherry-picked movie influences and a respectable scoop of fanon interpretations I like lol so I think there’s a lot of options here and I think it would be so fun to hear other people’s interpretations of this!!

bill: oath of vengeance paladin whose god is maturin. his favorite spell is compelled duel. no further elaboration needed.

mike: farm boy mike made me consider druid or ranger, but I think his motivations are very strong around maintaining derry’s history, and he’s incredibly dedicated to that, so I think knowledge domain cleric makes most sense to me (his god is also maturin, bike maturin acolyte boyfriends so real <3 )

ben: book ben is soooo fighter. that man threw back an insane amount of alcohol, went back to derry no question, stomped on some alien eggs, and took decades to confess to a cute, corny little 3 line love poem, then respectfully swept his childhood love off her feet. that’s just so fighter to me. like there is nothing more Fighter than starting your story alone in a tavern venting vaguely about your past heroic exploits to the bartender. fighter for sure with some significant levels in artificer for his architecture career

stan: wizardddddd he literally escapes pennywise with the powers of his bird watching guidebook!!!! literally got magic powers from a book in canon!!!!! also he's very happy being an accountant and i feel like math and desk jobs feel very wizard to me lol. also it would be so interesting to explore his feelings about being able to shape reality when he's so attached to maintaining reality. but. he literally changed reality with his book like!!!! so much to think about here.

bev: i kinda want bev to be a rogue, but i think that's just what she initially tries to be. she wants to fly under the radar so bad but she never can. honestly i think she's a barbarian!! it's what she deserves!!! 2017 babygirl kills her dad by bashing him over the head with a toilet cover!!! that's some barbarian shit she has so much anger and rage that she deserves to let out!!!!! also her premonitions about It coming back? danger sense. decades in advance danger sense lmao

eddie: listen. i considered rogue. killing your childhood bully with a broken perrier bottle is some rogue shit. i also considered monk, bc our boy loves to go fast!! but i think the most fitting class for him is ranger. his "super power" is always knowing where to go and where he is. he uses it in the sewers, he uses it to drive around new york city better than anyone else. knowing your terrain that effortlessly is some ranger shit. also he's happiest just chilling on a grassy hill or hanging out in the barrens!! nature baby boy!! also rangers can be a dex class so it still works for him wanting to run and run and run

richie: okay i spent way too much time thinking about richie's bc he's my favorite <3 lol so this is gonna be long. listen we all have biases okay. anyways he's obviously a bard like hello he can change his voice and convince people he's someone else. basically literally casts silvery barbs in book canon. constantly performing. described as having "exhausting charm." support class 100%, while everyone leans on bill he's the one bill leans on. favorite spell is disguise self bc he wants so badly to be someone else. but i don't think he's just a bard. i think he pretends to be just a bard, but such a big part of richie's character is being afraid of things inside himself that he'd like to ignore but can't control. It shows him a werewolf with his name on it which yeah I'm very pro bisexual interpretation of that but more generally is just about feeling like he's got smth uncontrollable and scary that he doesn't understand within him. all of which screams wild magic sorcerer!! so i think he's a wild magic sorcerer who learns bard stuff so he can pretend he's only a bard bc he's scared of his natural magic

okay ty for reading please feel free to share your thoughts if you have them <3

[bluemeta]

10 Things to do With Your Family in Cloverdale During The Covid Lockdown

Whether you have been living in the Surrey Cloverdale area your whole life or you just moved here you are likely getting tired of sitting at home during the pandemic lockdown.

As a Cloverdale native with a family, I wanted to share a few great activities families can do to mix up the fun at home. This is especially helpful for the families just moving into the neighborhood as we will introduce you to a few local businesses that need your support as the pandemic continues to affect our local Lower Mainland businesses.

Try a Meal Kit Service For Dinner

Cooking dinner or trying a new recipe together can be fun. If you are a well-seasoned cook and your family is used to creating meals together I would suggest trying the local Nanaimo Bar recipe with your kids.

If your family is not as seasoned at cooking new recipes together there are two great new local meal kit services

Eat Your Cake

Fresh Prep

Both services are local to the surrounding Vancouver area and deliver to all of Surrey and Langley residents. Each meal kit comes with food from local vendors across BC and keeps sustainable practices in mind. Servings are priced on average from $6 to $12 depending on the box and meal you choose.

Delivery Location: Surrey, Langley, Maple Ridge, Burnaby, Vancouver

Take an online cooking class

WellSeasoned has been around in Langley for many years with great cooking classes and even better-baked goods. The store has moved its business model to also offer great online cooking classes.

You can find a free Facebook live kids class on Wednesday or an adult pay-what-you-can class on Thursday evening. The Thursday class is a fundraiser to help the chefs at WellSeasoned through the Pandemic as classes sit canceled or at half capacity.

Store Location: Langley

Unique Family Game Night

After playing the same games over and over again your family may be tired of Monopoly or Trouble. Try a virtual or outdoor mystery game with Vancouver Mysteries. Virtual games are played over Zoom and can include costumes and teams. This is a great way to connect with family or friends, not in your core bubble. Vancouver Mysteries is usually played outdoors in the Downtown area but with new virtual events, it is easier to start up a game in your own home.

