Blue Team Has Their Moments at Fall Foliage

Northwood Husky – First Place in the Carving Contest!

The annual Fall Foliage Classic in Burlington, VT seems like the official start to the season. In the last three years, the Huskies have won the tournament, lost in the finals, and missed the finals by .5 point. The round robin format with period points always makes the tournament interesting, and this year was no different.

Northwood Blue dug themselves a little hole by losing the first game against the Boston Shamrocks on Friday afternoon. The Huskies had some bus legs during the first half and didn’t have much jump in their steps. They got down early 2-0, but battled back to tie it up. Natalie Giglio ’16 scored the first goal on a nice play in tight on the goalie and Moe Tsukimoto ’18 scored the second on a beautiful end-to-end rush. The teams traded chances throughout the rest of the game, with Northwood coming close but not being able to seal the deal. Late in the second half, a rough turnover led to another goal against and there wasn’t enough time left to even it out.

Despite not getting the win, the girls knew they could still make the finals with some hard work, so the mood was optimistic, especially since Mrs. Boyer brought some delicious cake and cupcakes from North Carolina to celebrate Brooke’s 18^th birthday. After the sweet treats, the Huskies set out to carve their pumpkin for the tournament contest. Kim Mongrain ‘16 chose a lopsided one so the carving could have more surface area. Sierra Benjamin ’18 and her mom had spoken about designs, and she shared the ideas with the team. From there, Madison Gneo ’17 took over and printed off a Husky as a template. Now, it was up to Kiana Watson ’16 to carve. With precision and patience, Kiana slowly transformed the lopsided gourd to a work of art. The team effort paid off as the pumpkin won first place and the girls were rewarded with a pizza party.

Saturday was a test for Northwood Blue as it would be the first day that they’d play two games. The morning game was against the Cornwall Typhoons, a midget AAA team just north of the border. The game started out a little slow, but Northwood was able to get on the board first on a beautiful power play give-and-go between Moe and Bridgit Sullivan ’16. An unlucky bounce allowed the Typhoons to tie up, but the Huskies answered back when Kylie Kroes ’18 buried a rebound goal after Sierra’s shot. Winning the first half 2-1 gave the Huskies a point and some confidence going into the second. Cornwall tied it up on a rebound goal in the second half when the Huskies couldn’t clear the net front, but Syd Collins ’17 answered back quickly with a nice snap shot goal. Natalie and Sierra finished off the scoring to give the Huskies some buffer and take 4 points fort he win. Kim Mongrain ‘16 picked up the win in net, turning away 15 shots.

In the second game of the day, the Huskies met the Vermont Shamrocks, a wrap-around team. Northwood’s systems and discipline made it tough for the Shamrocks to get anything going throughout the game, and the Huskies dominated most of the play. Natalie led the scoring with two goals, while Moe, Issy Ren’ 17, and Syd scored the rest for the definitive win. Hanna Markel ’17 made 12 saves for the win.

On Sunday morning, the girls had to get 2 of the 4 points possible to move into the final game. They started off down, when the first shot from the Syracuse Nationals beat Hanna. The girls kept it tight and worked to get something going, but pucks seemed to be bouncing the wrong way for the Huskies. The Nationals scored again, to go up two and the Huskies couldn’t find a way to get on the board.

The 2-2 weekend put Northwood Blue record at 3-4. They have next weekend off to regroup before the Fire on Ice tournament in Rochester, NY.

Northwood White Turns Heads on Long Island

Northwood White rings the victory bell after going undefeated on the weekend

Saturday 10/24        11:50am                    vs. Buffalo Stars      2-2      T (2 OT)

The White Team earned their first set of EJEPL points on Saturday afternoon with a 2-2 tie against the Buffalo Stars. White battled hard and came back strong after falling behind 0-2 after the first period. Early into the second period, Justine Dufresne scored first for the Huskies with help from Hannah Davis on the assist. Hannah Davis earned her second assist of the game halfway through the third period, as Kiannah Thomas redirected her shot from the high slot to tie up the game 2-2. After two five-minute overtime periods, 4v4 then 3v3, the game concluded with a tie. Olivia Skriloff was credited with 39 saves.

Saturday 10/24        7:00pm                      vs. CT Ice Cats          3-1      W

The White Team found even more success in their second game on Saturday, defeating the CT Ice Cats 3-1. Mia Wright earned her second goal of the season midway through the first period with another assist from Hannah Davis. The Ice Cats erased the lead shortly thereafter, to tie the period at 1 goal apiece. White cashed in on two powerplay opportunities, once in the second period and again in the third to earn 3 league points on the win. Goals were scored by Justine Dufresne and Zoe Vande Kieft. Ashley Davis secured the win with 26 saves.

