As the snow began to melt in Lake Placid, the feeling of spring was in the air. And with spring, comes the annual NAHA tournament. The Huskies took off for Stowe, VT after classes on Friday. They faced off against Stanstead College in the fourth meeting between the two teams this year. Stanstead got off to an early start, scoring two in the first period, and three in the third. In between periods, the Huskies vowed to make the third period count. Stanstead scored first in the third, but the Huskies answered back right away when Syd Collins found a rebound on the power play. She scored again later in the third to tie up the third period and leave the Huskies with a positive feeling as they moved forward in the tournament.
On Saturday morning, the Huskies came out flying against OHA White. It was Syd Collins again who got the Huskies on the board when she found another power play rebound. Moe Tsukimoto scored bar down to start the scoring in the second. Then Brooke Boyer had a beautiful forecheck and found Nikki Kendrick creeping in the slot for the third goal of the game and to close out the second period. Kim Mongrain played solidly in net Madison Gneo scored in the third period to make it 4-0. However, two mental lapses led to two quick goals by OHA. After a regrouping time-out, the Huskies went out and dominated the rest of the game, with Justine Dufresne adding an insurance goal when she beat the Maverick goalie high late in the third period.
The third game of the day was a match-up against OHA’s second team, Maroon. This battle was more competitive, and the two teams traded chances in the first. OHA scored first, but the Huskies kept at them. It Tatum Gietl’s fluky off-angle shot that finally beat the OHA goalie though, proving the adage, “you never know what will happen when you put the puck on net.” OHA scored again in the second period to take the lead, and this time, the girls’ couldn’t find a way to come back, losing the game with an empty net goal at the end.
For the consolation game of the tournament, Northwood played the home team, NAHA Red. It was a fast and intense game, and the Huskies outshot the Winterhawks, but nothing would drop. A tough bounce half way through the first gave a Winterhawk skater a breakaway, which she capitalized on to take the lead. They scored later in the first on a power player for a 2-0 lead after the first. The Winterhawks scored two more goals in the second period for a 4-0 lead, but the Huskies didn’t quit. Moe Tsukimoto finally found the back of the net late in the third period when she snuck a puck by the NAHA goalie, shorthanded. She scored again a minute later on the rebound to make it close, but the Huskies ran out of time.
Northwood School Girls Hockey 