Cushing Tournament the End of 2013

“Does everyone understand the crazy Cushing overtime?”

 

This was the focus of practice the week before our last tournament of 2013 at Cushing Academy.  The annual E.G. Watkins Tournament is a staple on the Northwood schedule; this is a weekend filled with great competition and a ton of college coaches in the stands, being prepared is a must.  Similar to how the Old Forge soccer tournament always comes down to a shoot out, the Cushing tournament is know for its crazy and unique overtime protocol for which Northwood finds itself in every year.  For those who do not know, the protocol is as follows: one five minute five on five, if still tied then, one 1-minute four on four followed by a one 1-minute three on three and so on until finally a 1-minute one on one.  If still tied, the game proceeds to a five-player shootout.  This year, Northwood was in this overtime scenario twice.  Good thing we practiced.

 

First up: Culver.  After a long bus trip the first game was Thursday night at six o’clock.  The huskies shook off the bus legs quick and got down to business fore-checking hard and implementing the game plan.  The first period was dominated by back and forth play with both teams determined to be the first to score.  It wasn’t until the second period, however, that a puck reached the back of the net with a top shelf snipe by Northwood captain Eva M.  After receiving a pass from defenseman Erin K, Eva picked her spot and released her signature quick and strong wrist shot to the top corner.  This put momentum in Northwood’s favor, unfortunately, when playing talented teams sometimes leads don’t last long and not two minutes later Culver answered back with a tally of their own sending the game into the third period once again tied.  Neither team could find the back of the net in the third period sending the game into its first overtime sequence of the weekend.  This was no big deal for the huskies; we came prepared.  Still scoreless after a five-minute 5v5, the game proceeded, but with a catch.  Northwood had received a penalty in the 5v5 and had to play the next series short a player. One minute was on the clock and everyone lined up, Culver with four players, Northwood with three.  The four on three played out until almost even strength when a Culver player received a penalty causing yet another disruption to the overtime rules.  Still scoreless, another minute was set on the clock and Northwood lined up with three players, Culver with two.  As the final seconds expired, neither team had scored forcing the game to go all the way to a one on one.  The huskies sent out junior forward Cailey H. to start it off with goaltender Lindsay P. ready and waiting.  She knew the game plan.  Once Cailey H. got control of the puck she was going to skate to the bench so a huskie forward join the play.  Cailey H. won the draw and skated into the Culver zone, Lindsay P. sprinted for the bench and Alyson M. joined on the attack.  This seemed like a brilliant plan but the Culver goalie was impenetrable stopping every Northwood attempt to score sending the game into a shoot out.   It seemed like the game that would never end when each team went through all five of their shooters and had to start again in a sudden death shootout.  Culver eventually tallied the winning goal beating Northwood 2-1 but no one could hang their heads after that team effort.  If this was just game one it was sure to be an entertaining weekend.

 

Next up: New Hampton.  It was a tight turn around from Thursday night’s long OT game to Friday morning’s 8 am puck drop.  Arriving a little late to the rink, the huskies did not have time to goof around.  They got dressed and went right onto the ice.  Again, it was a fast paced, physical, and competitive game leaving the huskies feeling a little snake bitten when they could not score.  Once again the game was sent into overtime.  Playing all the way through to the one on one, the huskies sent out junior defenseman Maci H.  Maci is a strong and skilled player but with fatigued legs in the D zone she iced the puck looking for a change, however, because of NCAA rules she was unable to change on this icing and the New Hampton forward scored off the face off to end the game 1-0.

 

Last in the round robin: Brewster.  Feeling a bit irritated with the lack of scoring in the earlier game, the huskies were determined to notch some points against Brewster.  This goal was achieved with a winning score of 6-0.  Goals were scored by Cassie K, Bridgit S, Eva M, Nicki C, and Nicole M had two, assists by Alyson M, Eva M, Nicki C, and Bridgit S.  It really was a team effort.