Store Location: Vancouver

Pottery Painting To Go

Located right in historic Downtown Cloverdale Create It Emporium offers to take home pottery painting kits good for the whole family. With many different pottery items to choose from simply email the store and pick up your kits. All kits include everything you need to paint your item and the firing when your item is finished.

Location: Cloverdale

Check Out a New Local Park

While the weather may be rainy with some snow at times 2021 has proven a year filled with more sunny days than expected. Here are some local parks that have easy trails to take the whole family on.

Bose Forest Park in West Cloverdale

Tynehead Trails in Surrey following the Serpentine River

Cloverdale River Park in Cloverdale

Location: Cloverdale

Take-Home Cookie Decorating Kits

A take-home cookie decorating kit is a great way to keep the kids busy for an hour or two and get a fun treat at the end. Many local bakeries have started offering to take home cookie kits like Four Little Piggies Baking or Reddy Made Cakes both located in Aldergrove, Abbotsford area.  

If they aren’t currently offering cookie kits Sweet Valley Cookies always has some available for delivery.

Delivery Location: Abbotsford, Langley, Chilliwack, Mission, Surrey, Vancouver, New Westminster, Richmond, White Rock, Coquitlam, Burnaby, Fort Langley, Cloverdale, Delta, Maple Ridge, Steveston, North Vancouver, West Vancouver.

Story Time With Surrey Libraries

The digital branch of Surrey Libraries now offers online storytime and book clubs allowing you to enjoy reading and connection while at home. With new readings and events each week there is always something available for your family to enjoy.

Location: Surrey

Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival

The Vancouver Hot Chocolate Festival is a great way to get out of the house and support local cafes while keeping your distance. Options are available at local restaurants for pick up only. You can visit one or all locations participating in the event. Check out Vancouver Hot Chocolate Fest for a list of locations and flavours

Location: Vancouver and surrounding area

Watch a Quarantine Concert

If you aren’t ready to leave home quite yet don’t worry many people are in the same boat. Your family can set up a concert night and watch a concert live from your living room. Grab some popcorn and snacks and get the best seat in the house.

Location: Home

Watch Live Theater at Home

If you are a fan of live theater now is your chance to catch a show in the comfort of your own home. Don’t forget to get a popcorn delivery on Skip The Dishes from your local Cineplex. Without movies, our local theaters are doing their best to offer new ways to keep the doors open.

Location: Home

If you are interested in learning more about the local Cloverdale market and things happening in the area follow the Corbin & Co. team on Facebook. We specialize in buying and selling homes in the Surrey and Langley area. As specialists, we love our community and always look for great ways to support the local businesses making Cloverdale and all of Surrey great!

[lambent-loser]

He’s Pretty In Pink

Chapter 1

A reddie Pretty in Pink AU where Richie works in a record store and meets the cutest little rich kid he’s ever laid eyes on.

Word Count: 2064 

The familiar scent of petrichor lingers in the autumn air. The simple smell the morning rain has left on the surrounding damp sidewalks is enough to cause a smile to tug at the corners of the brunette’s lips. Richie Tozier is a man of simple pleasures. All his life he’s grown up without much, so he learned quickly to enjoy the small things in life. This makes him a pretty optimistic person by comparison to most others at 18. So even as the moisture from the weather seeps through the canvas of his hand-me-down converse high-tops, he smiles to himself, enamored by the way the rain can wash away the scent of the city, even if only for a few hours. It’s pleasant.

           He nods his head to the rhythm of the music coming from the cassette in his Walkman. Richie bought the device with his very first paycheck and he has yet to regret the purchase. He uses it daily to play the music he buys at a discount from the record shop he works at after school. The place is called High-Voltage Records, which Richie deemed a ‘bitchin’’ name the day he found out they were hiring. He’s been working there for four years now and he genuinely enjoys the job.

           Richie walks into the empty store and dances his way to the backroom without a care in the world. There he comes face to face with his absolute best friend. Richie met Beverly Marsh his first day on the job. He later found out the girl had been hired only a month or so prior to himself. One thing everyone needs to understand about Beverly is that she is beyond beautiful. She isn’t pretty in a conventional way. No, she’s confident with a glare that could stop your breath in your throat. Her hair holds almost as much fire as her gaze and her freckle spattered cheeks hold a softness that reminds Richie of early summer mornings before the heat becomes unbearable.  When he first saw her that day four years ago, Richie was convinced he’d found his soulmate. Now, of course, they laugh about it.

           “’Ello, Ms. Marsh. Top o’ the mornin’ to ya,” he greets in an obnoxious British accent as he removes his headphones. Richie believes he is a master of accents and impressions, but Beverly seems to think otherwise. He doesn’t get it and he will never stop calling himself comedy gold.

           Beverly rolls her eyes and finishes pinning on her nametag that has been decorated with various stickers.

“Okay. For one, Rich, it’s literally three in the afternoon and also… your accent is bad,” she insists for at least the fiftieth time that week.