Sunday 10/25           7:50am                      vs. NJ ROCKETS        4-0      W

Northwood White put on their best performance of the weekend on Sunday morning, defeating the New Jersey Rockets with a gritty, hard-earned 4-0 win. Ashley Davis secured the shutout with 24 saves and Justine Dufresne led the team’s offense with two goals. Hannah Davis earned her fourth assist of the weekend, Kiannah Thomas chipped in a goal and an assist, and Sabryna Strack earned her first goal of the season as well. It was a great team effort overall, and a true test for the White penalty kill as they successfully shut down all seven Rocket powerplays.

Sunday 10/25           12:10pm                    vs. Lady Islanders   3-2      W        (2 OT)

In their second taste of 3v3 double-overtime in as many days, the Huskies came out on top with a 3-2 win over the Lady Islanders. Nikki Kendrick supplemented her stellar defensive play with a power play goal to spark the momentum for White.   Zoe Vande Kieft followed suit and found the net in the 2^nd period to give White a two goal lead. The Lady Islanders scored with just one minute remaining in the 2^nd period, eerily foreshadowing their eventual game-tying goal with 45 seconds left in the 3^rd. The first 5:00 4v4 overtime was not enough time to settle the score, so Abby Hatcher took matters into her own hands and notched the game-winner with help from Zoe Vande Kieft. Vande Kieft contributed on all three Husky goals with a goal and two assists. Olivia Skriloff made 24 saves for the win.

The Numbers

White finished the weekend with the power play firing at an impressive 36% and a perfect (and thoroughly tested) penalty kill, leaving their opponents empty-handed after 19 attempts with an extra attacker. Seven different Huskies scored this weekend and three different players are averaging at least one point per game after the weekend. The goalies combined for an impressive .968 save percentage.

First Weekend Bodes Well For Future of Program

The Northwood Girls’ Hockey Program had a solid start to its inaugural season fielding two teams with a combined 3-3 record.

On Friday night, the Blue Team kicked off the weekend with a definitive win against the Lake Placid Rockets, a local 19U team. The Huskies controlled play for most of the game, only allowing a dozen shots. Leading returning scorer, Moe Tsukimto ’18 showed her stuff by scoring two goals while newcomer Natalie Giglio ’16 scored her first and second Northwood goals. Kiana Watson ’16, Zoe VandeKieft ’18, Tatum Gietl ’16, and Brooke Boyer ’16 also chipped in goals to contribute to the win. The White Team also picked up a win in the second game of the double header against the Rockets. Goaltenders Hanna Markel ’17 and Olivia Skriloff ’18 combined to shut out the Lake Placid Rockets, making a statement in the White Team’s program debut.   Sierra Benjamin ’18 scored early in the first period to set the tempo, followed by Mia Wright ’19, who opened up her Northwood Hockey career with a gritty rebound goal in her very first game.  Northwood White beat the Rockets with a final score of 2-0.

On Saturday, the Blue Team travelled to Stowe, VT to meet CEGEP St. Laurent. The Huskies knew they were in for a challenge against a more seasoned and experienced team, but they managed to hang with the Stars for the first two periods, allowing three goals. It was evident that Northwood wasn’t in game shape in the third, as the Stars chipped in four goals to secure the win. Ashley Davis ’17 played great in net, making 50 saves for the night.

Saturday night, the White Team faced off against St. Lawrence Thunder in Lake Placid.  It was a great test, and a successful battle in many ways despite the final score of 4-0 in the Thunder’s favor.   Olivia Skriloff ’18 played the full game for Northwood and Hannah Markel ’17 filled in on the other end for the opponent’s injured goaltender.

On Sunday, Northwood Blue faced the home team, NAHA. This game was much closer, with both teams trading chances in the first. In the second, the Huskies found themselves in some penalty trouble and allowed two short-handed goals. Northwood answered back when Bridgit Sullivan ‘16 sniped one past the Winterhawk goalie, but the goal was disallowed. NAHA scored late in the second to go into the locker room up three. The Huskies made some adjustments during the Zamboni break and had their best period of hockey in the third. They thought they were in it when Moe deked the goalie for a goal, but the stars were not aligned, and that goal was also called back. NAHA beat Northwood Blue 4-0 to finish the Huskies weekend, 1-2.

Northwood White finished off their weekend with great momentum and vast improvement from each preceding game, beating the North Country Wild with a final score of 3-1.  Sierra Benjamin ’18 scored twice and Nikki Kendrick ’19 cashed in on one of many great chances to earn her first goal of the season.  Sara Donatello ’17 came up big in our defensive zone with a handful of blocked shots, and also had some great scoring chances in the other end.  Hannah Markel ’17 played the first half of the game and earned a shutout on the weekend, while Olivia Skriloff ’18 finished strong as well to help us earn our second win.

Northwood White will travel to Dix Hills, NY next weekend to open up EJEPL play while Northwood Blue will compete in the Fall Foliage tournament in Burlington, VT.