First League Weekend Proves Competitive

While their classmates loaded the charter bus and parents’ cars to go home on Thanksgiving vacation, the Huskies loaded up their little blue busses and headed north of the border for their first league weekend. After an almost four hour ride through Vermont farmland, Northwood went through the border and arrived in Stanstead, Quebec.

The first game of the North American Prep Hockey Association (NAPHA) season had the Huskies facing off against Rice Memorial. The two teams have been historically competitive, and this game was more of the same. Rice took an early lead, but minutes later Hailey S scored on the power play to level the game. Rice scored in the second, and in the third period the momentum was all Northwood, but they couldn’t convert. With less than a minute and with six skaters, Hailey S won the face off to Erin B, but she missed by a fraction of an inch. The game ended at 2-1 and Rice ended up with the two points for the game. Lindsay P played a solid game in net.

The next afternoon, the Huskies took on Rothesay Netherwood Eagles. The Eagles had come off a big win from the night before, beating the host, Stanstead. It seemed like RNS still had their game on, as they took it to Northwood and scored first on a power play goal. Northwood scored late in the second with a rebound by Jess B and they went into the locker room feeling good. After the ice cut, it was Northwood’s game. Erin B scored on a beautiful five hole shot from the point off of a face off win by Megan C. Then, Olga R chipped in a rebound for the security goal. In the third, the Huskies had to kill off a few penalties, but stayed solid and Nicole G got the win in net.

On Saturday night, Northwood pulled up to an eerily dark arena for their game against the host, Stanstead. They found out a transformer had blown and some of the power to the arena was out, including the scoreboard and the compressors. Being a cool night, the ice was staying cold enough, and the Huskies decided to play. Though a bit like pond hockey, the Huskies battled an even Stanstead. They had chances, but the Spartans scored towards the end of the first on a power play. The Huskies kept their composure and were rewarded with a few power plays themselves, but they couldn’t find the mesh, only the big white pads of the Spartan goaltender. Nicole G kept it tight by turning away the Spartan attacks. Finally, in the third period, Eva M put herself in the right place at the right time. She received a pass from Nicole M and roofed it in the same motion, leveling the game. The goal was good enough for the tie, and both teams walked away from the dark arena with a point.

The weekend of work gave the Huskies 3 points, right behind the 4 points that Rice holds. They’ll return to league play when they travel to Syracuse for the West vs East match-up. While there, they’ll also catch a Syracuse Crunch game as part of an alumni event and tour Coach Farmer’s alma mater, SUNY Cortland. For now though, they get to relax in the company of family and friends for Thanksgiving vacation.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Huskies Drop Weekday Game to Mountaineers

After a six game winning streak, the Northwood Huskies felt confident going into their grudge match against the NSA Mountaineers. In previous seasons, the Huskies have been intimidated by the Mountaineers and the large crowds that the game generally draws. This year, the girls were confident in their preparation and were looking forward to the challenge. The Huskies started off strong in the first period, outshooting the Mountaineers in the first half of the period. Two penalties cost them the momentum though, and the first ended in a deadlock 0-0, with both teams having 5 shots on net. The Mountaineers got on the board in the second with a power play goal, and scored again shortly after to cushion their lead, but the Huskies kept fighting. After an ice cut, both teams were energized and feisty. The Huskies has some great opportunities from Erin B., Cailey H., and Cassie K. but they couldn’t convert. Meanwhile, the Mountaineers scored another PP goal and the 3-0 lead held.

Watch the first period below:

Huskies Sweep Four Game Weekend

After a weekend of games, the Lady Huskies are now on a six game winning streak! This past weekend they played two teams for a total of four games. On Saturday, we traveled to Troy, New York to play a mid afternoon game against the Troy/Albany Ice Cats. The score was 4-1 with Eva M. netting her first Northwood goal, other goals were scored by Jess B, Brennan B, and Nicki C, with assists by Meg C, Cassie K, Monica M, and Olga R. Lindsay P. got the win in net.

Sunday was a hockey filled day in Lake Placid playing two games, one against the Ice Cats and the other against Smiths Falls Midgets. The second match-up between Northwood and the Ice Cats was a back and forth game of equal play. Having a short bench hurt the Ice Cats, and caused them to become tired in the third period as apposed to the depth of the Northwood bench. The final score was 4-0, goals being scored by Eva M, Brennan B, Cassie K, and Erin B, with assists by Olga R, Cailey H, Julie D, and Nicki C.

Sunday’s second game was played on the historic Herb Brooks Arena against Smiths Falls from Ontario, CAN. The huskies brought their energy from the prior two wins and beat Smiths Falls with a final score of 7-1. The goals were scored by Jess B, Cassie K, Cailey H, Nicole M, Brennan B, Erin B, and Meg C. Assists were tallied by Serena M, Oona R, Meg M, Julie D, Nicole M, and Cassie K. It was a team effort and everyone played well.