           Richie attaches his own nametag to his patched-up jean jacket and adjusts his glasses.

“Oh, c’mon, Bev. Don’t be so mean to me,” he pouts with a grin.

They both head onto the main floor and Beverly turns on the blue and red neon light that displays to the public that the shop is open while Richie unlocks the door. The lanky boy sifts through the stash of music behind the counter and chuckles before picking out Duran Duran’s Rio album. It’s fairly new but both he and Bev have most of the songs memorized since it’s so popular. The ginger rolls her eyes at his album choice, but when “Hungry Like The Wolf” begins to play through the old speakers even she starts to sing along.

She and Richie have developed some kind of awfully choreographed dance to several songs including this one, so they confidently dance around the vacant store to the tune as they sing out of key. This is how days usually are at the shop: filled with smiles, laughter, and bad dancing. Sometimes Richie will even let Bev paint his nails or do his makeup while they talk about cute boys AND girls when business is slow. That’s another thing the two found out they have in common.

Despite their conversations, neither Beverly nor Richie have been very successful in their pursuit of love. Both are rather quirky and don’t really fit in anywhere. While life at the record store is good, this means that social life at school is challenging for them both. The only reason either of them is even able to attend the preparatory school is because an equal education initiative was passed five years ago that required a percentage of the student body to come from families with incomes below the poverty line. At Harrison Prep, these students became known as, for the most part, freaks.

Richie is good at dealing with things like that. He’s good at smiling through the insults and coming up with clever comebacks. Sure, he dresses weird and cracks a sinful amount of jokes, but he doesn’t see how that makes him ‘freakish’. If being a freak means being confident and having a good time, then he doesn’t mind the insult. He feels a lot happier than all the other students at school look.

Beverly is not as confident as Richie. In the moment she is witty and sassy and is able to defend herself just fine, but it’s in the days following that the words get to her. Sometimes Richie catches her crying in the backroom and he rushes to the convenience store across the street to pick her up a pint of ice cream. It’s a good thing they have each other because both hate to be alone. So much so that they made a pact that if neither were married by thirty-five they would get married for tax purposes.

School the next day is bad. Beverly is sick so Richie is alone. It’s absolutely boring and Richie can hardly stand it, but he makes it through the day. As he steps out of the school to begin his trek to High-Voltage, he’s stopped by an especially nasty brute named Henry Bowers. He really doesn’t get how he can be called a freak while this kid wanders around.

“Where do you think you’re going, freak?”

Richie saw it coming, but it doesn’t make it any less annoying.

“To my job, because unlike you, my daddy doesn’t buy me anything I want.”

Sometimes Richie’s trash mouth gets him into trouble. The beefy boy throws Richie into the brick wall of the school and pins him there.

“What did you just say to me, faggot?!” he spits.

Richie rolls his eyes.

“Does that ugly ass mullet of yours fucking muffle sound? I said you’re a Daddy’s boy, Bowers!” he retorts.

Lots of trouble.

Henry punches him in the stomach and Richie is down. He continues his assault until he grows bored with Richie’s lack of retaliation. He spits on him before stalking away. The brunette groans in disgust and sits up, wincing at the sharp pains emanating from several places on his body.

After gathering himself, he heads to the record store. He still must cover his shift after all, even with Bev sick. Business is slow, so he uses it as an opportunity to clean up in the grimy bathroom that he has grown quite fond of. The crack in the mirror and the scent of a cheap air freshener have somehow managed to become comforting to the shaggy-haired boy. Even after cleaning up, Richie is left with a nasty looking black eye and a shallow gash on his right cheek.

He returns to the counter and takes a seat, resting his feet beside the cash register. He grabs a comic book and flips to the page he left off on, adjusting his glasses every once in a while when they slide down his nose. Richie isn’t sure how much has passed when he hears the bell on the door chime, announcing the arrival of a customer.

Richie lowers his comic book just enough to peer over the top and nearly chokes on the air in his lungs. There, browsing the rows of vinyl records is the cutest fucking boy he’s ever seen. He’s got this neatly styled brown hair and these chocolate eyes that Richie thinks he might get lost staring onto. He’ll have to get a closer look, but he’s pretty sure the short boy has light freckles dusting his flushed cheeks. It must be chilly outside for his cheeks to be so red. Suddenly Richie is very self-conscious about the temperature of the store. It’s warm enough for him, right? He shakes the silly worry from his head and musters the courage to stand. Richie is naturally confident, but something about this boy makes his stomach churn with the same kind of anxiety you get right before your first kiss.  

Richie pushes his glasses up on his nose and makes his way over to where the stranger is browsing.

“Can I help you find anything?” he queries. This is his job after all. Nothing weird about that.

           Eddie glances at the store clerk. He takes notice of his ripped-up clothes, dirty shoes, and messy curls. For a moment, Richie thinks the boy is checking him out and he gets very excited before he notices the slight wrinkle in his nose. So that’s how it’s going to be. It’s only now that Richie pays any mind to what the boy is wearing. He’s dressed in short, ironed shorts and a pastel pink crewneck with a yellow collared shirt poking out of the collar. He looks cute in it all, but it’s clear he’s another one of the wealthier kids.

