Huskies Start Strong in League Play

A highlight of the weekend: Alyson signing her National Letter of Intent to play at the University of Maine

In the league weekend, Northwood started off strong, but couldn’t keep their energy throughout the three days of action. In the first contest against Kings-Edgehill School (KES), the Huskies dominated from start to finish. Scoring started off slowly, with Alyson scoring once in the first and once in the second, but the third period opened up the game. Sydney and Maci added goals and Lindsay let one sneak by her, but turned away 14 shots. Alyson completed her natural hat trick to begin an awesome weekend where she scored five goals and signed a National Letter of Intent for the University of Maine, where she will receive a full scholarship.

The second game of the weekend pitted league perennial rivals Rice against the Huskies. The traditional Rice vs Northwood games are back-and-forth, feisty, and always come down to a bounce here or there. This game proved to be different as the Huskies again had the jump on their opponent. Rice came out flat, and Northwood capitalized, scoring two goals in the first period when Bridgit scored on the power play and Cailey added an even strength goal. Cailey added some insurance with another power play goal, and the Huskies won the game 3-1. Katey played great in net, turning away 18 shots.

Lined up for the National Anthems before the Stanstead game

The third game of the weekend was more of a battle and the home team, Stanstead College, and Northwood traded chances throughout the game. Down a few players due to injury, the Huskies battled throughout and finally scored at the beginning of the third period when Bridgit chipped in a goal. They struggled keeping composure in the last five minutes though and Stanstead, with the home crowd behind them, was able to tie it up and then win.

After a heart breaking loss, the Huskies struggled to pick themselves up in the final game against RNS. This time, Northwood found themselves on the defensive from the first drop of the puck. Although there were some bright spots, overall the team lacked their characteristic grit and speed. Both power plays worked the puck well but neither could find a way to score against a very good RNS goaltender. Alyson beat her with a deke in and end-to-end rush, but the Huskies still lost, 9-1.

The beginning of the season has been productive for the Northwood girls’ team. They’ve won big, lost big, persevered through adversity, and battled strong in some very tough games. Their record of 10-6-1, the second best start the program has had, is good enough to give them an honest run at a divisional banner and record setting year. After ten days off for Thanksgiving vacation, the girls will return refreshed and determined.

Northwood Brings the Heat to Rochester’s Fire on Ice Tournament

The Fire on Ice tournament in Rochester, NY is always an exciting event. With over 20 teams at the U19AA level, the tournament is always great competition with plenty of college scouts in the stands.

The Huskies started the weekend by boarding the charter bus Thursday night. After a chick flick, it was time for players to study and meet individually with the coaches to discuss the start of the school year and the season. These individual meetings allow time for players to converse honestly with the coaches about their strengths and weaknesses and for the coaches to get to know each player better.

Alyson reads Hamlet on the bus

On Friday morning, Northwood faced off against West Chester Quakers, a team from the Philadelphia area. The focus and determination of the team was evident as they took control of the game early on, passing around the Quakers. The Huskies got on the board half way through the first half when Alyson M. took the puck into the offensive zone and deked the goalie. Her defensive partner, Maci, added another goal in the first half. The scoring opened up in the second as Cailey, Nicole, and Moe all puck pucks in the net for a final 5-0 victory. Lindsay P. stopped a dozen shots for the shut-out.

First huddle of the Fire on Ice tournament

Friday evening, the Huskies faced the Middlesex Islanders, a junior program out of Massachusetts. Again, Northwood had the jump in their step and The Islanders could not match the Huskies speed. A quick early goal by Cailey set the tone for the game, and the Huskies finished off the Islanders 6-0. Bridgit had a beautiful tip-in goal, Nicole sniped one high, Bautista had two beauties, and Moe dangled for the sixth. Katey turned away 10 shots for the shut-out.

On Saturday, the girls had the morning off. Many of them went for a relaxing brunch at Denny’s, a move they would later regret as the faster and more intense game against Compuware took a physical toll on the Huskies. This time, it was the Huskies who were set back from the start, not playing with their usual finesse. Compuware scored half way through the first half and then again close to the end of the period on a power play. The Huskies clawed back in it, getting some good chances, but a bad bounce on the power play led to a Compuware short-handed goal. They added another one later in the second half and despite the Huskies outshooting their opponent in the second half, only Cailey could find the back of the net – leaving the game 4-1.

In an interesting twist of fate, the elimination round lined up the same two opponents on Saturday evening. The Huskies knew they could beat Compuware if they played their game. Compuware again scored short-handed early in the game, but this time Northwood answered back when Kira sniped one on the power play. Compuware wasn’t giving up though, and they scored two more to put the Huskies down 3-1 going into the second half. It was another power play goal by Kira that gave the Huskies the momentum. Brooke found the puck on her stick with an empty net to tie it up, then Cailey scored the game winner with 5 minutes to go. The Huskies held on for the come-back win and a trip to the quarterfinals.