 

After the game, the team went to Cristina’s restaurant for what was probably the highlight of the weekend, “family dinner.”  This year’s team theme has been centered around “family” and when on the road it is a must to have a sit down team meal.  The girls have made it very known that this “family” theme is very important to them.  Many parents, siblings, and friends, joined the team for this meal where jokes were told and games played.  Fun and laughs were had by all.

 

Last game of 2013: Winchendon.  Saturday morning was the last game of the tournament and the huskies were looking for another win.  This was another tough contest, however, and the huskies were down a goal with only minutes left in the game.  After calling a time out and setting up a face off, the huskies pulled the goalie with three minutes left in the game with the hope of tying it up.  The strategy worked and all six players crashed the net determined to score with Nicki C getting the final touch on it to put the puck home.  The game ended in a 1-1 tie, no overtime this time.

 

It was a successful weekend all around with many of the Northwood players getting looks from college coaches, and happy to be going home to spend some much earned down time with family and friends.  Have a fun and safe holiday and a happy New Year!  See you in 2014!

Home Weekend Helps Build Confidence

After being on the road for the last two tournaments, Northwood girls’ hockey team had a much welcomed home weekend. Competing against other high school teams as part of the Canadian Hockey Enterprises tournament, the Huskies showed they were dominant against traditional high school and prep teams.

On Friday afternoon, the Huskies started slowly against Lakefield College School from Toronto, ON. Their speed and passing were superior, but Lakefield’s hot goalie was a challenge and, as team, the Huskies lacked urgency. Cailey H. finally opened the scoring in the second period with a beautiful wrist shot that went off the post and in. Nicole M. followed up with a rebound goal in the third period to solidify the win. Grace N. earned the hard hat of the game for her consistent and intense play.

Saturday morning, the Huskies faced the same team with the goals to play with more intensity and heart. They started off much stronger, scoring in the first five minutes when Alyson M. went end-to-end. The Huskies’ intensity and drive was sustained throughout the short game and they ended up winning 8-0. Nicole M. scored a hat trick, while Cailey H. added two more, and Nicki C. and Eva M. each chipped in one of their own. For her hustle and grit, Sabryna S. earned the hard hat of the game.

The supremacy continued in the afternoon when the Huskies faced Olympiennes de L’Odyssee, a team from Moncton, NB. Another big win was led in scoring by Issy R. who earned a hat trick and the hard hat. Maci H. scored twice while Nicole M., Cailey H., and Bridgit S. each scored once to round out an 8-0 win.

Next up for the Huskies is the annual E.G.Watkins tournament at Cushing Academy. The tournament traditionally has excellent competition and is highly scouted, a perfect way to end the calendar year for the Huskies.

Five Game Weekends Are No Big Deal for These Huskies

As a part of connecting the classroom with athletics, some of the girls were asked to be guest bloggers this week.  Five of the Huskies are in the Art of Writing class and are beginning a unit on electronic writing and publishing.  Thank you to Alyson M, Nicki C, Rachel L, Rachel R, and Nicole M. for this week’s blog post!  Enjoy:

The girls returned back from break this week working hard for the upcoming cross-over league weekend in Cicero, New York. Throughout the weekend the Huskies faced five games against Ridley, Gilmour, Trinity, Wyoming Seminary, and Nichols. Going into the weekend they were in third place and they arrived in Cicero with one goal: win, win, win.

To start off the weekend, the Huskies faced Ridley for the second time this year.  Even with a 4 hour bus ride on their back, they came out strong in the first period firing shots on net from left to right.  Towards the end of the first period, Ridley fired a shot and broke the action with a 1-0 lead. Slowly the Huskies 4 hour bus ride started to kick in during the second period. But energy was brought back into the game when Alyson M. rushed the puck from one side to the other side of the ice tying the game 1-1. They came back with a lot of energy and confidence in the 3rd period but unfortunately Ridley responded as well by scoring their second goal taking a 2-1 lead. This did not stop the girls from fighting for the rest of the game. In the end, the Huskies played a very good game with the exception of the amount of penalties that could have made the difference on the scoreboard.