The fourth and final game was played on Monday afternoon; once again the game was on the 1980 Herb Brooks Arena against Smiths Falls. Again, the win could be attributed to a team effort. Playing four games in three days is not an easy task, especially on an Olympic size sheet of ice, but the girls battled hard and came out with a 2-0 win to finish up the weekend; goals were scored by Nicole M. with assists from Cassie K and Meg C, as well as, Olga R. unassisted. Nicole G. picked up her second shut-out of the weekend.

After the game the girls all got together for a photo pictured below. Wednesday the Huskies face-off against their cross town rivals NSA. The team feels confident after this weekend’s winning streak that this could be the year that Northwood comes out on top.

Huskies Win Bronze

The Northwood School Girls’ hockey team won third place in the Fire on Ice tournament Sunday with a decisive victory over the home team, Rochester Edge. The Huskies energy and depth were key in the fifth game over three days. They took possession of the puck on the opening faceoff, and had control throughout most of the first period. They forechecked with vigor, backchecked with a purpose, and were tough in the corners. Despite many chances and rebounds, it wasn’t until Erin B. scored top blocker from outside the blue line at the end of the first that they showed the lead on the scoreboard. Special teams came through in the second and third when Julie D. and and Erin K. both scored on their respective power plays with beautiful, quick shots from the points. Everyone dug deep to keep the lead, and the shut-out for Lindsay P. The girls posed with their banner and received tshirts for their successful weekend.

Strong Prelim Games Give Huskies Shot a Third

After starting off with a win against Wyoming Seminary, Northwood played another league opponent Gilmour in their second preliminary game. After a tied first period, Gilmour got on the board with a shot from the point that screened goalie, Lindsay P. The Huskies continued to battle through the second and third, chipping away at the Gilmour confidence and endurance. Their hard work finally payed off when Nicole M. had a beautiful tip from Cailey H. on the power play. They held the tie to give them 2.5 points for the game.

On Saturday afternoon, the Huskies faced the Pittsburgh Pens Elite team, with the added pressure of having Mario Lemieux in the stands watching as his daughter plays for the Pens. The Huskies had a slow start and the Pens forechecking set them on their heels. They gained momentum once they started using their speed, but then found themselves in the penalty box for the remainder of the first period. On a 5v3, the Pens took the lead, and still Northwood had to kill penalties.

In the second, the Huskies had a glimpse of hope when Nicole M. had a beautiful wrap around that was eventually called back because the net was off. The Huskies dug deep and dominated the third period, but a hot Pens goalie blocked the way. A communication error led the Pens second goal and they scored again late in the third for the win.

Hours later, Northwood had to play their fourth game in two days. This time, they faced the Colorado Tigers, a team based out of Denver. Northwood dominated the game right from the start. They moved the puck quickly and had 14 shots in the first period, but none that they could convert. They finally got on the board in the second with a beautiful power play goal by Erin K. Erin went on to have a fantastic game and win the hard hat award. Another power play goal, this time from Julie D. gave the Huskies a 2-0 lead, enough to give them the win after a Colorado tip in in the third.
Their 2-1-1 preliminary record was good enough to give the Huskies a chance at third place, where they’ll face the home team, Rochester Edge.

Huskies are Fire on Ice

Northwood travelled to Rochester, NY to play in the annual Fire on Ice tournament from November 2-4. The first match up was Friday morning against Wyoming Seminary of Kingston, PA. The Huskies were eager to get on the ice and redeem themselves from Sunday’s home game. After a great week of practice, it was obvious they came focused and ready to play hard. Brennan B ’13 set the pace with her first goal of the year 45 seconds into the game, assisted by Jess B ’13. The Huskies forechecked and backchecked at top speed with the determination that they would possess every loose puck. Nicki C ’14 netted her first Northwood goal half way through the first period. She crashed the net and put the rebound home.

The second period consisted of more back and forth quick paced play with the Huskies getting a couple of chances at the power play. They also had to kill off two man down 5 on 3 penalties and goalie Nicole G ’13 was a wall in the net. The next goal of the game came in the third period with another first time Northwood goal by Nicole M ’15. Nicole skated the puck out of the defensive zone to go on a one on one, slipped the puck through the defensman’s feet, and netted the puck off the inside post. She also had the last goal of the game assisted by Brennan B and Cailey H ’15.

This year’s captain Erin B ’13 instituted a new addition to the Northwood culture; she calls it the hard hat award. The award is given to the girl the team feels worked the hardest in that game. This morning’s hard hat award winner was Nicole M! Well deserved. Great work Huskies. Next game is at 9 pm against Gilmour Academy.