Eddie narrows his eyes at the scrappy clerk and shakes his head.

“No. I think I’ve got it. Thanks,” he mutters. His voice is dry and laced with a sassy bite. Richie rather likes the sound.

Richie may be too confident at times, but that also leads to persistence. He’s no quitter. He flips through some records and after a moment he selects one from a milk crate. He taps the small boy on the shoulder and in response he whips around, glaring daggers at Richie for scaring him.

“Hey, don’t get your panties in a twist, princess. I just have a music suggestion,” he offers, handing him the record.

Eddie takes it with a persistent frown.

“I told you I didn’t need help, and my name is Eddie. Don’t call me princess!” he demands with his hands on his hips.

Richie just likes him more and more…or at least he likes getting under his skin. Richie just shrugs.

“Well, Eddie Spaghetti, I just thought you might like that one. It’s one of my favorites,” he explains with a warm smile.

Eddie groans in response to the horrid nickname and turns away from Richie to keep looking, completely ignoring the glasses-clad boy. Richie returns to the register and watches the boy curiously. Honestly, Eddie seems horribly lost surrounded by all the music and it’s almost as if he’s clutching onto the album Richie suggested for dear life. After nearly five more minutes of aimlessly wandering the shop, Eddie finally approaches the register, setting Richie’s suggestion on the counter to be purchased.

“So, you decided to trust me after all, didn’t you, Eds?” he teases with a smirk. He leans down across the counter and gets really close to the short boy. “I promise you won’t regret it,” he purrs, pulling away to punch in the price.

Eddie huffs.

“It better be good if I’m paying seven dollars for it,” he grumbles, his face flushed.

Richie peers at him and then back at the register.

“I’ll give you the cutie discount. Five dollars please.”

Eddie’s cheeks are burning as he digs through his fanny pack and hands Richie a five-dollar bill. Before the taller boy can even put the record in a bag, Eddie snatches it off the counter and dashes out of the store, mumbling a barely audible ‘thanks’ on the way.

Richie watches him through the window and a breathes a soft sigh.

Eddie.

Beverly may be like a warm summer morning, but Eddie is like the hot midday. He’s running without shoes on and racing to eat popsicles before they melt into your hand and he’s the sun kissing your skin until the heat is burned into your very being. Eddie Kaspbrak is nothing like Richie Tozier has ever experienced before.

He has a feeling he’s going to be seeing a lot more of him.

Tag List: @delaina123  

[mitchbeck]