Their second game of the day was against Gilmour.  Everyone was kind of tired, but worked really hard still. There were lots of power plays for Gilmour and one of the first times Northwood was on the penalty kill, Cailey H skated end to end getting by the defense to score a shorthanded goal.  When Northwood went on the power play Alyson M.  skated all the way from the defensive zone to score a top shelf goal. Gilmour scored 2 lucky goals to tie it up. But it was a great game.  After the game, the team went out to eat at DG’s Family Restaurant for a family dinner. Everyone got really good food like steak, pasta, or fish and had a really good time.

Going into Saturday, the team was able to sleep in and rest a little longer with a later game time before their game against Trinity. By 11:15 the girls were on the ice waiting for the puck to be dropped. They came out hard in the first period and dominated the period by outshooting the team and out working them with their speed and aggressiveness. As the second period came around, the girls continued to keep dominating the game. Not too long into the period Trinity had taken a penalty giving Huskies the chance to take the lead. During the powerplay the puck worked its way from the corner to the point where Alyson M. took the puck in a couple steps and shot; once shot the puck hit Nicki C. in the head and went to Eva M’s stick. From there Eva M. put in a back door goal giving the lead to the Huskies. Then later on in the period Nicki C. was battling for a puck at the blue line in the defensive zone and she got it out leading to her own breakaway. She then deked the goalie by faking left  and going back right giving the Huskies a 2-0 lead in the second. Though the girls were playing strong Trinity did manage to sneak in a goal right at the end of the period to make the score 2-1 Huskies. Before the girls came back out on the ice for the third period they regenerated some of the energy that had been missing in the earlier games this weekend. The Huskies came out again very fast against Trinity at the beginning of the third which led to the third goal of the game. There was a face-off at the dot near the Huskies defensive zone and Rachel L. won it back to Alyson M. where she skated it from her blue line to the net and scored. The Huskies did not slow down after that either. Late in the third after another face-off was won back to Grace D. she then slid the puck over to Grace N. Grace N. then took a shot from the point which deflected off Oona R. and went into the top left hand corner of the net giving the Huskies a 4-1 lead. Soon after that the game came to a conclusion with the Huskies’ goalie, Lindsay P. making 19 saves and playing a great game.

Then the girls were “quickly” rushed out of the rink as Coach Farmer was determined to leave at a certain time to arrive at SUNY Cortland. The Huskies were then given a tour by their very own Coach Farmer, who graduated from SUNY Cortland in 2010. While the girls were there, they showed some of their Christmas spirit by taking a picture with Santa Claus. Before they knew it, it was time to head back to the rink to face-off against Wyoming Seminary.

The girls were really feeling their legs by game 4 of 5 in the league weekend.  But playing Wyoming Seminary they were on a roll. From the puck drop the team brought the intensity but throughout the 1st period Wyoming kept up. By the end of the 1st period, the score was tied 0-0, as the Huskies continued to work hard Cassie K. got the 1st goal of the game rebounding off of a shot by Cailey H. Northwood felt the excitement from the 1st goal and not long after Cassie K. got another goal. They went into the 3rd period with a 2-0 lead and lost a little bit of drive but managed to keep the lead and finish the game with a W for the Huskies.

Northwood faced Nichols School for their fifth game of a long weekend. Northwood came out with a lot of energy and determination. At the end of the first period, there was still no score with both teams battling hard. Northwood was unlucky with a lot of penalties called against them but it didn’t stop them from working hard. With five minutes left in the second period Nichols scored a goal to make the score 1-0. Northwood responded quickly when Alyson M. skated the puck from the defensive zone and beat Nichols defense for a shot on net with Cassie K. going hard to the net and putting it in for a back door goal. After the ice cut, the Huskies came out hard in the third period hoping to score one more goal to win the game. The Huskies faced a 5 on 3 and did not let Nichols have any chances to score. When the Huskies earned a power play there were many great scoring opportunities but they couldn’t find the back of the net. The game ended in a tie with an outstanding game played in net by Megan M  who also earned the hard hat. The Huskies were 2-1-2 on the weekend to make their total record to date 15-4-4 and are now second in the league standings with nine points.