Rep. Mike Quigley has a fun week ahead of him. The Illinois Democrat and hockey fanatic will be spending much of Thursday and Friday talking about — and playing — his favorite sport.

On Thursday morning, Quigley will host the first briefing of the Congressional Hockey Caucus, which will address programming to improve hockey participation across the nation.

“It’s great exposure for hockey and goes a long way toward making sure every child has the opportunity to play the greatest game on earth,” he tells HOH.

Quigley formed the caucus during the 111th Congress with Reps. Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.) and Lee Terry (R-Neb.).

A few hours after the briefing, Quigley will lace up his skates and hit the ice at the Verizon Center for the 2011 Congressional Hockey Challenge. The annual game pits lawmakers against lobbyists in a grudge match that benefits the Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club.

The lawmakers’ team includes Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Republican Reps. Larry Bucshon (Ind.) and Patrick Meehan (Pa.), as well as a handful of staffers.

And if that wasn’t enough hockey for one week, Quigley is slated to join the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks at the White House on Friday. He will then participate in a street hockey tournament on the South Lawn as part of first lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” initiative.

“It’s a hat trick of a week with the briefing, the game and joining the Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks at the White House,” Quigley says.