CANTLON'S CORNER: WOLF PACK OFF SEASON VOLUME 14

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - With just about sixty days remaining until the start of the 2019-'20 professional hockey season gets underway, teams are beginning to ramp up their final roster decisions and making more signings. PLAYER & COACHING MOVEMENT The Hartford Wolf Pack have been busy. They announced the signing of a forward, Lewis Zerter-Gossage, to a one-year, AHL deal. Zerter-Gossage played four years at Harvard (ECACHL) playing in 128 games scoring 42 goals adding 43 helpers for 85 points. He joined the Wolf Pack at the end of last season on an ATO deal. Zerter-Gossage played in five games in which he tallied two goals. He played his prep school hockey in Connecticut at Kent, which is also where Rangers head coach David Quinn played when he was a young man. The Rangers made it official and brought out Kevin Shattenkirk (Greenwich/Brunswick Prep). The move gives the Rangers immediate cap relief for this year. It puts the Blueshirts under the $81.5M cap at $80.4M. The team's two remaining UFA’s, Brendan Lemieux and Tony DeAngelo, are expected to play for their NHL qualifying offers for this coming season. Coming from out of left-field, former New Haven Nighthawk, and Hartford Whaler, Paul Fenton, was relieved of his duties as the Minnesota Wild's GM after just one season. In a "Hide-and-seek" move to rid the team of the contract of ex-Wolf Pack and Ranger, Ryan Callahan, who you may remember retired last month as a result of a diagnosis of degenerative back disease, was “dealt” by the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Ottawa Senators along with a fifth-round pick in the 2020 entry draft for goalie Mike Condon and a sixth-round 2020 draft pick. Sens had the cap space to spare while Tampa needed to create some. Totally legal within CBA rules. Tampa Bay also signed ex-Sound Tiger, Stephen Gionta, as an amateur scout. Ex-Pack, Vince Pedrie played very sparingly in Hartford last year and included an ECHL reassignment to the Maine Mariners before being released. He then signed with the Milwaukee Admirals where he played quality minutes into the Western Conference Final has signed with the Tucson Roadrunners on an AHL contract for next season. Ex-Sound Tiger, Casey Bailey, returns from HC Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia–KHL) and signs a try-out deal with the Hershey Bears. Wade Megan (South Kent Prep) who played with the Grand Rapids Griffins last season and had some recall time with the Detroit Red Wings, announced his retirement at age 29. He will concentrate on his hockey school in his native Canton, NY. The Charlotte Checkers announced the hiring of Pat Dwyer as a new assistant for new head coach Ryan Warsofsky. On the same day of his hire, Dwyer announced his retirement as a player after spending last season with the Belfast Giants (Northern Ireland-EIHL). The Texas Stars announced the retirement of Travis Morin, 35, and noted that his number 23 will be retired. It was also announced that he is being hired as a skills development coach. Former New Haven Nighthawk, and Hartford Whalers draft pick, Jerome “Boom-Boom” Bechard, has been hired to be one of two associate coaches with the expansion Columbus (GA) Fire Dragons (FHL). He coached the SPHL Columbus Cottonmouth for seven years before the team folded after the 2016-17 season. Matt Finn, who played four games in Hartford with the Wolf Pack, as well as with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, and had two other AHL PTO signing stops in Ontario and Grand Rapids, signs in Europe with EHC Linz (Austria-EBEL). Finn played the majority of his season with the Florida Everblades (ECHL). Jamie Arniel, the nephew of former Nighthawk and Rangers assistant coach, Scott Arniel, split last season with Vienna (Austria-EBEL) and then Augsburger (Germany-DEL) has signed with HC Bolzano  (Italy-EBEL). Another pair of Euro AHL signings. Bobby Farnham of Springfield signs with Belfast (Northern Ireland-EIHL). Ryan Murphy, who played with two AHL teams (Binghamton, Iowa) and two NHL squads (New Jersey, Minnesota), signs with Neftekhimik (Russia-KHL) making 63 AHL’ers to sign overseas for the upcoming season. European camps start in the next week. Ex-Pack, Brendan Kotyk, re-signs with Toledo (ECHL). Ex-Sound Tiger, Scott Burt, is named the new assistant coach with Boise (ECHL). Ex-Sound Tiger, and Rangers draft pick, Daniel Maggio, leaves Norfolk (ECHL) for Herning IK Blue Fox (Norway-NEL). Ex-Sound Tiger, Alan Letang, the head coach for Owen Sound (OHL), has been added to the Canadian WJC Team as a scout. Former Whaler, Jody Hull, signs a two-year extension as the head coach of the Niagara IceDogs (OHL). He hires a longtime AHL’er Mark Mancari, as a new assistant coach. Mancari played in Rochester, Portland, Chicago, and San Antonio. He concluded a four-year stint in the German DEL to end his playing career. The Sudbury Wolves (OHL) have hired one-time Whalers scout, Tony MacDonald. He went to North Carolina and worked with the Hurricanes and retired there as the Director of Amateur Scouting after the draft in Vancouver. He was their top scout for the final three years in Hartford. He will be a Special Advisor in Sudbury. The Wolves also hired a new assistant coach. He is long-time AHL enforcer, Zach Stortini, who retires from Charlotte to become the Wolves second assistant coach replacing former Nighthawk and Springfield Indian, Bud Stefanski. Stefanski coached with his son-in-law, the team's head coach, Corey Stillman, last year. He officially retires from coaching. Stortini finished 16th on the all-time AHL PIM list with 1,825 in 603 AHL games. He tallied 109 points and played 257 NHL gamers with 41 points and 725 PIM. He is also the all-time PM leader in Sudbury history with 746 in 247 games. His total numbers, 1,109 games played, 124 goals scored, 270 total points, and 3,296 PIM. A few more to add in college player signing categories. Meirs Moore, from RPI (ECACHL), signs with the South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL). His college teammate, Brady Wiffens, signs with the Reading Royals (ECACHL).  Spencer Trapp of Holy Cross (AHA), signs with South Carolina as well. Trapp’s older brother, Bear Trapp, played four years for Sacred Heart University. Liam Morgan leaves two years early from Union College (ECACHL) and heads to Belfast (Northern Ireland-EIHL). Jack Jenkins of Notre Dame (Big 10), signs with the Indy Fuel (ECHL). Marly Quince of Clarkson University (ECACHL) heads to the Adirondack Thunder (ECHL) while Brett Supinski of Union College (ECACHL) inks a deal with the Rangers' secondary farm team, the Maine Mariners (ECHL). He did play two games in the spring with the Ontario Reign. That makes for 188 Division I players to have signed North American pro deals Cory Anderson of Division III's Manhattanville College (UCHC) signs with Huntsville (SPHL) making 24 Division III players to have signed pro deals. 