The Junior Team practicing at the Herb Brooks 1980 Arena. (Photo: @NWS_hockey/Twitter)
After the Junior team made final cuts in their tryout games against Ridley College, they went on a tear winning seven of their first eight games. They started out their season strong against the highly regarded Hill Academy U-18 team, accomplishing a two-game sweep. In the Saturday game they won 6-2 and on Sunday they won 7-0.
After a hard week of practice, the boys headed off to Marlborough for the Beantown Classic. In their first game of the weekend they faced off against Ulysse, and they continued their win streak with a 3-0 victory. The next morning, they beat the Springfield pics 6-1. Later that day they clinched their advancement to the round of 16 of the tournament by beating the very skilled Team Comcast 1-0 in a hard fought battle. The next morning the junior team skated by the Jersey Shore Whalers, with a 4-0 victory to advance to the round of eight. They faced off against team Comcast again, and won this time 3-0, with Matt Petizian ’17 recording his 5th shutout in a row. Then, in the semifinals, the junior team was up against possibly their toughest opponent yet, the New England Fall Prep League All Stars, who beat them 2-1 in a nailbiter.
Petizian, a junior, was one of the top players for Northwood in the month of October. He had six shutouts in his first six starts, and was particularly outstanding in the games against the offensively talented Team Comcast, shutting the door in two consecutive games. Sophomore defenseman Mattias Samuelsson said, “He puts his heart and soul into the game,” which the team rallies behind. “He’s a great guy to have in the locker room and in net,” said junior returner Aleksi Peltonen. The Junior boys look forward to the rest of the season after their booming start.
