The GLASA Falcons survived a third period threat from the USA Warriors to capture the 2025 USA Hockey Sled National Championship on May 3 at the Florida Panthers IceDen.
The Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association (GLASA) empowers and supports youth, adults and injured military who have a physical or visual disability through inclusive adaptive sports programs. GLASA supports athletes with primary physical or visual disabilities, such as amputation, cerebral palsy, dwarfism, muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injury, spina bifida, stroke, visual impairment and more.
The GLASA Falcons were champions among 10 divisions at both youth and adult classifications as more than 500 players across 50 teams from around the country competed for top sled hockey honors in the U.S.
“Having the opportunity to compete with a team of players in a season-ending championship and title game is an amazing experience,” said GLASA head coach Andy Burkhart, 54, who lives in Lake Forest. “The players, volunteers and coaches work incredibly hard year in and year out and having a chance to ‘win-it-all,’ to achieve our goals, gives one an incredible feeling of accomplishment, pride and joy.
“The team felt good going into the national championship weekend. We had a slow start to the season with some returning players off with other sport and family commitments, college, etc., but as the season progressed, new players filled in some of the gaps, the team grew and gelled together.
“As the season progressed and our legacy players rejoined, we knew this team was pretty special and had an opportunity to do pretty well.”
The GLASA Falcons built a 3-0 lead in the championship game, but their foes battled back, scoring twice in the third period. But that’s as close as it got. GLASA won, 3-2.
Luke Fanella scored all three goals for GLASA. Adam Boardwine had two assists in the finals.
“I’m excited for the team the growth throughout the year and (in) the finals,” Burkhart said. “For most of the team, this is their first national championship. The energy, the emotion, the joy was amazing … I couldn’t be happier being a part of it.”
The GLASA Falcons have won four national championships in the last 15 years – three at the adult competitive level and one at the youth level.
“We survived,” Burkhart said of the final. “We adjusted and got the job done.
“Luke played a great tournament. He was new to the team but quickly got linked in and contributed.”
The team’s defense and goaltending were exceptional in the tournament, Burkhart said.
“We celebrated quickly on the ice, (with) lots of high fives, cheers, pictures and a group pile-on. (There was a) similar (scene) in the locker, less the pile-on,” Burkhart said. “Everyone had to get to their flights (after the victory), and we had a team and family dinner a few weeks later.”
The GLASA Falcons return to the ice in November with their first league games in December.
Burkhart has been coaching GLASA for five years and he has 15-plus years involved in sled hockey in Illinois and Michigan.
“The team has created a strong bond with each other, on the ice or outside of the rink,” Burkhart said. “Players are engaged together in multiple adaptive sports, connect with each other socially and support one another. The athletes train hard; their skills have grown significantly and are a pleasure to coach. The families of the players are engaged as well, helping support equipment needs at the rink, cheering in the stands, joining post-game meals and even one dressing as our Falcon mascot.
“The team plays well as a team. They know their role, play their positions, communicate and cover for each other. When our goal-scoring is struggling, and it did throughout the season, the defense picks it up. When the defense makes a mistake or is out of position, our goalie is strong to cover.”
The GLASA Falcons are a 16-member unit, one of which is a youth player. Players range in age from 13 to 40. The team has several college-aged athletes, young professionals and a few parents on the team. All athletes live in the Chicagoland area, particularly in Lake County. The team’s home rink is Hot Shot Ice Area in Lake Bluff.
The Falcons play regular season games in Chicago, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Grand Rapids, Detroit and Milwaukee. The GLASA Falcons participated in the Freedom League this past season and have been part of the Heartland League in years past.
“This is a group of disabled athletes participating and winning at a high, national level. The ‘differently abled’ athletes are just as competitive, just as driven and just as skilled as their able-bodied counterparts,” Burkhart said.