50 college players have signed in Europe and 254 overall between Division I and III have signed. The first Canadian college transfer occurs as Andrew Dodson of the University Alabama-Huntsville (WCHA) will play for the University of Guelph Gryphons (OUAA). There was just one college transfer to the Canadian major junior ranks as Sam Comrie leaves Denver University (NCHC) for Kelowna (WHL). Former Sacred Heart University assistant coach, Josh Beal, is hired as an assistant coach with Bentley University (AHA). Ex-Pack, Layne Ulmer, 38, retires after four strong seasons at Cardiff (Wales-EIHL) that included several championships, He is retiring from hockey and moving back to Canada. Ex-Pack, Juris Stals, re-signs with HK Kurpads (Latvia-LHL). Ex-Pack, Richard Nejezchleb, goes from HC Nova Zamsky (Slovakia-SLEL) to HC Poruba (Czech Republic Division-2). Goalie, Kohl Reddy, leaves Loomis Chaffe Prep (Windsor) for Kirkland Lake of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League, (NOJHL) one of the ten Canadian Junior A leagues. One of the all-time wildest players in AHL and minor pro history, Kevin “Killer” Kaminski, becomes the head coach of the La Ronge Wolves (SJHL). UCONN ANNOUNCES REMAINDER OF 2019 CLASS After reporting several of the incoming freshmen class for UCONN, the school announced the remainder of their incoming class. There is plenty of reason for optimism when the group hops over the boards on opening night October 5th in Bridgeport at the Webster Bank Arena against Sacred Heart University (AHA). Jacob Flynn, Defenseman - Bridgewater, Mass./Thayer Academy (USHS-MA Prep) The 5-foot-10 defenseman from Bridgewater, Mass., concluded his high school career in 2018-19 at Thayer Academy.  Flynn was Thayer’s top-defenseman this past season. He finished with a career-high seven goals and 23 points in 28 games as his team finished 13-10-4 in the ISL. In his senior season, Flynn earned ISL all-league honors.  During his junior season, he posted three goals and 12 assists in 30 games.  During his four years at Thayer, Flynn appeared in 119 career games with 12 goals and 33 assists for 45 points.  Ryan Keane, Goaltender - Lewisville, Texas/Jamestown Rebels (NAHL) The 5-9 goaltender from Lewisville, Texas spent the past two seasons in the NAHL. Keane played in 36 games with the Jamestown Rebels. In 2018-19, he finished second in the league with a 1.81 Goals Against Average (GAA). He posted a 23-10-0 record and had three shutouts.  He finished the year with a .927 save percentage.  In 2017-18, Keane saw action in 33 games with the then Philadelphia Rebels and was 24-7-0 with a 1.90 GAA and a .924 save percentage. He earned the NAHL (East) Goaltender of the Year honors. Keane ranked second in the league in GAA and had three shutouts. He was named to the NAHL All-East Division team. Prior to his two seasons in the NAHL, Keane played nine games with the Omaha Lancers (USHL). In 2016-17, the second Texas-born and bred Huskies goaltender, comes out of the Dallas Stars U-16/U-18 program. The other was Rob Nichols (Dallas) who played from 2013-2017. He will be the number two goalie behind returning sophomore, and Czech native, Tomas Vomacka. Yan Kuznetsov, Defenseman - Murmansk, Russia/Sioux Falls Stampede (USHL) The 6-3 defenseman from Murmansk, Russia comes to Storrs after playing last season in the USHL with the Sioux Falls Stampede, the 2019 Clark Cup champions. He was the 157th overall pick in the 10th round of USHL Futures Draft in 2018. Kuznetsov played in 34 games and had four assists. In international play, in November, he helped lead Team Russia to its fourth gold medal in the six-game showcase, World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in New Brunswick, Canada. In addition to earning a medal, he was named to the WHC All-Star team.  He also played for Russia’s U16 team in 2017-18 and has skated for CSKA Moscow U-16.18 squads as well. No relation to the former pro player Sergei Kuznetsov. Harrison Rees, Defenseman - Oakville, Ontario/North York Rangers (OJHL) The 6-2 defenseman from Oakville, Ontario has played the last two seasons with North York of the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL).  In 2018-19, he helped lead the Rangers to the top of the OJHL South Division while putting up 44 points on six goals and 38 assists in 53 games.  In 16 playoff games this past season, Rees scored six goals with seven assists. At the end of the season, he was named to the 2018-19 OJHL All-Star second team. In 2017-18, Rees had a 14 points season in 50 games, scoring three goals with 11 assists.  He spent the 2016-17 season with The Hill Academy's U16 Prep team, playing in 12 games. In 2016, he was drafted in the 11th round, 221st overall pick of the OHL Priority Draft by the Erie Otters. The foursome all join previously announced incoming players of, Carter Berger (North Vancouver, British Columbia), Matej Blümel (Tabor, Czech Republic), Vladislav Firstov (Yaroslavl, Russia) and Eric Linell (Great Neck, N.Y.). They round out this coming season’s eight-player freshmen class. This year’s class features three players taken in June’s NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver, Firstov (Minnesota/2nd round/42nd overall), Blumel (Edmonton/4th round/100th overall) and Berger (Florida/4th round /106th overall). (Portions of a UCONN press release were used in the formation of this piece) WORLD JUNIOR SUPER SUMMER SHOWCASE Now in its third year in Plymouth, MI, this a summer hockey appetizer preview of the World Junior Championship. This year it will be held in Ostrava, and Trinec, Czech Republic. The four countries that participate are the host US, Sweden, Canada, and Finland. The US team features a few important names including the NY Rangers first-round pick (22nd overall) in 2018 in defenseman K’Andre Miller of the University of Wisconsin. It also includes a pair of former Avon Old Farms Players in Spencer Knight (Darien/Boston College), Trevor Zegras (Boston University), and Christian Krygier. Also on the list is the son of former Whaler, UCONN Husky, and Nighthawk, Matthias Samuelsson (Western Michigan) who is the son of ex-Nighthawk, Kjell Samuelsson. Lastly, there's Shane Pinto (US Selects Academy at South Kent Prep). Rangers draft pick, Zac Jones, (Tri-City USHL 2019, third round, 68th overall), a defenseman, and current Sound Tiger, Oliver Wahlstrom, and Jack Drury (Harvard), the son of former Whaler, Ted Drury who also is the nephew of Wolf Pack GM, Chris Drury from Trumbull. On Friday, Miller had another solid offensive rush from the US goal-line but was denied as Rangers' President John Davidson was in attendance. In the waning minutes of the first period, Cole Caufield, and Drury were each denied on Grade-A chances. Miller nailed Drury with a shot in front of the net, and he, of course, was back at in the second period. The US battled back from a 4-1 deficit after giving up four goals of the seven scored in the second period. They got a late goal from Trevor Zegras with 1:31 left in regulation but fell one short in the 6-5 loss to Finland despite 51 shots on goal. Miller assisted on Zegras' tally, and Drury added a power play goal from the right-wing circle set-up by Caulfield. The US routed Sweden on Wednesday, 6-0. Knight recorded the shutout with 22 saves. His best work came in the first period stopping four point-blank shots including one on Ranger prospect, Karl Henriksson. His former Avon Old Farms teammate, Zegras, scored one of the six goals while Jones has another strong game with an assist and five shots on goal. The US lost to Canada 4-1 in the opener with Caulfield scoring the only US goal. Miller had two good strong plays, one on a coast-to-coast rush and a screen shot that Canadian netminder Olivier Rodrique snatched away from the top right corner spot he was shooting for. Miller set up Drury for an in-front tip in play, but that was denied by Rodrigue as well. The series concluded with the US winning over Canada on Saturday. Of note on the other three teams are Jack McBain of Canada, the son of former New Haven Senator, Andrew McBain, and the goalie coach for Canada is all-time Wolf Pack great, Jason LaBarbera. Sweden had three Ranger draft picks in defenseman Nils Lundkvist (2018 first-round, 24th overall), Karl Henriksson (2019 second-round, 58th overall) and goalie, Olof Lindbom (2018 second round, 39th overall). While both are eligible to play in the WJC in December, both Jack Hughes (New Jersey), and Kaapo Kakko (Rangers) are expected to be in the NHL and were not invited to this tourney. Read the full article