Kira battling for the puck

After leaving the arena at midnight on Saturday night, the Huskies had a tight turn-around with a 9:45am game on Sunday. After some chocolate milk and a cool down, the girls went to sleep, hoping their legs and minds could get some rest. The girls faced the Northern Cyclones, a junior team from northern Massachusetts in the morning. It was a back-and-forth game, with both teams getting chances and both goalies making great saves. The Cyclones scored first and second, but Maci sniped a beautiful goal after beating two players to put the Huskies within one. A power play goal at the end of the half extended the Cyclones lead. With three minutes to go in the game, the 2 goal difference wasn’t budging. Northwood hit three posts and had a lot of chances, but the puck wasn’t crossing the goal line. With an empty net, they buzzed the Cyclone’s net, but the Cyclones were able to clear it and score on the empty net. Not giving up, the Huskies tried again, and this time, Nicole scored with .01 seconds left for a final score of 4-2.

Overall, the Huskies had a terrific weekend. The crowds and college scouts were exciting to see such a hard working, disciplined, and skilled team. The team will recover from a long roadie and then take their game to Quebec to play in their first league weekend of the year.

Huskies Go 1-1-1 in Weekend Action

The Northwood girls’ hockey team had a busy weekend of exhibition games, taking on Ontario Hockey Academy on Friday and Saturday and meeting Stanstead College on Sunday.

On Halloween night, the Huskies met OHA at the Saranac Lake Civic Center to rehash their rivalry that had started the prior weekend in the fall foliage tournament. The Huskies struggled a bit with OHA’s aggressiveness early in the game, but they held on and rebounded after OHA’s goal early in the first half. The scoring was back and forth, with Northwood catching up, then OHA taking another lead. Finally, late in the second half, Sydney C. threw a puck to net that found a way in for the Northwood lead. The Huskies held on in the last five minutes for the win. Moe T. scored two in the game, first on the rebound and then again with a beautiful shot and Lauren B. sniped one over the goalie’s shoulder. Katey S. played great in net, turning away 25 shots.

On Saturday, the Huskies met OHA at SUNY Potsdam. It was another back-and-forth game, but this time the Huskies couldn’t keep the lead for a win. Instead, the two teams tied. Lindsay P. turned away 20 shots and Nicole M. Moe T. and Maddie H scored for Northwood.

Sunday was a long day of hockey as the Northwood girls traveled to Norwich, Vermont. First, they caught the last two periods of the Elmira vs. Manhattanville where they watched alums Kayley Romano ’12 and Cassie Kent ’14 (Manhattanville) take on Erin Kishoni ’14 (Elmira). Then, after a walk through campus and a nice lunch, they watched defending National Champions, Plattsburgh tie their rival, Norwich. After the day of college hockey, the Huskies played their own game. The exhibition with Stanstead was typically close. Northwood scored first when Nicole M. sniped a beautiful shot that was so quick, it was almost missed. But Stanstead came back and tied it up, eventually taking the lead. The Huskies had chances, but couldn’t find a way to crawl back into the game.

The tie puts the Huskies overall record at 5-2-1. This weekend, they’ll travel to Rochester to play in the Fire on Ice tournament.

Huskies Miss Chance to Defend Fall Foliage Title

In the first full weekend of action, the Northwood girls’ hockey team traveled to Burlington, Vermont to compete in the Fall Foliage Classic.

In their opening game, the Huskies faced off against the Boston Junior Blades.  The girls had the jump and took it to the Blades from the first puck drop.  They used their speed and their numbers to keep the Blades playing defensively. Maci H got the  Huskies on the board first when she popped the bottle after a beautiful end-to-end rush. Cailey H sniped another in the second half too extend the lead and give the girls four points for the game. Lindsay P got shut-out in net.

At the UVM game

 

Pumpkin carving

After their own game, the Huskies rode over to UVM to watch the UVM vs Union women’s game.  It was some of the teams first college hockey game and the home team put on a show, winning 4-0. After the college game, the girls were treated to birthday cake from Brooke’s parents and Rhode Island donut cake from Syd’s aunt. They then worked together as a team to design and carve a pumpkin for the carving competition.

The next day, the girls finished their pumpkin carving, then played the Boston Shamrocks. The game was closer, with both teams getting quality scoring chances, but Cailey H gave the Huskies the lead and Lindsay P shut down the Shamrocks.

Later in the day, Ontario Hockey Academy took it to the Huskies with more grit and speed than the girls had seen. The Huskies battled, but it was evident that it was their fourth  game while it was OHAs double digit. The Huskies made some mental errors and OHA won 4-1 with Moe T scoring the lone Northwood goal.

On Sunday morning, Northwood faced the Connecticut Polar Bears and dominated from the beginning. Cailey H scored first and Syd and Brooke added to the lead. Going into the second half up 3-0, the Huskies needed to score again to win the half and get the extra point. Unfortunately, the Polar Bears snuck one in instead and the Huskies couldn’t find the net again – even after pulling the goalie and trying six on five. Despite the 3-1 win and going 3-1 in the tournament, the Huskies didn’t advance to the finals.