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Is The SAT Secure? What the College Board Is Doing to Respond to the Admissions Scandal

The details of the admissions-fraud scheme revealed by federal prosecutors last month sound like something out of a heist movie. A private admissions counselor allegedly bribed a proctor of an SAT test, and in some cases paid someone to take the test for a student, or have someone change answers to improve a student’s score.

The incident has raised questions about the fairness and validity of the admissions process as a whole, and specifically about whether the SAT is as secure as it should be.

EdSurge sat down this week with Jeremy Singer, the president of the College Board, which makes and administers the test, to ask how the organization is responding, and about his thoughts on the broader issues around college admissions.

Listen to the discussion on this week’s EdSurge On Air podcast. You can follow the podcast on the Apple Podcast app, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play Music or wherever you listen. Or read a portion of the interview below, lightly edited for clarity.

EdSurge: In the wake of this college admissions scandal, what do you do as an organization to help restore trust in this environment when people are looking anew at whether this system is secure?

Jeremy Singer: I think the Varsity Blues scandal [the codename of the federal investigation] hit a real nerve for most people about the inequity that we see in the system between families with more resources, and those who don’t. There’s a depressing stat that Raj Reddy [a Stanford social-mobility researcher] published that showed that people in the top 1 percent of income are 77 times more likely to get into these Ivy League plus schools [the eight Ivy League colleges, University of Chicago, Stanford, MIT, and Duke] than the bottom 20 percent.

And that’s because there are a lot of things in the system that advantage people with money, frankly. So this story hit that nerve. College Board was founded to try to address that inequity. It was these East Coast schools, Ivy League schools, that said: Hey, we don’t have the resources in the early 1900s to find students from Milwaukee, from Montana, Idaho. And so we need a vehicle to assess their readiness. And that was how College Board and SAT was started over 100 years ago.

We’ve had some success, but there are still, as Raj’s stat shows us, a lot of issues. The Varsity Blues incident was a very extreme example of it, and a very small one. A few students were able to switch the school where they tested. They got accommodations, and they didn’t take the exam at their [usual] school. They went to another school where the school didn’t know them and somehow they paid a proctor and they took advantage of that by taking the test for them or helping correct their answers. It happened in two cases.

Yes, but I think prosecutors suggested there may have been other incidents.

It’s extremely rare. We take it very seriously. We’ve invested millions upon millions, and we continue to, on securing the test. The integrity of the test is critically important. If the higher education system doesn’t see it as a valid objective measure, they won’t use it, so it’s important that we protect it. We focus on a lot of things around test security. There are a whole series of initiatives.

For this specific example, we’re taking action. [In the cases in the scandal, the students who cheated falsely claimed they had a learning disability, which let them take the test at a different school than they usually attend, an accomodation which made it easier for them to cheat.] But typically, those students still take the exam in their home school where they’d be known. But some can’t, for whatever reason. And we’re just tightening those procedures. If it’s a valid case, we’ll allow it, but it won’t be easy. You’ll be in your known school where that would essentially eliminate that chance of this kind of impersonation piece.

There has been discussion online by some parents concerned that the College Board might roll back these accommodations for students with disabilities now that someone’s gamed the system.

When I came to College Board six years ago, we talked to a lot of groups representing students with learning disabilities. Frankly, they were frustrated because the process to get accommodations was really burdensome. In our New York office, we have a quarter of a floor with clinical psychologists reviewing cases to make sure they are valid, so we take it very seriously.

But we did take steps to keep the validity of the process, but make it easier on those students, so that it wouldn’t be as hard to get for those who deserves accommodations. We don’t plan to roll that back. That’s an important community that we need to continue to serve. We’re not planning to change the accommodation rules; we’re planning to change this one very specific case that we think will address the issue.

There’s probably a moment before any of us in the general public knew about it, when you found out about the Varsity Blues scandal. Can you describe that moment and what your reaction was to having someone say this happened?

First of all, it was unfortunate. My last name is Singer, and the guy who organized, his name is Singer. That was unfortunate.

But I take it there is no relation between you and Rick Singer, the alleged mastermind of this admissions-fraud scheme.

No relation. I got a lot of texts and emails as soon as it broke. For me as a parent, I related to it. I have 17-year-old twins who are going through the college process right now. They’re high-school seniors. And they’re lucky in many ways because my wife and I and our parents all went to college. Obviously with my job, I have a lot of knowledge about the college-going process. And even then I still found it complex.

But as we’ve raised them, we wanted them to recognize the advantages that they were born into that most other kids don’t have.

So Varsity Blues to me is the polar opposite of that. These are parents trying to give their students all these advantages that are beyond the norm. And then, hide it from them. Instead of saying, ‘Hey, you’ve done great, but you’ve also got a lot of advantages.’ They’re trying to manage the outcomes and then hide the fact of all the advantages, so then you get kids who feel they’ve accomplished what they’ve done by themselves or by their effort, which is just not true. It hit me personally very hard on that, seeing that, really, is the polar opposite of how I’ve tried to raise my kids to be citizens and human beings.

So how did you find out? You didn’t first read it in the paper?

No, no. The College Board was cooperating with the FBI and the investigation. We’ve known something was going on; we didn’t know the details. But, obviously, we are always happy to work [with law enforcement] when there’s anything shady happening. We want to root that stuff out.

Were you surprised that that kind of breach could happen in the system?

It’s rare. This is not a pervasive thing. Before I was at College Board, about eight, 10 years ago, there was a 60 Minutes story about a student who was impersonating other students and was taking the tests for them. And it was a few instances, but it got a lot of news attention because it’s a good story. But does that happen a lot? No, it happens very infrequently.

Our response then to protect against this was that a student has to create an admissions ticket when they register for the exam. And that ticket includes a photo of their whole face. There are rules: It can’t cut off the forehead, it can’t cut off the chin. And then they have to bring that admissions ticket with the photo and a valid ID, which is very specific to what we allow, to the school the day of the test.

That was eight or 10 years ago. And that has really [cut back on] impersonation. It’s a very rare instance that they took the test not at the home school in these [Varsity Blues] instances, but they transferred the kid to a different school. So if we can just tighten that process, we’re very confident that this sort of edge case will be eliminated.

The other thing that the Varsity Blues case really highlighted is that there’s so much stress around the admissions process that many parents go through perfectly legal means that still raise fairness issues, like hiring high-priced consultants or test coaches.

When David Coleman and I started at The College Board a little over six years ago, one of the first priorities was: How do we increase access and equity for all students and give all students this pathway to college? I had seen when I was in the paid test-prep [world], that people who could afford test prep had an advantage. They practiced and they built their skills. [So] we partnered with Khan Academy and launched Official SAT Practice. It’s free.

We’ve had eight million students use it since we launched it a few years ago. We had 100,000 students in the last year who improved their score by 200 points or more, and 400,000 students who improved their score by 100 points or more.

When we started, we were worried that we were going to this free, great tool, but it will be used by those families with greater resources because they’ll have knowledge about it. So we did a lot to build awareness through school counselors, through a lot of different communities. And the great news is we’re seeing it used pretty much proportionately by income, by race, and by first-generation students.

[Listen to the audio version for more, including Singer’s answer to whether the SAT is part of the problem of hypercompetitiveness in college admissions]

Is The SAT Secure? What the College Board Is Doing to Respond to the Admissions Scandal published first on https://medium.com/@GetNewDLBusiness